Design of manifold-coupled multiplexers

Following a brief review of different types of multiplexer configurations, a systematic design approach has been outlined for the design of manifold-coupled multiplexers. The piecewise approach, optimizing parts of the multiplexer separately in repeated cycles while converging upon an optimal solution, has proved to be very effective for most practical applications. The technique is readily applicable to manifold multiplexers incorporating an arbitrary number of channels, regardless of their bandwidths and channel separations. There are no restrictions on the design and implementation of channel filters onto the manifold; they may be asymmetric, and may incorporate transmission zeros, group delay equalization zeros, or both. The manifold itself is a transmission line, be it a coaxial line or a rectangular waveguide or some other low-loss structure. The costly EM simulation is used economically on manifold junctions and channel filters through the use of space-mapping optimization techniques, where EM-based simulators are used to fine-model each multiplexer channel and coupling matrix representation is used to coarse-model the performance. Fine details such as tuning screws may be included in the design process. This design procedure takes into account the effects of dispersion and spurious modes and, as a result, the overall design and final tuning time can be significantly reduced.