Design of Microstrip Hairpin Bandpass Filter

for X-Band Radar Navigation

Basith Adli Rina Mardiati Yudi Yuliyus Maulana
Departement of Electrical Engineering Departement of Electrical Engineering Research Center for Electronic and
Faculty of Science and Technology Faculty of Science and Technology Telecomunication
Indonesian Institute of Sciences
UIN Sunan Gunung Djati UIN Sunan Gunung Djati
Bandung, Indonesia
Bandung, Indonesia Bandung, Indonesia yudiym@gmail.com
basith.adli@gmail.com r_mardiati@uinsgd.ac.id

Abstract— Today radar has broad benefits in many areas, for A BPF is a filter that passes the frequencies from the
example in telecommunications and military or civil region between the first cut-off frequency and the second
applications for navigation. An important component that can cut-off frequency and dampens the frequencies outside this
improve the performance of a radar system is the filter. The range [2].
function of the filter is to pass the desired frequencies and
A microstrip is a transmission line consisting of a strip
block the unwanted frequencies. This study discussed the
design and realization of a bandpass filter using microstrip of conductors and a ground plane separated by a substrate
technology with a hairpin structure working at some with certain material characteristics [3]. One type of
parameters, namely frequencies, bandwidth, insertion loss, microstrip filter is a filter with a parallel coupled line
return loss and VSWR. The filter was realized using a Rogers configuration, but this filter has the disadvantage of having
5880 substrate with a relative dielectric constant value of two large physical dimensions. Another BPF is the analog type,
point two and substrate thickness of 1.58 mm. A simulation which is quite expensive so its application in the
was carried out using the CST Suite Studio software manufacture of radar systems incurs a considerable cost.
application. In realization result show that, the middle To get the smaller filter size, the substrate must have
frequency value of the filter is equal to the specification and
higher relative permittivity value. The type of substrate also
simulation, but there are differences result between the
simulation and the realization, in insertion loss, return loss, can increase the performance of the filter. The loss of the
bandwidth and voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) values. filter can be increased by choosing the right substrate. As an
example, the Rodgers Duroid substrate has better loss
Key words — bandpass; filter; hairpin; microstrip performance than the common FR4 substrate [4].
In accordance with Regulation of the Minister of
I. INTRODUCTION Communication and Information of the Republic of
The rapid development of telecommunication Indonesia Number 25, Year 2014 on Table of Allocation of
technology raises the demands from high-mobility society. Radio Frequency Spectrum of Indonesia, navigation radios
The telecommunication equipment used, one of which is operate within the frequency range of 9200-9800 MHz [5].
radar, should support all activities as well as possible. Based on this regulation, the frequency limits are entered as
Radar is a means of detecting the existence of an object the X-band designation, which has a frequency range of 8-
by using electromagnetic waves. Generally, a radar operates 12 Ghz in accordance with IEEE (Institute of Electrical and
by spreading limited electromagnetic forces inside an Electronic Engineers) Standard 521-1984 [6].
antenna dish. When the signal from an incoming object In this research, a BPF was designed by using a
enters the antenna, it is captured and transmitted to the microstrip and a hairpin filter substrate to be applied in a
center of the radar system and then processed so that the radar system that works in the frequency range of 9.25-9.35
object becomes visible on a monitor screen [1]. As a GHz (X-band). Realization was done using PCB substrate
maritime country, Indonesia needs to develop radar to Rogers 5880. The hairpin filter has a neatly arranged
maintain security in its waters. structure obtained by folding the parallel-coupled line
One of the most important components of the radar resonator into a U-shape [2], which is commonly called a
system is the filter. A radar filter is a circuit used to filter miniature hairpin resonator filter.
certain frequencies by passing the desired frequencies and
dampening unwanted frequencies or those that are outside II. THEORETICAL BASIS
the working frequency of the filter. The types of filters used A. Filter
in telecommunication systems include the low pass filter
A filter is a circuit designed to pass a certain frequency
(LPF), the high pass filter (HPF), the band pass filter (BPF),
band while weakening all signals outside of this band.
and the band stop filter (BSF). In well-used radar filter Another use of a filter is as a frequency selector circuit to
systems, a BPF type filter is used. enable passing a desired frequency and hold other

978-1-5386-6163-5/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE

frequencies. Filters can be grouped according to their D. Defected Ground Structure (DGS)
frequency response, depending on the conditions and One of the electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) development
objectives of the filter system used, into LPF, HPF, BPF, techniques that has been studied is the defected ground
and BSF [2]. LPF is filter that passes the frequencies below structure (DGS). A DGS is a one-way EBG to suppress
the cut-off frequency and dampens the frequencies above surface waves and is often used in microstrip antennas. The
the cut-off frequency, HPF is a filter that only passes DGS structure is used on microstrip lines that reject certain
frequencies above the cut-off frequency and dampens frequencies. Various kinds of DGSs are shown in Fig. 2. [2].
frequencies that are below the cut-off frequency, BPF ihas
two cut-off frequencie, and BSF is a band stop filter is the
opposite of a BPF.

B. Microstrip Hairpin Filter

A microstrip filter is a transmission medium used in RF
and microwave circuits. When the microstrip size is reduced Fig. 2. Types of DGS
so that its dimensions are smaller than the wavelength, the III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
microstrip can be used as a lumped element.
One of the microstrip filter models is the hairpin filter. The research for this final project used several methods.
Hairpin filters fold half-wavelength microstrip lines into the The main steps were: literature study, problem
“U” shape and then cascade them. The folded structure has identification, needs analysis, design, simulation,
the advantages of parallel-coupled filters and efectively realization, testing and analysis. The methodology of this
reduce the size. Each half-wavelength microstrip line works research can be described using a flowchart or flow diagram
as a resonator [7]. The hairpin method involves the as shown in Fig. 3.
development of a parallel-coupled line, where the λ / 4
coupled line channel is folded by L or ((λ / 4) -b), with b is
the unpinned channel length.

Fig. 1. Parallel-Coupled Line Transformation into Hairpin Filter [8]

C. Square Groove
The length and width of the square groove can be
adjusted to increase the phase margin at both events and
Fig. 3. Research Flowchart
odds, thereby minimizing resonant frequency. The square
groove is a Defected Ground Structure (DGS) technique that IV. DESIGN, SIMULATION AND REALIZATION
can produce smaller filter dimensions, eliminate harmonics
and increase insertion loss and return loss [1,9]. In this final project, a BPF microstrip hairpin was
designed that operates at a middle frequency of 9.3 Ghz.
The designing was done in several stages. Each stage was
executed thoroughly to minimize design errors and avoid
decreased filter performance because of poor design.
A. Filter Design curves for – 1 = 1.0001858, with = 60 dB and ripple
The desired filter specifications are shown in Table I. 0.1, n ≥ 4 was obtained, so in the filter design n = 5 was
TABLE I. FILTER SPECIFICATIONS used.
The values of the prototype element were as follows:
BPF Parameter Value
= =1
Start frequency (f1) 9.25 GHz = = 1.1468
Stop frequency (f2) 9.35 GHz = = 1.3712
= 1.9750
Center frequency (fc) 9.3 GHz
2) Determining the width of the resonator channel
Bandwidth 100 MHz The width of the resonator channel was determined with
values Ɛ = . , ℎ = 1.58 and = 50 ohm and
Filter Hairpin order 5 pole
using the following formulas:
Return loss ≤ -10 dB Ɛ
= = ( − 1) − (2 − 1) + ( − 1) +
Ɛ
Insertion loss ≥ -3 dB .
0.39 − (4)
Ɛ
VSWR 1-1.5 ²
=
Matching impedance 50 ohm √Ɛ
. . ²
= = 7.9768
√ .
Ɛ
The type of substrate used was Rogers 5880 with the = = ( − 1) − (2 − 1) + ( − 1) +
Ɛ
specifications as listed in Table II: .
0.39 −
Ɛ
TABLE II. SPECIFICATIONS OF SUBSTRATE USED [10] = 3.077931769 > 2
Name of Specification Specification Because > 2, a thick substrate can be used: (h) = 1,58
Substrate type Rogers 5880 mm. To determine the width of the resonator channel, the
following equation was used:
Relative dielectric constant ( ) 2.2
= ℎ (5)
Substrate thickness (ℎ) 1.58 = 4.86
3) Determining the effective permitivity constants
This filter can be applied in X-band radar system. For the dielectric constant ( ) effective on the
Working at frequencies at 9.3 GHz. Used for navigation microstrip channel, the calculation was as follows:
radar systems, aims to maintain the safety of Indonesian
marine waters. And this research can add insight and = + 1+ (6)
knowledge about the implementation and realization of BPF With = , and
microstrip.
=1+ .
+
.
1+ .
(7)
B. Determination of Filter Dimensions
. .

Determining the hairpin filter dimensions was done = 0.564 (8)
using Equations (1)-(16) [2,11].
= 1.000165122 dan = 0.523517833
So:
1) Defining the filter order
+1 −1 10
The order of the filter can be determined from the damping = + 1+
characteristics curve based on the Chebyschev approach 2 2
with 0.1 dB ripple, as follows: = 1.901080934
4) Determining the length of the lambda microstrip
. . The calculation used for determining the length of the
∆ = = = 0.010752 (1) lambda microstrip was:
.
⁄
= − (2) = = (9)
∆ .
. . = 0.032258064 mm
= − (3)
. . .
= = 23.395805 mm (10)
= 2.0001858
5) Determining the sliding factor and length of the
where is the stop frequency limit at 9.35 GHz, 0 is the resonator arm
start frequency limit at 9.25 GHz, and The value of the sliding factor, , cannot be determined
is the center frequency T 9.3 GHz. From the filter damping exactly, so an assumed value was taken. was taken as 10
because this assumption is most widely used in hairpin filter TABLE III. FILTER DIMENSION
design. The calculation was as follows: Calculation Optimization
Filter Dimensions
Result ( ) Result ( )
= (11) ( ) 4.86 4.75
= 0.649883472 ( ) 4.86 1.7
( ) 0 0.2
= 2 (12) ( ) 0.29 0
= 1.299 ( ) 5.15 4.43
The following equation determined the length of L: ( ) 0 0.5
( ) 1.29 1.3
° ( ) 2.43 0.3
= .
(13)
( ) 0.068 0.2
. . ( ) 0.043 3
= = 194.68 ( ) 7.9 7
So:

= 180 °
= 11.6 D. Result of Realization
. At this stage the filter realization process was carried out
6) Determining the quality factor value using the Rogers 5880 substrate material. After the
The value of the quality factor is calculated as follows: realization process, the next stage was the installation of
. connectors on both sides of the PCB. The connectors used in
Q= = = 93 (14)
. . the filter realization were of the SMA type because their
7) Determining the coupling coefficient characteristics are suitable for small filter construction.
The coupling coefficient value is used to find the distance to
resonator:
, = (15)

, = 0.068 mm
, = , = 0.043 mm
8) Determining the tap length
Tap length = 5 x h
= 7.9 mm
9) Determining the square groove
To get the value of the square groove the following equation
is used:
= (16)
= 2.43
Thus, the square groove value is 2.43mm x 2.43mm
Fig. 5. Microstrip Hairpin Filter

C. Filter Simulation
E. Measurement and Analysis
A simulation of the filter was conducted using CST
Suite Studio so that the output of the designed filter Measurement of the realization result of the BPF hairpin
response could be seen. was done by using an Advantest R3370 network analyzer
The hairpin filter layout is shown in Fig. 4. with a working frequency vulnerability of 300 KHz-20
GHz. The realization was done to know if the filter’s
specifications were in accordance with the prior
specifications, so its characteristics and performance could
be known and analyzed. The parameters measured included
insertion loss, return loss, bandwidth and voltage standing
wave ratio (VSWR). A comparison of the simulation results
and the realization results is shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 4. Hairpin Filter Layout

The filter dimensions from the calculation results and the
optimization results are shown in Table III.
 Comparison of Return Loss and Insertion Loss Actual F. Common Error Analysis
Results and Simulation Results The differences between the simulation results and the
Frequency (GHz) realization results could have been caused by several
8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 10.0 factors. Factors affecting the realization result are:
5 • Improper filter printing.
0 • The type of substrate material used.
-5 • The lead solder connection between the
-10 connectors and the microstrip causing losses.
Response (dB)

-15 • Temperature and air humidity.

-20
• The realization was not done in ideal spatial
-25 conditions.
-30
-35 V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
9,3 GHz ; -19,200 dB Return Loss Realization Result
-40
9,3 GHz ; -3,719 dB Insertion Loss Realization Result A. Conclusions
9,3 GHz ; -21,67 dB
9,3 GHz ; 0,41 dB
Return Loss Simulation Result The entire process, from the design and the realization of
Insertion Loss Simulation Result the hairpin BPF to the network analyzer measurement, can
be summed up as follows:
Fig. 6. Comparison of Return Loss and Insertion Loss Actual Results
and Simulation Results 1. In the simulation, the design results were in
accordance with the specifications with
optimization done 7 times. The middle frequency
Table IV contains a comparison between the parameters
was at 9.3 GHz, the bandwidth was 100 MHz, the
of the specification, the realization results and the
return loss was -21.67 dB, the insertion loss was
simulation results.
0.41 dB and the VSWR was 1.1. The design
TABLE IV. COMPARISON OF SIMULATION RESULTS AND parameters were in accordance with the prior
REALIZATION RESULTS OF HAIRPIN BPF specifications.
Initial Simulation Realization 2. The results of the measurement of the realized filter
Parameter
Specification Result Result using a network analyzer revealed a middle
Center Frequency frequency of 9.3 GHz while the bandwidth was 280
9.3 9.3 9.3
(GHz)
MHz, the return loss was -19,20 dB, the insertion
(9.25 − (9.25 − (9.11
Bandwidth (MHz) 9.35 ) 9.35 ) − 9.39 ) loss was -3.719 dB and the VSWR was 1.246.
100 100 280 3. Analysis of the measurement results against the
Insertion Loss (dB) ≥ −3 0.41 −3.719 specification parameters was as follows:
Return Loss (dB) < −10 −21.67 −19.200 • The center frequency corresponded to the
VSWR 1 − 1.5 1.1 1.246 desired frequency of 9.3 GHz.
• The return loss from the realization results
at -19.20 dB was in accordance with the
From the results in Table IV, the middle frequency of
specification, i.e. ≤-10 dB. This result is good.
the simulation result and the realization result were both in
• The insertion loss from the realization results
accordance with the specification of 9.3 GHz. The
was -3.719 dB. This value was lower than the
bandwidth simulation results were in accordance with the
specification of ≥- 3 dB so the insertion loss
specification of 100 MHz. However, the bandwidth in the
value was not in accordance with the
realization result was different, i.e. it increased to 280 MHz.
specification.
Even though the bandwidth in the realization result
widened, this filter can still work at X-band frequencies, i.e. • The bandwidth from the realization results was
at the 8-12 GHz frequency band. The return loss value in the larger than the specification and the simulation
simulation result was -21.67 dB and the realization yield of - results, i.e. it was widened by 180 MHz, from
19.20 dB was in accordance with the specification, i.e. <-10 100 MHz to 280 MHz. Despite the widened
dB. The insertion loss value from the simulation result was bandwidth, the filter can still work in X-band
very good, i.e. very close to 1 (0.41dB). radar, which operates at the 8-12 GHz
However, in the realization the value of insertion loss frequency band.
decreased to -3.719 dB. This value is not in accordance with • The VSWR from the realization results was
the desired specification, i.e. ≥ -3 dB. The VSWR value of 1.246.
the simulation result was 1.1 and the realization result of There were differences between the results of the simulation
1.246 was still within the filter specification. Overall, it can and the results of the realization. This is because in a
be said that the results of the simulation and the realization simulation the conditions are ideal, while in realization
were within the X-band frequency range. many conditions can affect the results.
B. Suggestions Elektro Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Gunung Djati: Bandung

In the design development and realization of filters for

navigation radar at X-band frequencies it is recommended to
consider the suggestions below in order to obtain optimal
results:
• In determining the parameter values for a filter that
works at high frequencies, the calculation process
must be done carefully. This will greatly affect the
simulation and realization results because
differences in the numbers behind the comma have
a great influence.
• In the case of soldering the microstrip connector to
the input or the output it is necessary to consider
the neatness and thickness of the soldering because
it can increase losses.
• At the time of printing the filter attention must be
paid to the PCB board printer tool because its
precision affects the filter results.
• Try installing a casing on the filter.
• It is worth trying to create filters for navigation
radar applications working at X-band frequencies
using other methods, such as fractal shapes.

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