CEE 422

RF Microelectronics
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 PART 3
RESONANT CIRCUITS
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RESONANT Circuits
 COUPLING OF RESONANT CIRCUITS
 In many applications where steep
passband skirts and small shape factors
are needed, a single resonant circuit might
not be sufficient.

 The most common forms of coupling are:

capacitive, inductive, transformer
(mutual), and active (transistor).

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RESONANT Circuits
 Capacitive Coupling
 Capacitive coupling is probably the most
frequently used method of linking two or more
resonant circuits. This is true mainly due to the
simplicity of the arrangement.

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RESONANT Circuits
 Capacitive Coupling
 If capacitor C12 of Fig. 2-19 is too large, too much coupling
occurs and the frequency response broadens drastically
with two response peaks in the filter’s passband.
 If capacitor C12 is too small, not enough signal energy is
passed from one resonant circuit to the other.

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RESONANT Circuits
 Capacitive Coupling
 The compromise solution to these two extremes is the point
of critical coupling, where we obtain a reasonable
bandwidth and the lowest possible insertion loss and,
consequently, a maximum transfer of signal power.

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RESONANT Circuits
 Capacitive Coupling
 The loaded Q of a critically coupled two-resonator circuit is
approximately equal to 0.707 times the loaded Q of one of
its resonators.

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RESONANT Circuits
 Capacitive Coupling
 The aim of coupling is to increase the steepness
of the stopband skirts, and thus, to reach an
ultimate attenuation much faster than a single
resonator could.

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RESONANT Circuits
 Capacitive Coupling
 The value of the capacitor used to couple two identical
resonant circuits is given by

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RESONANT Circuits
 Inductive Coupling
 Two types of inductively coupled resonant circuits are
shown in Fig. 2-23.

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RESONANT Circuits
 Inductive Coupling
 In either case, the frequency response curves will resemble
those of Fig. 2-24 depending on the amount of coupling.

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RESONANT Circuits
 Inductive Coupling
 The value of the inductor used to couple two identical
resonant circuits can be found by

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RESONANT Circuits
 Inductive Coupling
 Transformer coupling does not lend itself well to an exact
design procedure because there are so many factors that
influence the degree of coupling.
 The geometry of the coils, the spacing between them, the
core materials used, and the shielding, all have a
pronounced effect on the degree of coupling attained in any
design.
 Probably the best way to design your own transformer is to
use the old trial-and-error method, but do it in an orderly
fashion and be consistent.

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RESONANT Circuits
 Inductive Coupling
 Remember:
 1. Decreasing the spacing between the primary and
secondary increases the coupling.
 2. Increasing the permeability of the magnetic path
increases the coupling.
 3. Shielding a transformer decreases its loaded Q and has
the effect of increasing the coupling.

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RESONANT Circuits
 Inductive Coupling

 Begin the design by setting the loaded Q of each resonator

to about twice what will be needed in the actual design.

 Then, slowly decrease the spacing between the primary and

secondary until the response broadens to the loaded Q that
is actually needed.

 If that response can’t be met, try changing the geometry of

the windings or the permeability of the magnetic path.

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RESONANT Circuits
 Active Coupling
 It is possible to achieve very narrow 3-dB bandwidths in
cascaded resonant circuits through the use of active
coupling.
 Active coupling, for this purpose, is defined as a transistor,
at least theoretically, which allows signal flow in only one
direction (Fig. 2-26).

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RESONANT Circuits
 Active Coupling
 If each of the tuned circuits is the same and if each has the
same loaded Q, the total loaded Q of the cascaded circuit is
approximately equal to

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RESONANT Circuits
 Active Coupling

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RESONANT Circuits
 Active Coupling

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RESONANT Circuits

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RESONANT Circuits

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RESONANT Circuits

2.13

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RESONANT Circuits

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