Design, simulation, fabrication and testing of improved hybrid wideband balun circuits at 2.4GHz

Microwave baluns are key circuit components in wireless modulator and mixer circuits. The objective of the project is to design, simulate and fabricate an improved version of wideband microwave balun operating at a center frequency of 2.4 GHz. The design is optimized using Advanced Design System (ADS) software of Agilent Technologies. The focus of the project is to design a microstrip circuit with low Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR), high degree of amplitude balance and phase balance for optimum performance. A resistor at the input port and capacitor at the center of the coupled lines are included to get balanced coupling of -17dB and a phase difference of 180 degrees at the two output ports and a low VSWR. The microstrip design is routed using the IsoPro 2.7 PCB routing software and fabricated using the T-Tech PCB fabricating machine.