Substrate

Integrated
Waveguide Filter
Xiao-Ping Chen and Ke Wu

T
he electromagnetic (EM) spectrum is becom-
ing more crowded, and it is densely populated
with various wireless signals and parasitic in-
terferers in connection with communication
and sensing services. Increasingly sophisticated
radio-frequency (RF), microwave, and millimeter-wave fil-
ters are required to enable the selection and/or rejection of
specific frequency channels. This will occur in future gen-
erations of the wireless system, such as the current hotly
debated fifth-generation communication systems, where
the spectral channelization of a heterostructured wide-
band signals will be critical in support of a host of coex-
isting bandwidths or speeds and applications. Bandpass
filters have been the most useful and popular types for
such applications and are the most difficult to design
and develop in practice. Other types of filters such as
notch (stopband) and lowpass filters have also been
widely used in many systems, and their design is
generally perceived less critical with respect to band-
pass filters. This article will focus on the presenta-
tion and discussion of bandpass filters. Design fac-
tors or parameters of filters, such as selectivity, cost,
miniaturization, sensitivity to environmental ef-
fects (temperature and humidity, for example), and
power handling, combined with predefined in-
band and out-of-band performance metrics, are
by Ingra
m Pu bl is hing
critical specifications of the design with respect
censed
Image li
to the development of RF and microwave front

Xiao-Ping Chen and Ke Wu (ke.wu@polymtl.ca) are with the Poly-Grames Research Center,
Department of Electrical Engineering, École Polytechnique (University of Montreal),
Center for Radiofrequency Electronics Research of Quebec, Montreal, Canada.

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MMM.2014.2321263

Date of publication: 11 July 2014

108 1527-3342/14©2014IEEE July/August 2014

ends. This is indispensable for the efficient utilization
of frequency spectrum resources and the cost-effec-
tive enhancement of wireless system performances.
Basic Filter Design
Considerations and Challenges
The designer may often be required to make a com-
promise between several conflicting requirements
since it is rather difficult or even physically and/or
electrically impossible to simultaneously satisfy some
design criteria or specifications. For example, achiev-
ing higher channel selectivity usually requires, to the
first order, the use of more resonators, which will in
turn result in a higher insertion loss along the trans-
mission path because the insertion loss is approxi-
mately proportional to the number of resonators used
in the construction of a filter. A bandpass filter made of
resonating elements such as cavities requires a num-
ber of high unloaded quality factor ^Q u h resonators for
maintaining low insertion loss and hence minimum
noise figure. The unloaded quality factor of a resona-
tor at microwave frequencies is generally proportional
to its volume and also its cost. This is closely related
to the mode of resonance (field profiles within the
structure) and the quality of material, which will be
detailed below. There is always a tradeoff between
performance requirements and development costs in
filter design and construction.
The loss mechanism of a resonating building block
is not only closely related to such physical and electri-
cal parameters as thickness, material, shape, dielectric
loss, conductor loss, leakage loss, and radiation loss
but also to the resonant-mode behavior. A specific
resonance behavior is directly related to the electric
and magnetic field distribution of such a mode inside
the structure, which is responsible for the loss mecha-
nism. The electric and magnetic fields are normally
connected to the dielectric and conducting losses,
respectively, if the structure is not subject to any leak-
age and radiation losses. The choice of a particular
operating mode could yield a different performance
but often the choice is quite limited. A resonator can
support multiple resonant modes, depending on the
mechanism of excitation, the shape of the structure,
and the frequency of resonance. Multimode resonators
can also be used to reduce the number of resonating
building blocks required for the number of electrical
resonances and, as a result, the insertion loss and the
filter size can be reduced. The most well-known exam-
ples are the dual-mode and triple-mode resonators and
filters. There is always a requirement on the develop-
ment of appropriate resonating building blocks for a
July/August 2014 109
good tradeoff between cost and loss in the design of a
bandpass filter.
The design and development of a high-quality filter
is closely related to the choice of an appropriate trans-
mission-line or waveguide technology. Depending on
a specific frequency range of interest and the relative
frequency bandwidth of application, either a metallic
waveguide, coaxial line, planar structure, or a hybrid
form of those different geometries can be used. Differ-
ent hardware technologies present different electrical
and physical features and characteristics, which have
direct impact on the performance, size, and cost of the
filter. Different transmission lines can support differ-
ent types of mode [transverse electromagnetic (TEM)
mode or non-TEM mode, for example] that can funda-
mentally determine the filtering features. Nonplanar
metallic waveguides in the form of rectangular and/
or circular shapes are bulky and costly, and are usu-
ally selected for high-performance, loss-sensitive, and
high-power driven design. Printed or etched planar
transmission lines have been widely used for low-cost
applications that demand high-density integration
and small size or form factor. They have relatively high
losses and are subject to some serious packaging issues
because of their semiunbounded or unbounded geom-
etry. Conventional and microcoaxial line technologies,
which are also nonplanar and relatively expensive
to design, present a certain degree of compromise
between the waveguide and planar structures based
on the design and application requirements; however,
they cannot be used for the purpose of integration. The
most critical challenge in the use of nonplanar struc-
tures for filter design is that it is always challenging to
integrate active devices with such filters as the asso-
ciated transitions present added transmission loss,
design complexity, and production cost.
The use of high-performance metallic waveguides
is highly desirable if high-quality factors must be con-
sidered in the filter design. Such a high-Q preference
is always the ideal scenario in any filter development.
The integrability of low-profile planar structures pro-
vides a unique and attractive solution for mass-pro-
duction or cost-sensitive applications, even though
their Q-factor is undesirably low. The fusion or blend-
ing of planar and nonplanar structures in some man-
ner definitely presents the best compromise judging
from performance, cost, size, manufacturability, and
many other aspects. This has led to the emergence and
development of the concept of substrate integrated cir-
cuits (SICs) [1] in which any nonplanar structure may
organically be synthesized into planar form that makes
itself compatible and/or integrable with other planar
 circuits, and amenable to nearly any planar processing
technique. The planarization of nonplanar structures is
readily made possible thanks to the rapid development
of low-cost microfabrication techniques with respect to
vertical interconnects and substrate processing such as
via developments and hole formations.
The SICs scheme provides a variety of integration
scenarios and topological interconnects, such as the
presently popular substrate integrated waveguide
(SIW), which can be made together on the same dielec-
tric substrate with other planar circuits. This context of
substrate integration has been involving all aspects of
SIW technology in recent years, from the development
of the SIW technique and its applications to the design
and development of innovative filters.
This article presents a comprehensive review of SIW
filter technology. Special emphasis is placed on the cur-
rent status of research and development as well as the
future outlook of this emerging technology in connec-
tion with various applications.
Design Guideline and
Fundamental Properties of SIW
As mentioned earlier, an SIW is a synthesized nonpla-
nar waveguide transformed into planar form, which
can then be integrated into any planar dielectric
substrate with any planar fabrication or processing
technique including printed circuit board (PCB), and
low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) technologies,
among others. This emerging guided-wave structure
can be made with a pair of periodic metalized via
arrays or slot trenches and it looks like two parallel
fences that have a specific spacing in which EM waves
are well confined, as depicted in Figure 1.
The SIW scheme belongs to the family of SICs in
which any other nonplanar structures such as dielec-
tric waveguides and coaxial lines can also be made in
planar form [1]. Since the truncated side walls do not
allow longitudinal current flow, the SIW structure
only supports the propagation of quasitransverse
electric (TE) modes that have properties similar to
Top Metal
Substrate
Bottom Metalized w: Width of SIW
Metal Via Hole p weff: Width of Rectangular
Waveguide
d w d: Diameter of Metalized
Via Hole
p: Pitch Between Adjacent
Via Hole
Figure 1. An SIW and its equivalent rectangular
waveguide (from [1]).
110 July/August 2014
those in a conventional metallic waveguide. In most
cases, only the TE m0 modes are of interest because
the substrate thickness is relatively thin with respect
to the SIW width (at least twice). If generated or
existing along the structure, transverse magnetic
(TM) modes will immediately become leaky through
unbounded via windows along the transversal direc-
tion. In the design of E-plane discontinuities, one
must ensure that the SIW structure does not present
strong leakage losses. The absence of TM modes cre-
ates a very favorable condition for the bandpass filter
design because certain mode problems, which may
be responsible for out-of-band parasitic responses,
can be avoided. This is a distinct feature of the SIW
technique for filter design.
Various wave guidance and leakage characteristics
of the SIW were discussed in detail in [2] and [3]. In the
design of SIW components, one must ensure that the
SIW operates in the frequency band of interest where
there are no bandgap effects and leakage loss is neg-
ligible over the entire waveguide bandwidth of inter-
est. The SIW is a periodic structure, always subject to
bandgap phenomena. The frequency region of interest
for the SIW is drawn and described in Figure 2. When
the period length increases, the EM field may no lon-
ger be confined within the two arrays of via cylinders.
Part of the energy may also propagate outside the two
rows of cylinders, thus resulting in leakage losses. The
bandwidth of the bandgap increases when the diam-
eter of the cylinder decreases. Furthermore, half of the
bandgap may appear inside the single-mode operation
bandwidth [3]. The TE 10 -mode related frequency region
of interest is defined by
p 2 d (1a)
p/m c 1 0.25 (1b)
a l /k 0 1 1 # 10 - 4 (1c)
p/m c 2 0.05, (1d)
where a l is the total loss and k 0 is the wave number
in free space. The condition (1a) states that the period
length must be larger than the cylinder diameter
so that the circuit is physically realizable, and (1b) is
required to avoid any bandgap in the operating band-
width of TE 10 mode and other related guided-wave
modes if involved. To be negligible, the leakage losses
must respect (1c). A more restrictive and general con-
dition for negligible leakage losses is p # 2d. Finally, a
nonessential but desirable condition for the manufac-
turing process is to have d comparable to the substrate
thickness. These via cylinders are usually mechani-
cally drilled and chemically electroplated or plasma-
deposited, and the production time is directly related
to the choice of a processing technique. If the length
of the period is very small with respect to the guided-
wave wavelength, the mechanical rigidity is adversely
affected. The number of cylinders should therefore not
exceed 20 per wavelength, as stated in (1d).
 0.3
Bandgap Region
0.25
Leakage
0.2 Region Region of
Interest
p/mc
0.15
0.1 Unrealizable
Region (d > p)
0.05
Overperforated
Region
0 thesis tools associated with rectangular waveguide
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
d/mc
Figure 2. The region of interest for the SIW in the plane of
d/m c, p/m c (from [3]).
A set of basic but empirical design rules that allow
an appropriate choice of various physical parameters
such as the cylinder diameter and the period length as
a function of the desired cutoff frequency is given in
(1) [3]. A more rigorous design process may be required
for precision SIW circuits. Those basic design rules
provide a good guideline for the designer to choose
appropriate structural parameters.
In the TE 10 -mode frequency region of interest, the
SIW is equivalent to a conventional rectangular wave-
guide that has negligible leakage losses and does not
present any bandgap in its operating bandwidth. The
physical meaning of such an equivalence is that the
real SIW and its equivalent dielectric-filled rectan-
gular metallic waveguide share the same TE 10 mode
cutoff frequency and related dispersion properties.
A simple static equivalent width of the SIW is given
approximately by [4]
w eff = w - d 2 ,(2)
0.95p
provided that p is sufficiently small. A more accurate
empirical equation is proposed as follows:
2 2
w eff = w - 1.08 # d + 0.1 # d ,(3)
p w
when p/d is smaller than 3 and d/w is smaller than
1/5. For high-order TE m0 modes of the SIW, the disper-
sion characteristics are also the same as its equivalent
rectangular counterpart. However, there is a subtle
difference in the equivalent width between the high-
order modes and the fundamental mode [2]. This
involves more numerical calculations and analysis.
In this way, the quasi- TE modes of SIW ( TE 10
mode, in particular) can effectively be mapped into the
standard dielectric-filled TE waveguide modes with
continuous metallic side walls through an equivalent
July/August 2014 111
Table 1. Comparison of the Q-factor of SIW with
respect to that of 50-X microstrip line and standard
waveguide at Ka-band (from [5]).
Properties Microstrip1 (50 X) SIW1,2 Waveguide
Q-factor 42 462 4,613
1
Substrate: f r = 2.33, tan d = 5 # 10-4, h = 10 mils, copper roil
2
Width = 200 mils
waveguide width that determines the cutoff frequency.
Existing design models, analysis equations, and syn-
0.3
circuits can be deployed in a straightforward man-
ner for the development of SIW components, circuits,
and systems. A large number of passive and active
SIW components have been successfully designed
and demonstrated, including couplers, dividers, fil-
ters, oscillators, mixers, and amplifiers. In some cases,
full-wave field simulations and optimizations may be
needed to validate and adjust (tune) the SIW circuit
layouts in conjunction with such design approaches.
This is often required for special scenarios such as
millimeter-wave, high- Q, narrowband, tolerance-sen-
sitive, and multiple-element coupled SIW integrated
circuits and components.
In the development of RF, microwave, and mil-
limeter-wave filters, transmission loss is one of the
most crucial design considerations and influences the
choice of materials and structures. The loss of SIW
structures mainly comes from dielectric and conduc-
tor losses because the SIW geometry is self-packaged
and not subject to radiation loss. The total transmis-
sion loss, inferred from the Q-factor of transmission
lines or circuits, increases as frequency increases. This
loss increase is also related to the decreasing thickness
of substrate and surface roughness, which is becom-
ing electromagnetically visible. The surface roughness
should be taken into account at higher millimeter-
wave frequencies and terahertz. The electrical and
mechanical quality of via holes and metal plating is
also critical to this loss effect, which is often difficult to
characterize. Table 1 shows the typical Q-factor of SIW
transmission lines at Ka-band compared with that of
a 50-X microstrip line and an air-filled standard rect-
angular waveguide without sophisticated polishing
and plating. An SIW fabricated by a low-cost PCB pro-
cess has a Q-factor significantly larger than that of a
low-cost microstrip line, but lower than that of a costly
and bulky standard waveguide. This comparison
clearly shows that an SIW presents an excellent trad-
eoff between loss and cost, which is the foundation for
low-cost, high-quality filter design with this emerging
technology. The SIW presents an outstanding toler-
ance of fabrication, which will be discussed in one of
the companion articles to be published in upcoming
issues of IEEE Microwave Magazine.
 SIW Resonator
The SIW has recently become very popular for the
design and development of high-performance and
cost-sensitive filters over a very large frequency range
from subgigahertz to subterahertz. Why are the SIW
techniques so attractive for the filter community and
why can they do better than their counterparts? The
advantage of a reduced loss cannot be the sole reason.
To answer this question, let us first look at the basic
quality-defining parameters of filters. Figure 2 shows
the relative insertion loss, size, and cost of typical
microwave resonators made by different techniques.
Note that those resonators are the building blocks of
filters. The estimated range of unloaded quality ^Q u h
values for each category of resonator at 5 GHz (with an
SIW cavity resonator at 30 GHz made of a general PCB
substrate) is also given in the same figure to illustrate
their differences. The Q u value can vary widely for each
category due to the fact that there is a wide range of
resonator configurations that can be chosen under each
category of resonator. For example, a patch microstrip
resonator would have a higher Q u value than a stan-
dard half-wavelength resonator, and a full-height TE 101
waveguide cavity would have a higher Q u than a height-
reduced TE 101 waveguide cavity resonating at the same
frequency [6]. The choice of a dielectric substrate is also
critical to the Q u value, as loss tangent characteristics
are different from one material to another.
For a given resonator, different excitations may gener-
ate different modes that also may have different Q u val-
ues. This is because a different mode has a different field
pattern and current distribution over the structure of
Loss
Half-Wavelength
Patch Qu = 50 ~ 200
Qu = 150 ~ 1,000
Microstrip
/Stripline
SIW
Super-
conductor
Cost
Figure 3. The relative insertion loss, size, and cost of various RF resonators [6], [7].
112 July/August 2014
interest, leading to a different loss mechanism in connec-
tion with the conducting surface and dielectric volume. A
TE 101 cavity, for example, can also support the resonance
of a TE 102 cavity, which has different field patterns and
current distributions. Therefore, the Q u values for those
two modes within the same cavity should be different.
From Figure 3, the Q u of a microstrip line or stripline
resonator is fundamentally limited by system losses,
rendering them inadequate for many applications even
though the microstrip or stripline filter technology offers
a low-cost solution with a small footprint and integrated
geometry. When a high selectivity is required, dielec-
tric resonator or metallic waveguide technology is pre-
ferred. While this type of technology offers a very high
unloaded quality factor in the range of thousands and
beyond, their size and weight make them prohibitive in
many practical applications. In addition, they are much
more costly than the printed circuit or planar counter-
parts [6]–[8]. This filter-related statement on the loss
and cost aspects is also consistent with the analysis and
explanation made in the beginning of this article regard-
ing various planar and nonplanar transmission lines.
The recent widely studied SIW technology is able to
fill the technological gap between microstrip or stripline
(planar type) and dielectric resonator or metallic wave-
guide (nonplanar type), since it combines the best parts
of both and offers high-quality factors that are close to
those of nonplanar structures with the size- and cost-
related advantages of printed planar circuits. The Q u
value of an SIW cavity resonator is determined by three
Q values: a conduction quality factor, Q c, related to lossy
conducting walls, a dielectric loss quality factor, Q d, and
Qu = 200 ~ 3,000
Qu = 1,000 ~
12,000
Dielectric
Resonator
Waveguide
Size

Microstrip
Substrate
Via Holes
Center Coupling Offset Coupling
Double Coupling Quadrature Coupling
Figure 4. Various exciting topologies of SIW cavity
resonators with microstrip lines as inputs and outputs
(from [9]).
a leakage quality factor, Q l, representing energy leak-
age from the periodic structure via gaps. When certain
geometrical design conditions presented in (1) are satis-
fied with respect to the operating frequency range, the
power loss caused by leakage is much smaller than the
dissipated power on metallic surfaces and in dielectric
substrate. The conduction and dielectric loss mecha-
nisms have the dominant effect on the Q u of an SIW
cavity resonator. For general and practical PCB dielectric
substrates and ceramic substrates of various thickness,
the Q u of an SIW cavity resonator may be in the range
of 150 + 1, 000. Higher values are possible with low-loss
substrates such as quartz and processed metallic surfaces
such as gold-plating. The overall fabrication cost of SIW
circuits is slightly higher than that of microstrip counter-
parts, because a large number of metalized via holes or
slot trenches are needed in the SIW circuits.
Figure 4 shows various exciting topologies for SIW
cavity resonators. The corresponding Q u on a low-cost
commercial PCB substrate of RT/Duroid 5880 with
thickness of 0.508 mm is presented in Table 2. The
coupling between the cavity and the planar transmis-
sion lines can be made with current probes when the
cavity acts as a bandpass filter. The current probe is
built by moving (or removing) via holes on one side of
the cavity to make place for an insert. The strength of
coupling of a current probe will mainly depend on the
depth and width of the probe. The Qu can be calcu-
lated from the measured S-parameters as
Qu =
Ql
, (4)
1 - S 21
where
f0
Ql = . (5)
Df3 dB
July/August 2014 113
Table 2. Comparison of the Qu -factor of SIW cavity
resonators for various exciting topologies by using
a 50-X microstrip (from [9]).
Resonator Frequency
Exciting Topology of TE101 Mode Qu
Center coupling 21.430 GHz 542
Double coupling 21.118 GHz 490
Quadrature coupling 21.075 GHz 414
1
Substrate: f r = 2.2, tan d = 9 # 10-4, h = 20 mils, copper roil
To reduce effects in connection with the coupling loss,
the coupling should be weak, meaning S 21 1 -10 dB.
From the measured results, the best Q u of 542 can be
obtained by the center coupling on a low-cost com-
mercial PCB substrate [9]. As mentioned previously,
the SIW structure does not support the propagation
of TM modes because of discontinuous side walls that
prevent the current from flowing. This is a very posi-
tive point for filter design, because the SIW filter should
have fewer parasitic modes, and the fundamental mode
bandwidth will generally be larger than its rectangular
waveguide filter counterpart.
The hybrid integration of planar and nonplanar struc-
tures in SIW structures enables the design of filters with
self-packaging features that can be used in the develop-
ment of advanced packaging systems. This could resolve
some well-known bottleneck problems of microwave
and millimeter-wave interconnects and packaging [1],
[10]. One of the most attractive features of SIW technol-
ogy lies in its excellent repeatability for volume produc-
tion when the design layout is made in the same manner
as planar integrated circuits. With easily accessible and
low-cost, high-precision planar fabrication techniques,
SIW filters can be designed and processed without
resorting to expensive and laborious postfabrication tun-
ing such as in the case of conventional waveguide filters.
This is critical for quick turn-around, high-volume and
high-yield commercial applications.
We begin with examining the recently published
results from research groups scattered around the
world, highlighting different but mainstream and
innovative filter topologies with state-of-the-art design
technologies. Our own work is discussed, which deals
with a wide range of filter design schemes. Interesting
and useful schemes of miniaturization and practical
aspects of SIW filters are addressed.
Thanks to the equivalence between via-hole walls
and metallic walls for TE n0 ^n = 1, 2, 3f h modes [1],
most of the filter topologies suitable for conventional
metallic waveguides can be implemented directly on
an SIW platform at very low cost. The hybrid integra-
tion of planar and nonplanar circuits on an SIW plat-
form makes the SIW filter design much more flexible,
 Top Metal
Substrate

Coupling Slot
S KIO’ {io r {12 K12’ {12 {45 K45’ {45 r{io KIO’
Bottom Metal
50-X
Microstrip Metallized Via Hole
(a) (b)

E Field (Y_Per_m)
5.5954e + 004
5.2457e + 004
4.8960e + 004
4.5463e + 004
4.1965e + 004
3.8468e + 004
3.4971e + 004
3.1474e + 004
2.7977e + 004
2.4480e + 004
2.0983e + 004
1.7486e + 004
1.3988e + 004
1.0491e + 004
6.9943e + 003
3.4971e + 003
1.2872e - 002
(c)

Figure 5. (a) A geometric configuration, (b) equivalent circuit, and (c) electrical field intensity distribution of a fifth-order
direct-coupled SIW cavity filter with the first/last SIW cavity directly excited by 50-Ω microstrip lines (from [18]).

but at the same time increases the challenge in effec-
tively designing an SIW filter. A wide array of inno-
vative and creative SIW filter topologies and design
techniques are being reported in the current literature
over a very wide range of frequencies from subgiga-
hertz to subterahertz. These SIW filters are made of
various materials by different processing techniques.
Direct-Coupled SIW Cavity Resonator Filters
Direct-coupled waveguide resonator filters, of which
waveguide cavities are cascaded by coupling iris on
the common wall, can easily be made compatible with
SIW technology [11]–[22]. An inductive iris is preferred
for the realization of coupling in SIW filters because it
has a better stopband performance with respect to an
inductive post. Standard 50-X microstrip lines, strip-
lines, or CPW structures can be used to excite the first/
last SIW cavity resonator directly by coupling slots [9].
Figure 5 shows the typical geometric configuration
and equivalent circuit of a fifth-order direct-coupled
SIW cavity resonator filter made of a PCB substrate.
The electrical field intensity distribution at 20 GHz
with 1-W input power, similar to that in a rectangular
waveguide filter, is also shown.
When an iris is used without strong frequency-
dependent dispersion, the direct-coupled SIW cavity fil-
ter will exhibit a standard Chebyshev response whose
mathematical approximation and circuit synthesis are
well known. As for the dimensional synthesis, lengthy
and global full-wave modeling-based tuning and opti-
mization of the entire filter structure can be avoided (as
proposed in [18]–[22]). This saves development cost and
time as well as bypasses the tedious tuning procedure
because of a large number of metalized cylindrical via
holes used in the SIW structure. Note that the via-hole
scheme is more popular than the slot trench counter-
part because the fabrication accuracy of a via-hole array
is better than that of a slot trench. The via-hole SIW
structure is therefore considered in this article unless
mentioned otherwise.
The classical theory [23], [24] for module design is an
effective procedure for the dimensional synthesis of a
direct-coupled SIW cavity filter. The generalized immit-
tance inverter [24] should be used for the parameter
extraction of input/output couplings, because different
types of transmission lines are used on the two sides of
immittance inverter. In addition, a realistic SIW struc-
ture rather than its equivalent rectangular waveguide
model should be used for accurate parameter extraction
of the postwall coupling iris and input/output coupling
structures. The equivalent electrical length of the post-
wall iris and the input/output coupling structures has a

114 July/August 2014

 R1 R2 l1, l2
R1 R2

P1 Waveguide SIW SIW Waveguide P2 P1 SIW P2

(a)
(a)
P1 R1 R2 P2 DUT
P1 R1 R2 P2
Error Error I/O: I/O:
DUT Error Error
Box Box Ustrip- SIW SIW-
Box Box
SIW Ustrip
(b) l1, l2
(b)
P1 R1 R 2 P2
Figure 7. Block diagrams of numerical TRL calibration
Error Error procedure for input/output structure (from [18]). (a) Input
Box Box P1/output and (b) DUT.

(c) does not support the propagation of TM modes. The

P1 S11R R1 R2 S22R P2
Error Error
Box Box
(d)
P1 R1 l R2 P2
Error Error
SIW
Box Box
(e)
Figure 6. Block diagrams of a numerical TRL calibration
procedure for postwall iris (from [18]). (a) Postwall iris, (b)
DUT, (c) through, (d) reflect, and (e) line.
significant influence on the resonator frequency of SIW
cavity resonators.
Numerical calibration techniques such as TRL,
whose procedure is described in Figures 6 and 7, pres-
ent an efficient method for the accurate parameter
extraction of SIW discontinuities [18]. These numerical
calibration procedures, similar to the well-established
experimental calibration techniques, are used to
calibrate out port or connection discontinuity effects
between the periodic SIW structures and reference
lines. Potential numerical errors and theoretical modal
approximations in the simulation could lead to serious
problems in the parameter extractions for equivalent
circuit models from the field computations. For typical
parameter extractions, the reference lines may be set
up in the form of a waveguide structure or microstrip
line. This procedure is absolutely necessary when an
accurate and one-pass design is anticipated.
Compared with the conventional metallic wave-
guide filter, the direct-coupled SIW cavity resonator
filter has a wider stopband because the SIW structure
stopband performance can be improved by using sym-
metric excitation/coupling since odd-order modes can-
not exist for symmetric coupling [9]. In addition, some
novel techniques compatible with SIW schemes have
been developed to further improve the performance
of a direct-coupled SIW cavity resonator filter. In [25]
and [26], the patterned transverse radiating slots at the
proper positions of SIW cavities are used to effectively
reject the second longitudinal resonant modes. Four
cells of a slotted planar structure (SPS) are adopted on
the top plane of the both input and output feed lines of
the SIW filter to reject the undesired passbands. The
fifth-order direct-coupled SIW cavity filter with a cen-
ter frequency of 10 GHz and 10% frequency bandwidth
is designed and manufactured on RT/Duroid 5870.
The measurement results presented in Figure 8 show a
wide stopband from 11 to 18 GHz below –30 dB.
The stepped-impedance resonator scheme, which
stems from microstrip resonator, has been successfully
used in the direct-coupled SIW resonator filter with a
wide stopband [27], [28]. The stepped-impedance reso-
nators implemented by H-plane discontinuities inher-
ently have different spurious frequencies so the spurious
passband can be degraded. On the other hand, the spu-
rious resonance can be pushed to a higher frequency by
selecting the appropriate length and impedance ratio of
the resonator. The second resonance of the fundamen-
tal TE10 mode can be pushed to 1.5 f0 by using E-plane
discontinuities to realize the stepped-impedance reso-
nator, similar to the ridged SIW filter [29].
Conclusions
Basic structures and characteristics of SIW are present-
ed and reviewed to highlight the attractiveness of this
emerging technology. Design rules that are important
for the development of SIW filters and other circuits are
discussed. The SIW resonator is compared with other

July/August 2014 115


0 eau, L. Lapierre, D. Baillargeat, P. Blon-
-10
-20
OS11K.OS21K (dB)
-30
-40
-50
-1
-60
-5
-70
-10
9.5 10 10.5 11
-80
8.5 9.5 10.5 11.5 12.5 13.5 14.5 15.5 16.5 17.5 18.5 19.5
Frequency (GHz)
Figure 8. A photograph of the fabricated filter and simulated and measured results of the
fifth-order SIW filter with slots and SPS manufactured on RT/Duroid 5870 with a height of
0.7874 mm (from [26]).
microwave resonators from the viewpoint of tradeoffs
between loss and cost. Various topologies of input/out-
put excitation together with the corresponding unloaded
quality factors are analyzed. For the direct-coupled SIW
cavity resonator filter that is one of the most used filter
topologies, a numerical TRL calibration technique is
demonstrated for the accurate modeling and efficient de-
sign thanks to its enabled parameter extraction for circuit
modeling from field computation. Several techniques for
improving the stopband performance of direct-coupled
SIW cavity resonator filters are shown.
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