Packaged X-band filter with optimized interconnects [Technical Committee]

As part of a student contest at the International Microwave Symposium 2008 in Atlanta, a packaged X-band filter was designed and fabricated. The passive component had to be realized in a planar technology and integrated into a provided metal package, the passband being defined from 7,145-7,235 MHz with an insertion loss less than 5 dB and a return loss better than 15 dB. The filter should exhibit a stopband in the range from 8,400-8,500 MHz with an attenuation of more than 45 dB. In the following, the individual challenges during the design and fabrication as well as their solutions are described.