Couplinator: A simple computational tool for synthesis of multi-section coupled-line filter based on MPCM-TLM technique

A new simple computational tool is proposed for the synthesis of multi-section coupled-line filters based on combined modified planar circuit method (MPCM) and transmission line method (TLM) analysis, referred to as MPCM-TLM. Due to its fundamentally simple architecture, the presented tool offers significantly faster optimization of coupled-line filters - for exactly the same initial simulation set-up - than other costly commercially-available tools, giving equally reliable results. Validity and accuracy of the proposed tool have been verified through the design of 3rd, 5th, and 7th order coupled-line filters and comparative analysis between results obtained from the proposed approach and the high-frequency structure simulator. A remarkable 99% time reduction in the analysis is recorded in the case of 7th order filter using the proposed tool, for almost identical results to HFSS. Therefore, it can be confidently claimed that the proposed technique can be used as a reliable alternative to existing complex, costly, processor-intensive CAD tools.