2014 International Conference on Signal Processing and Integrated Networks (SPIN)
Design And Analysis Of Low Pass
Microwave Filter Using Metamaterial
Ground Structure
Mrs. Deepti Gupta 1 , Prasoon Gupta2, Pranjal Chitransh3 , Dr. P.K. Singhal4
1, 2, 3
Hindustan College of Science and Technology (HCST), Farah, Mathura
1
deep_issu@rediffmail.com, 2gupta.prasoon91@gmail.com, 3chitranshpranjal@gmail.com
Abstract—An improved periodic complementary split
ring resonator (CSRR) structure at ground plane is
investigated for low pass filter (LPF) application. The
realisation in microstrip configuration consists in
making the equivalence between the geometry of a
CSRR structure and a parallel resonator circuit.
Initially, we design a low pass filter without CSRR on
the ground plane. We have simulated the results and
observed that the results are deviated from the ideal
low pass filter and we also obtain the ripples in the
passband and the attenuation in the stop band is not
infinite. Then we used 3 identical, square shaped
CSRR in the ground plane equally spaced with
respect to each other. Varying empirically the
dimension of the CSRR we obtained an improvement
of frequency response. The results show that the
latter exhibit the better stopband performance. For
suppressing ripples in the passband we switch to
higher order low pass filter.
Keywords- Microstrip Low pass filter, CST Studio,
complementary split ring resonator (CSRR),
Metamaterial.
I. INTRODUCTION
“A microwave filter is a two port network used
to control the frequency response at a certain point
in a microwave system by providing transmission
of frequency within the passband of the filter and
attenuation in the stopband of the filter”.[1] on the
basis of frequency response of the filter, the filter
can be classified as low pass, high pass, band pass
and band reject filters. A low pass filter allows
lower frequency components to pass into the signal
while rejecting the higher frequency components.
Low pass filter which are used in various electronic
devices isolates noise or interferences from the
surrounding environment. By selecting high
dielectric constant substrates, the size of the printed
978-1-4799-2866-8/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE
filters can be reduced significantly, which provides
compact size [2] Micro strip filters are always
preferred over lumped filters at higher frequencies
and today they are integral part of almost all RF
and wireless applications.
Hence design and development of superior and
cost effective micro strip filters of miniature size
has become an active research area, especially with
the help of computer aided design tools [3]. High Q
cavity and dielectric filters are useful for the most
stringent filtering applications. Printed circuit
filters with relatively low Q factor are useful to be
integrated in printed circuit applications [4]. The
simulation was done by CST STUDIO software.
CST STUDIO is the leading edge tool for the fast
and accurate 3D simulation of high frequency
devices and market leader in Time Domain
simulation. It enables the fast and accurate analysis
of antennas, filters, couplers, planar and multi-layer
structures and Electromagnetic Coupling effects
etc.
II. DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF LOW
PASS FILTER(N=3,9)
In order to design 3rd order chebyshev filter In
order to design the low-pass Chebyshev filter with
a 3dB ripple, the first step required modelling the
microstrip using electronic circuit theory. The
normalized low-pass prototype element values
were chosen from Table 8.4 of the “Microwave
Engineering” textbook [1]. Initially the designing
was started by 3rd order filter where we observe
many ripples in the passband and the attenuation in
not sharp in the stopband. By addition of the CSRR
in the ground plane the attenuation is improved and
the ripples were less in comparison with the 3rd
388
 2014 International Conference on Signal Processing and Integrated Networks (SPIN)

order filter without CSRR. To remove the ripples in however a thickness of 1.6mm was chosen for the
the passband of the filter we had to move to the design. The microstrip stubs must have been
higher order so a basic 9th order filter is designed designed with impedances of 50Ÿ, 64.9 Ÿ, 70.3 Ÿ,
which showed improvement and the dip of ripples and 217.5 Ÿ. The following calculations are
are reduced. Moving ahead with the design we performed in order to obtain the widths and lengths
added 5 square shaped CSRR to reduce the ripple of the microstrip stubs.
size and to gain the attenuation in the stopband
ଷ଻଻గ ఒ
hence our stopband became sharp. ‫ܤ‬ൌ ; ݈ൌ (1)
ଶ௓೚ ξ‫א‬ೝ ଼

There is a problem that the lumped elements do ௐ ଶ ‫א‬ೝ ିଵ ଴Ǥ଺ଵ

= [Β−1−λν(2Β−1)+ {λν(β−1) + 0.39 − }]
not behave in the same manner for microwave ௗ గ ଶ‫א‬ೝ ‫א‬ೝ

frequencies as they do for the low frequency so we ௐ

had to use RICHARD’S TRANSFORMATION for •2 (2)
ௗ
and KURODA’S IDENTITIES to convert the
ௐ ଼௘ ಲ ௐ
lumped element filter in the transmission line filter. = ; for ” 2 (3)
ௗ ௘ మಲ ିଶ ௗ
This helped us to calculate the impedance of each
transmission line segment based on its equivalent ‫א‬௥ ൌ
‫א‬ೝ ାଵ
൅
‫א‬ೝ ିଵ ଵ
(4)
ଶ ଶ ඥଵାଵଶௗ Τௐ
lumped element. According to the microwave
theory, in order to control the characteristic
௓ ‫א‬ೝ ାଵ ‫א‬ೝ ିଵ ଴Ǥଵଵ
impedance of a microstrip segment, one must Α= ೚ ට ൅ ሺͲǤʹ͵ ൅ (5)
଺଴ ଶ ‫א‬ೝ ାଵ ‫א‬ೝ
adjust the physical dimensions of the microstrip
line; more specifically, the width (W) and length ‫ݒ‬௣ ൌ
௖
(6)
(l), since the thickness (d) will be a fixed value. ξ‫א‬ೝ

The dielectric will depend on the type of substrate

Length and Width Dimensions of 3rd order Design
chosen from the manufacturer.
Components Length(mm) Width(mm)
TERMS VALUES
ܴ௢ 13.8329630 3.368261000
Relative Dielectric
Constant (‫א‬௥ ) 4.3 ‫ܥ‬ଵ 13.9529500 2.409279450
Cut-off frequency (‫ܨ‬௖ ) 2 GHz ‫ܮ‬ଶ 14.0599760 0.419632600
Height of substrate (h) 1.6 mm ‫ܥ‬ଷ 13.5684870 2.505247280
Substrate used FR -4 (lossy)
‫ܮ‬ସ 14.0559976 0.419632600
Loss tangent (tanį ) 0.02
ܼ௢ 50 ȍ ‫ܥ‬ହ 13.9521530 2.403297870

Ÿ௖ 1.0 ܴ଺ 13.832963 3.368282610

Fig. 1. Basic 3rd order low pass filter

Next, in order to design this filter using

microstrip theory, the FR-4(lossy) substrate was
Fig. 2. Results of basic 3rd order low pass filter.
chosen. This substrate was chosen due to its
relatively low cost and easily available dielectric
constant (‫א‬௥ ), and since it does not vary
significantly with temperature. This substrate has
‫א‬௥ =4.30. and comes in a variety of thicknesses;

389
 2014 International Conference on Signal Processing and Integrated Networks (SPIN)

IV DESIGN USING METAMATERIALS

Recently, there has been a growing interest in

the use of metamaterials in the development of
compact microwave components constructed using
printed circuit boards [5-6] and monolithic-
microwave integrated circuit technologies. The
first revolution on left-handed metamaterials
occurred in 1996 when Pendry at al. realized the Fig. 4. 3rd order filter design with CSRR in the ground plane
artificially electric plasma using the wire medium
whose permittivity is negative [7]. Then Pendry
and his co-workers discovered the artificially
magnetic plasma whose permeability is negative in
1999[8]. In this work well-known split ring
resonators (SRR) are used to achieve the magnetic
response. Another interesting particle proposed is
the complementary split ring resonator (CSRR) [9-
11]. This is a negative image of the SRR and hence
is the dual counterpart. The CSRR behaves as an
element, which is able to produce a negative
effective permittivity İ at the resonance. This
particle is excited by an axial time varying electric
field, rather than by an axial magnetic field as in
case of SRRs. CSRRs can be etched in the ground Fig.5. Results of 3rd order filter with CSRR
plane, beneath the micro strip. Compared with the
SRR, the CSRR particle does not require any extra There is a gap of 3mm in between two CSRR on
space and for this reason it is highly suited for ground plane while using the CSRR in 3rd order
constructing and miniaturizing microwave devices low pass filter. As the roll off obtained in 3rd order
[12-13]. LPF is not very sharp, so we switched to the 9th
order LPF. The design procedure and the formulae
The concept of CSRR is utilized to improve the
selectivity of a microwave low pass filter. used are same as they were used for the 3rd order
Moreover a steeper roll-off can only be achieved LPF design.
by allowing some degree of flexibility in the design
that is, at a price of introducing ripples in the pass Length and Width Dimensions of 9th order Design
band profile. By incorporating CSRRs with low
Components Length(mm) Width(mm)
pass filter, it is feasible to produce a filter that
performs with no ripples in the pass band, as well ܴ௢ 13.812453 3.509900
as a steep roll-off without compromising the circuit ‫ܥ‬ଵ 14.928473 0.890863
size.
‫ܮ‬ଶ 14.754930 0.541620
‫ܥ‬ଷ 13.926530 1.997643
‫ܮ‬ସ 14.972354 0.409296
‫ܥ‬ହ 13.865432 2.452493
‫଺ܮ‬ 14.876599 0.426257
‫଻ܥ‬ 13.234573 9.894165
‫଼ܮ‬ 14.972354 0.409296
‫ܥ‬ଽ 13.865432 2.452493
‫ܮ‬ଵ଴ 14.754930 0.541620
‫ܥ‬ଵଵ 14.928473 0.890863
ܴଵଶ 13.812453 3.509900

Fig. 3. Dimensions of CSRR Implemented

390
 2014 International Conference on Signal Processing and Integrated Networks (SPIN)

Fig.6. 9th order basic Low Pass filter.

Fig.9. results of 9th order filter with CSRR.


In a two port network transmission loss and
insertion loss both are same hence a comparative
study shows that the insertion loss has decreased
Fig.7. Results of 9th order filter without CSRR. with the use of the CSRR.
The distance between the CSRR in the 9th order Filter Type Insertion Loss
LPF is not equally spaced as compared to the 3rd -55.152
3rd order basic LPF
order LPF. The distance is mentioned as below. -34.833
3rd order LPF with CSRR
9th order basic LPF -63.76
CSRR NO. Distance (mm) -65.48
9th order LPF with CSRR
CSRR1,2 3.603391
CSRR 2.3 5.1162075
CSRR 3,4 5.1162075 Cut Off Frequency (3dB Point)
CSRR4,5 2.512885 Filter Type Cut Off Frequency (GHz)
3rd order basic LPF 1.911
3rd order LPF with CSRR 1.7455
9th order basic LPF 1.9218
9th order LPF with CSRR 1.6493

The comparative analysis of the cut off frequencies

Fig.8. 9th order filter with CSRR in the ground plane
of different filter is given below. The analysis
shows that moving from 3rd order to 9th order filter
the roll off rate has increased and we get a sharp
cut off. In the Chebyshev filter trade off is
maintained between the 3dB ripples and sharp roll
off rate. From the above analysis it is clear that on
moving to higher order LPF with CSRR structures
the insertion loss decreases as well as the cut-off
frequency is also improved.

391
 2014 International Conference on Signal Processing and Integrated Networks (SPIN)

 [8] Pendry, J.B., Holden, A.J., Robbins, D.J.,

A chebyshev Low Pass Microstrip Filter using
RICHANRD’S TRANSFORMATION and
KURODA IDENTITIES has been simulated,
designed, fabricated and tested by a spectrum
analyser. The cut off frequency achieved is
approximately equal to the design specification
value (2GHz). The minute changes occurred due to
the imperfect fabrication and connection of SMA
Connecters.

 millimeterwave communication systems”, IEEE
We would like to thank Dr. Sanjay Jain, H.O.D,
ECE Deptt., for his guidance and support. We
would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the
staff of our ECE Deptt. and its laboratory for their
support and co-operation. A special thanks to the
faculty of M.I.T.S. Gwalior for helping us in
hardware implementation and testing.
 
[1] David Pozar, Microwave Engineering, Third
Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2005, p.370, p. 389, p.
398-410.
[2] Noyan Kinayman M. I. Aksun, “Modern
microwave circuits”, pp. 415.
[3] Rudra Narrayan Baral, “Micro strip filters for
RF/Microwave Applications- Design, Analysis and
Implementation”, Lambert Academic
Publishing,01-Nov 2010.
Stewart, W.J.: Magnetism from conductors and
enhanced nonlinear phenomena. IEEE Trans.
Micro. Theory Tech. 47, 2075-2084 (1999)
[9] E.N. Torogow, Senior member, IEEE, and G. E
Collins, “Band-Stop Filters for High-Power
Applications”, IEEE Trans. Vol 40, pp 185-196;
September 1965.
[10] Blondy P., Brown A.R., Cros D. and Rebeiz
G.M., “Lowloss micromachined filters for
Trans. Microw. Theory Tech., Vol. 46(12), 1998,
pp. 2283-2288.
[11] Iyer, A.K., and Elefttheriades, G.V.: “Negative
Refractive index metamaterials supporting 2-D
waves”. Proc. IEEE-MTT Int.
Symp.,2002,vol.2,pp.412-415
[12] Bonache, J., Marin, F., Falcone, F., Garcia, J.,
Gil, I., Lopetegi, T., Laso, M.A.G., Marques, R.,
Medina, F., and Sorolla, M.: ‘Super compact split
ring resonators CPW bandpass filters’.IEEE MTT-
S Int. Microwave Symp. Dig., Fort Worth, TX,
June 2004
[13] Gil, I., Bonache, J., Garcia-Garcia, J., Falcone,
F., and Martin, F.: ‘Metamaterials in micro strip
technology for filter applications’. AP-S Int.
Symp., July 2005, vol. 1A, pp. 668-671

[4] George D. Vendelin, Anthony M. Pavio, Ulrich

L. Rohde, “Microwave circuit design using linear
and non-linear techniques”, John Wiley &
Sons,2005, pp. 291.

[5] Edwards T.C. and Steer M.B., Foundation of

Interconnect and Micro strip Design, John Wiley &
Sons Ltd., 2000.

[6] Tentzeris M., Laskar J., Sutono A., Lee C.-H.,

Davis M.F., Obatoyinbo A. and Lim K.,
“Development of Highly Integrated 3D
Microwave-Millimeter Wave Radio Front-End
System-on-Package (SOP)”, European GaAs
Conference, 2001, pp. 235-238.

[7] Pendry, J.B., Holden, A.J., Stewart, W.J.,

Youngs, I,: Extremely low frequency plasmons in
metallic mesostructures. Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 4773-
4776 (1996)

392