Novel microstrip fed mechanically tunable combline cavity filter

A novel configuration for mechanically tunable combline bandpass filters is proposed, where the classical resonating rod-tuning screw combination is replaced with a simple printed circuit-tuning screw combination. Moreover, because a printed circuit structure that uses metal vias forms the bottom part of the cavity, the coaxial type feeding and the coaxial to cavity matching of classical combline filters are also replaced with a microstrip feeding. Consequently, the proposed configuration provides smaller size, less weight, integration with other printed circuits and significant simplification in the fabrication process. A prototype filter is designed and fabricated for verification. The measured results are in good agreement with the simulation, and the filter exhibits very good harmonic suppression. © 2013 IEEE