Couplings Designer

Couplings Designer allows efficient design of advanced RF and microwave filters using any given technology. A powerful hybrid synthesis technique taking advantage of both exact polynomial approximation with prescribed zeros and optimization reduces the time and effort required to find an optimum coupling matrix. The full range of zeros available for a given filter order and topology are easily engineered to fit your specification. The synthesized coupling matrix can be realized as lumped components, distributed elements, waveguide structures or any exotic resonator and coupling mechanism imaginable.

Key features include:

• bandpass or bandstop response
• synthesis with prescribed zeros
• predistortion
• non-resonating nodes, NRNs
• cascading of designs (modular filter design)
• an advanced optimizer
• an arbitrary topology transformer
• Monte Carlo tolerance analysis
• tuning of individual or symmetrical couplings
• couplings are represented as physical or normalized
• markers and handy multi-touch gestures for scaling plot axes
• export matrix and S-parameter data

A suitable coupling matrix and topology is found within minutes. A typical design flow with Couplings Designer consists of:

• setting up goals, or in other words filter specifications, based on rejection, ripple and group delay requirements
• specifying a filter order, bandwidth, center frequency and resonator quality
• synthesize a seed coupling matrix that may include prescribed zeros and/or predistortion
• transform to a topology suitable for implementation, arbitrarily specified or using built-in presets (folded, arrow, cul-de-sac, extended box)
• manual tuning and/or optimization
• tolerance check using Monte Carlo analysis
• export the design to a computer
• realize the coupling matrix using computer software or empirical methods

Couplings Designer is a tool suitable for professional filter engineers, system engineers and students alike.