Tunable

SIW Structures
Kamran Entesari, Alireza Pourghorban Saghati,
Vikram Sekar, and Marcelino Armendariz

D
eveloping radio-frequency (RF), mi- 2001 to form a planar waveguide structure. Then, by
crowave, and millimeter-wave sys- the introduction of the substrate integrated waveguide
tems requires low-cost, mass-produc- (SIW) technology as we know it today by Deslandes
ible, high-performance, and high-yield and Wu [7], a remedy for the full integration of active
technologies for passive and active and passive circuits in a planar fashion was found [7]–
sections. Dealing with radio coexistence and strong [11]. Using this method, a nonplanar rectangular wave-
coupling between different subsystems while main- guide can be made in a planar form that is compatible
taining or even reducing the size and weight of the with the existing printed circuit board (PCB) and low-
final system is a very challenging task. This is more temperature cofired ceramic techniques [12]. Conduc-
important when designing passive circuits such as tive walls in classical waveguides are replaced with
resonators, antennas, highly selective filters, couplers, planar-compatible PCBs via posts in SIW structures.
power dividers, and circulators [1], [2]. Classical wave- Similar to classical metallic waveguides, by shortening
guide technology was, and in some cases still is, the the two openings of the SIW structure at both ends,
mainstream for designing high-performance passive SIW cavities can also be formed.
circuits and systems [3], [4]. However, these bulky and High-Q resonators are a typical part of many high-
heavy concomitants are not suitable for integration performance passive and active circuits. As a result,
and low-cost mass production. Via posts were first an SIW is a very good candidate for developing pla-
used under the name laminated waveguides [5] in 1998 nar microwave devices with high quality factors. SIW
and as a subset of substrate integrated circuits [6] in technology has been applied to many microwave

Kamran Entesari (kentesar@ece.tamu.edu) and Alireza Pourghorban Saghati (saghati@tamu.edu) are with the Electrical and Computer
Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, United States. Vikram Sekar (vikram_sekar@ieee.org) is with
Peregrine Semiconductor Corp., San Diego, California, United States. Marcelino Armendariz (marcelino.armendariz@raytheon.com)
is with Raytheon Company, Dallas, Texas, United States.

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MMM.2015.2408273

Date of publication: 7 May 2015

34 1527-3342/15©2015IEEE June 2015

components, such as post and cavity filters [9], [13],
Classical waveguide technology
[14], antennas [15], [16], directional couplers [17], oscil-
lators [18], [19], power amplifiers [20], [21], slot array was, and in some cases still is,
and leaky-wave antennas [22]–[24], and circulators the mainstream for designing
[25]. Devices realized using SIWs preserve most of
high-performance passive circuits
the advantages of conventional metallic waveguides.
Some of the advantages are and systems.
1) low loss and high quality factor for SIW cavities
2) permanent electrical isolation due to the shield- several known reasons why tuning of SIW devices
ing via posts can be useful.
3) high-power handling 1) More standards/services can be covered by the
4) integrability capabilities of SIW structures with same device.
all sorts of passive and active components. 2) Postfabrication fine-tuning of the device becomes
The first two items have been proven to be as good as possible.
classical metallic waveguides, but the third advantage 3) Less crosstalk sensitivity (better isolation) can be
may be hindered to some extent in SIWs. Based on the achieved while covering more bands.
dielectric material used in the PCB fabrication process The importance of SIW tuning needs to be dis-
and the height of the dielectric layer, the power-han- cussed for major microwave passive and active
dling capabilities of the SIW structure can be reduced. devices such as antennas, voltage-controlled oscilla-
While the first three advantages are the intrinsic prop- tors (VCOs), and filters.
erties of three-dimensional (3-D) waveguide structures,
the integratability capability is an advantage that SIWs SIW Tunable Antennas
inherit from planar structures. In other words, an SIW There are so many applications in which an antenna
has the benefits of both 3-D and planar microwave needs to be mounted on a conductive surface such
structures in one place. as a vehicle, an airplane, or even a human body [29].
Antennas in these cases usually need to be high gain.
Why Tunable SIW On the other hand, the increasing number of commer-
Like almost all the resonance-based microwave struc- cial wireless services comes along with the increased
tures offering a quality factor in the range of a couple antenna numbers that a user end device needs. The
of hundred, this high quality factor comes along with combination of these two points means that antennas
a narrow bandwidth (BW). Although this is very help- must exhibit high gain, be mountable on conductive
ful in designing highly selective microwave devices surfaces, and cover multiple services.
for a particular center frequency, sometimes covering For the first two requirements, the SIW antenna is a
a wider BW is needed. very good choice since it has a very high gain and, due
Even in narrowband applications, due to the to the cavity-backed structure, it can be mounted on
high sensitivity of the SIW structures (similar to the almost any surface without affecting its performance
resonant-based classical metallic cavity structures), [30]. Because of its narrow BW, it may not be a good
postfabrication tuning of the fabricated device is choice to be used for multiple numbers of services,
mandatory in most cases to fine-tune the device’s op- which is why tunability of the SIW antennas becomes
erating frequency to the desired frequency response. important. The wide-range tuning of the SIW anten-
Otherwise, corrective refabrication of the device is nas is challenging due to their nature. To achieve a
inevitable. Unlike multiple/wideband microwave compact structure, most of the antennas presented so
devices, tunable structures offer better isolation. It is far used a cavity operating at its transverse electric
true that multifrequency structures have the advan- (TE) fundamental ^TE 101 h mode [15], [16], [30], [31]. The
tage of serving multiple frequencies at the same time, resonant frequency of TE 101 mode for an SIW cavity
but the crosstalk from neighbor bands makes them with length L and width W can be found using
a poor choice in comparison with tunable/recon-
c m c m
figurable devices [26]–[28]. Covering multiple bands c 1 2 + 1 2 , (1)
f101 =
should not decrease the selectivity and Q of the de- 2 er nr L eff W eff
vice, which is not true for multifrequency structures.
Based on the previously given information and that where c is the speed of light in a vacuum and f r and
provided in [8]–[13], [15]–[23], and [25]–[28], there are n r are the relative permittivity and permeability of the

June 2015 35
Tuning a filter is even more FOM =-L (Df ) + 20 log (
f0
Df
) - 10 log (P) (4)
challenging than tuning a single
FOMT =-L (Df ) + 20 log e # FTR o - 10 log (P), (5)
f0
resonator structure such as an Df 10
antenna or a VCO.
where L (Df ) is the phase noise at offset Df, f0 is the
oscillation frequency, P is the consumed dc power
substrate used for the SIW cavity, respectively. The val- used by the VCO, and FTR is the frequency tuning ratio
ues of the effective length and width of the SIW cavity percentage. The standard FOM for VCOs is shown in
can be found using (4), and (5) factors in the tuning range as well.

L eff = L - d 2 + 0.1 d 2 (2) SIW Tunable Filters

0.95.b L
The significant demand for dynamic spectrum man-
and agement in cognitive and software-defined radios
increases the need for RF/microwave devices that
W eff = W - d 2 + 0.1 d 2 , (3) can operate in different bands [34]–[37]. This means
0.95.b W
that microwave filters, as one of the major blocks in
respectively [30], where d is the wall vias’ diameter designing such systems, need to cover more bands.
and b is the wall vias’ spacing. Hence, the frequency Various solutions for such filters can be employed,
of operation in a cavity-backed SIW antenna depends such as filter banks, multiband filters, and tunable/
on both the slot and cavity dimensions. As a result, reconfigurable filters. Although filter banks deliver
conventional tuning methods [28], [32] applied to slot a very high-quality performance, a very large area
antennas are not effective in designing SIW antennas as is needed to accommodate them in a system. Mul-
they only change the slot’s modes. Higher-order modes tiband filters suffer from isolation and crosstalk
are excited in a waveguide cavity and lead to a poor problems and, thus, are less appealing compared
upper-band rejection or the appearance of undesired with tunable/reconfigurable filters. The ease of fab-
resonance frequencies in the tuned states. As a result, rication, high-power handling, high linearity, and
these modes also need to be considered when designing integrability of SIW filters with other sections of the
a tunable SIW antenna. microwave system make them a good candidate for
The resonance frequency of a cavity resonator can high-performance microwave circuits. However, due
be changed by changing its effective length, width, f r, to their resonant nature, SIW filters are narrrowband
and n r, as shown by (1)–(3). However, changing these and highly selective.
parameters might not be practical. While changing the Finding a way to tune SIW-based filters over a wide
permeability is used in one method, the other methods tuning range while maintaining their high Q results
use field perturbation and reactive loading inside the in high-performance, wide-range operating filters.
cavity to tune the SIW antennas. However, this has not been the case for most of the
proposed tuning methods so far. Either the tuning
SIW Tunable VCOs range is very low or the Q of the resonator drops when
VCOs are used as the local oscillator source in most a wide tuning range is achieved, making it more chal-
radar and communication applications [33]. Some of the lenging when designing such filters.
driving parameters for VCOs are low phase noise, high On the other hand, the BW and in-band loss of a
output power, low dc power, high tuning range, and multipole filter are related to the coupling coefficient
high harmonic suppression. It is well known that the and external Q factors. For example, for a two-pole fil-
performance of a VCO is highly affected by the Q of the ter, the required K 12 value can be extracted from full-
passive resonator. wave simulations using [38]
The high Q, power handling, and isolation of the
SIW cavity resonators in addition to their integrabil- f 12 - f 22
K 12 = , (6)
ity capabilities sound very promising when designing f 12 + f 22
oscillators. However, due to the difficulties in tuning
these structures, they have not been used in VCO struc- where f1 and f2 are the two resonant peaks seen in
tures that often. As a result, a tuning method by which S 21 simulation results of the cavities coupled to each
SIW resonators can be tuned over a wide tuning range other, also known as odd- and even-mode resonance
while their quality factor variations are negligible is frequencies, respectively.
very demanding. The external quality factor (Q e ) can be also extracted
To have a fair comparison between different SIW using a singly loaded SIW cavity resonator. The Q e can
VCOs, two figures of merit (FOM) and FOM with tun- then be computed from 3-D full-wave simulations and
ing range (FOMT) are used in this article as by employing the expression [38]

36 June 2015
 Qe =
f0
Df! 90 %
, (7) SIW has the benefits of both 3-D
and planar microwave structures
where f0 is the resonance frequency of the SIW cavity in one place.
resonator and Df! 90 % denotes the difference of frequen-
cies of which a phase shift of ! 90c occurs in the S 11
response of the cavity resonator. tures are provided with comparison tables for each at the
Equations (6) and (7) show that the coupling coef- end of each section.
ficient and the external quality factor in a filter change
with the frequency. This means that tuning a filter is Tunable SIW Resonators and Fundamental
even more challenging than tuning a single resonator Tuning Methods
structure such as an antenna or a VCO. As a result, Since SIW antennas, VCOs, and filters are made out
these factors are also important and need to be consid- of one, two, or more cavity resonators, it is possible to
ered in the design process of a tunable SIW filter. tune these SIW structures by tuning all of the resona-
To address the previously given points in more detail, tors simultaneously. To the best of the authors’ knowl-
in this article, we specifically focus on frequency-tun- edge, six different methods have been reported in the
able/reconfigurable SIW structures. Such RF/microwave literature to tune SIW resonators. Each technique uses
devices employ different tuning elements such as posi- a fundamental tuning element (e.g., a p-i-n diode, a
tive-intrinsic-negative (p-i-n) diodes, varactor diodes, RF- varactor diode, an RF-MEMS switch, ferrite material,
microelectromechanical systems (RF-MEMS) switches, or a tuning screw) to tune the resonator and, thus, the
and sometimes mechanical contacts to achieve frequency final SIW structure. While some methods are based
tuning. The following section serves as a detailed over- only on changing the electrical characteristics of the
view of all of the tuning techniques used for SIW devices. cavity resonators, others aim to change both the mag-
The basis of each technique, its pros and cons, and the netic and electrical characteristics. A summary of the
potential applications for each tuning technique are dis- tuning methods for SIW resonators is presented in
cussed. The detailed libraries of the proposed tunable the following sections. Figure 1 shows a conceptual
SIW antennas, VCOs, filters, and other microwave struc- description of each tuning method.

Electrical Tuning
Element Tuning
Element

A Al A Al

w
Feed Line
(50 X)

Vtune
Top View

Top View

Wall Via
Loading Cavity Switching
Top Via
Device Cavity Wall Via
Varactor Top Wall Top Wall
A Al
Side View

A Al h2 fr2
Side View

h1 fr1 h1 fr1

Cavity Tuning Post Cavity Cavity

Bottom Wall Opening Bottom Wall
(a) (b)

Figure 1. (a) The side reactively loaded SIW tunable resonators, (b) the via post-loaded SIW cavity, (c) the floating
patch diode-loaded SIW cavity, (d) the ferrite disk-loaded SIW tunable resonator, (e) the mechanically tunable SIW
resonators (screwed flap), and (f) the surface ring-gap varactor-loaded SIW cavity. (Continued)

June 2015 37
 A

Tuning Ferrite Slab

Element
Electrical Tuning Element

A Al

Magnetic Tuning Element

G-CPW Line

G-CPW Line

Top View
Top View
(50 X)

(50 X)
Ferrite Slab

Wall Via Al
Wall Via Metallic Isolated
Ferrite
Cavity Patch Loading Floating Metal Cavity Loading Slab
Top Wall Varactor Top Wall Varactor
Side View

Side View
A Al A Al

h1 fr1 h1 fr1

Plated Via Hole Plated Via Hole Cavity

Cavity
Bottom Wall Bottom Wall
(c) (d)
G-CPW Line
(50 X)

Mechanical Tuning
Element
A Al

A Al
Top View

Top View

Wall Via Flap Cavity

Top Wall Loading Varactors
Cavity Tuning
Top Wall Screw
Side View

Al
Side View

A Al A

h1 fr1 h1 fr1

Plated Via Hole Cavity Via Post Cavity

Bottom Wall Bottom Wall
(e) (f)

Figure 1. (Continued) (a) The side reactively loaded SIW tunable resonators, (b) the via post-loaded SIW cavity, (c) the
floating patch diode-loaded SIW cavity, (d) the ferrite disk-loaded SIW tunable resonator, (e) the mechanically tunable
SIW resonators (screwed flap), and (f) the surface ring-gap varactor-loaded SIW cavity.

Method I ity through an opening in one of the side walls. Since

The tuning method shown in Figure 1(a) was first pro- the varactor diode reactive loading effect is applied to
posed in [39] for a tunable SIW cavity-backed antenna the cavity in the area where the E-field distribution is
oscillator. A varactor diode is coupled to the SIW cav- minimum, the tuning achieved using this technique is

38 June 2015
not very high (2%), but the Q of the resonator (+286–
Wide-range tuning of the SIW
299) is affected less in comparison with Methods II–IV.
antennas is challenging due to
Method II their nature.
The method shown in Figure 1(b) was first proposed
by Armendariz et al. [40]. Perturbation of the electric
fields inside the cavity is used to change the frequency Adhikari et al. [44]. Ferrite slabs are placed within the
of the cavity resonator. The method is based on load- cavity resonator. The magnetic tuning of the SIW cavity
ing the resonator with a via post and then connecting is made possible by means of variable external magnetic
and disconnecting it from the cavity top wall using fields. A very similar method to the one proposed in [42]
p-i-n diodes. (A similar method is proposed in [41] is used for the electrical tuning of the cavity. By manipu-
using MEMS switches.) By connecting the via post to lating the E and H fields (modes) at the same time, the
the top wall, the field distribution inside the cavity is tuning range is increased up to 8%. However, the authors
changed. As a result of this manipulation of the fields theoretically prove that by using smaller capacitor val-
inside the cavity, the resonance frequency of the resona- ues (not available using off-the-shelf varactor diodes),
tor is changed. The disconnected via post loads the SIW the tuning range can be increased even higher, up to
resonator capacitively, which results in miniaturization 20%. The unloaded Q of the resonator is +130. Another
of the cavity in the off state. A two-layer structure is characteristic of significant interest is that the proposed
employed to switch each tuning via post on or off using 2-D tuning technique not only allows for changing the
p-i-n diodes or RF-MEMS switches. The via post is per- frequency but also simultaneously optimizes other key
manently disconnected from the cavity top wall using parameters such as the return loss or the unloaded Q fac-
a very small opening. The leakage from the opening is tor. The implementation of the SIW resonator using this
negligible and does not affect the Q of the resonator. tuning technique is more difficult in comparison with
Multiple numbers of these tuning via posts can be Methods I–III since the insertion of yttrium iron garnet
used to achieve a widely tuned resonator. Using four (YIG) ferrite slabs inside the cavity is a demanding task.
of these tuning via posts, the resonator achieves a
tuning range of 25% and the unloaded Q factor varies Method V
in the range of +90–130. A completely different approach to tune an SIW cavity
resonator is used in [45]. Although the tuning method
Method III is very similar to the one proposed in [40] and [46], the
Figure 1(c) shows a tuning method in which a metalized tuning device used in this technique is not a varactor or
via post is connected to a metal patch on top of the cavity a p-i-n diode. Mira et al. introduced a mechanically con-
resonator first introduced by Sirci et al. [42]. A floating trolled via as the main switching/tuning device. The via
metal is used to load the via post with a varactor diode. post is connected to a screw, and this screw is connected
This method is based on perturbing the electric fields to a flap [as shown in Figure 1(e)]. The screw (via) is iso-
inside the cavity resonator and, therefore, changing the lated from the cavity top wall using an annular ring slot.
resonance frequency of the resonator. By changing the By turning the screw and stopping it at different angles,
bias voltage of the varactor diode, the reactive loading the connection point to the cavity top wall, which is real-
effect changes, and, thus, the resonance frequency shifts. ized using the flap, is changed. As a result, the resonance
The floating metal and the metallic patch on the top side frequency of the resonator changes due to E-field distri-
of the cavity may introduce leakage at microwave fre- bution variations. This method results in a moderate tun-
quencies due to the gaps around them. The tuning range ing range of 8%. The tuning range can increase by using
of the proposed SIW resonator is 2.6–3.1 GHz (18%) with multiple numbers of these tuning units. The quality fac-
a Q of +40–160. The fabrication of the device is much eas- tor over the tuning range is +94. The fabrication of the
ier since it is a one-layer structure. In this case, the tuning SIW structure using this method is difficult due to the
range may be increased by inserting more of these tun- insertion of the flap-connected screw into the via post.
ing via posts. However, the floating metal patch occupies
a relatively large area so there may not be enough space Method VI
for multiple via posts. Increasing the number of via posts In [47], a conventional vertical gap resonator is modified
increases the leakage from the top wall of the cavity, to achieve a surface ring gap design on a cylindrical SIW
resulting in more degradation of the quality factor. resonator. The center via post is extended to connect the
top and bottom walls of the SIW cavity, and annular slots
Method IV are inserted around the via post to isolate it from the rest
The concept of magnetic tuning using ferrites was first of the cavity’s top wall. To tune the resonator, the annular
introduced in [43]. Using the same approach, the simul- ring gaps are loaded with varactor diodes [Figure 1(f)].
taneous magnetic and electric two-dimensional (2-D) The large capacitance variation results in a very wide
tuning method shown in Figure 1(d) was introduced by tuning range. Also, the need to physically change the

June 2015 39
 structure in the case of conventional tunable vertical gap bearing in mind that each of the states might
resonators is removed. The tuning range here is slightly affect the performance of the others?
higher than one octave. Using multiple numbers of varac- The answer to the first question subdivides the dis-
tor diodes is critical in terms of linearity and dc power cussed methods in this article into two groups:
consumption, but quantitative studies on these param- 1) the methods that use a passive device (mechani-
eters are not provided in [47]. The measured unloaded cal or ferrite) for tuning
quality factor of the proposed tunable resonator varies in 2) the methods that use a semiconductor or MEMS
the range of 78–196 for 16 varactors loading the resonator. component.
A qualitative comparison of these six methods is pre- For the first group that uses a passive device, such
sented in Table 1. Some methods achieve high tuning as the tuning screw in Method V, the tuning element
ranges, some achieve BW control, and others aim can be added with as much detail as possible to the
for the highest quality factor possible. Choosing one 3-D electromagnetic (EM) simulations of the structure.
method over the other depends on the application in This makes the simulation of these structures straight-
which the resonator is going to be employed. In the forward (yet more time consuming), and conventional
remainder of this article, a complete library of SIW modeling methods can be applied to estimate the
tunable antennas, VCOs, and filters is provided. response. The same approach can be applied to the
structures using the ferrite material. For the methods
Modeling and Simulation of using semiconductor or MEMS devices, the influence
Tunable SIW Structures of packaging and biasing circuits on the device has
While a brief overview of the modeling challenges in to be considered. In addition to the parasitic effects
designing tunable SIW structures is provided here, caused by these devices, their main purpose, which
this is not the main focus of this article, and far more is reconfiguring/loading the structure, must be mod-
extensive reviews of reconfigurable/tunable simula- eled in a precise manner, as discussed in the follow-
tion methods can be found elsewhere [48], [49]. When ing. The parasitic effects can be modeled using the 3-D
dealing with tunable RF/microwave structures, two EM simulators. The layout of the components can be
major questions should be addressed by the designer: extracted using the data sheets provided by manufac-
1) How is the reconfiguration/tunability of the turers. Then, each material (or a similar material with
structure achieved? What is the tuning element, the same electrical properties) can be added to the
and how does it affect the performance of the structure to model the tuning unit package on top of
passive part? the SIW structure.
2) What is the most efficient method to model a sin- To model the loading effects, two different approach-
gle structure with more than one operating state, es can be employed. One easy way is to define the

Table 1. A qualitative comparison of these six methods.

Tuning Quality Fabrication Integration

Tuning Basis Tuned Mode Range Factor Linearity Complexity Potential

Method I Side-coupled with Electrical Low Highest Moderate Simple Good

varactor diode (varactor diodes)

Method II Switchable perturbing Electrical High High High Moderate Excellent/due

via post(s) (p-i-n diodes/RF to the two-layer
MEMS switches) structure

Method III Tunable perturbing Electrical Moderate Moderate Moderate Simple Good
via post (varactor diodes)

Method IV Ferrite-based tuning Electrical (varactor High High Moderate Complex Poor/magnets
+ tunable perturbing diodes) + magnetic are needed
via post (ferrite slabs) to tune the
resonator

Method V Mechanically tuned/ Mechanical Low Moderate Highest Complex Poor/the tuning
perturbing via post is done manually

Method VI Surface ring gap loaded Electrical Highest High Low Simple Good
with varactor diodes

40 June 2015
lumped-element boundary conditions in the EM sim- a varactor diode). If the performance of the device is
ulator. For instance, if a p-i-n diode is used, the diode acceptable for these two states, then all the other states
might be modeled with a resistor in the on state and a will be simulated as well.
simple capacitor in the off state. This simplest method All of these simulation techniques only address the
has many drawbacks. modeling issues of the tuning unit and the reconfigu-
1) The lumped components used do not represent ration mechanism for tunable SIW structures. Since
the accurate diode properties. the fabrication of the SIW device requires drilling and,
2) The time-consuming EM simulations need to be in some cases, multilayer structures (such as those
repeated for as many switch/diode states as possible. in [40] and [41]), all of the possible fabrication-based
A better way to model these active elements is to variations need to be considered in the simulations.
use additional ports at the components’ input/output Some of these might be variations in the via holes’
p-i-n diodes’ locations in the 3-D layout and then use diameters and locations, differences in the bonding
these ports in a circuit simulator to embed the compo- material thicknesses, variations in the dielectric con-
nents’ S-parameter model. This way, the simulation stant numbers, and so on. While performing a Monte
time reduces dramatically as circuit simulators are Carlo analysis in the full-wave EM simulator is the best
significantly faster than EM simulators. This method way to address all these variations, manual parametric
also has the advantage of performing the simulations simulations can also be employed to make sure that
based on the measured performance of the tuning the design is robust to these changes.
components. The tuning device can be modeled on the
same substrate used for the SIW structure, and then the Tunable SIW Antennas
measured S-parameters of the device can be imported This section presents a review of the reported SIW tun-
into the circuit simulator for more precise results. For able antennas in the literature. Four different meth-
a less sensitive design with fewer state numbers, how- ods are used for SIW antenna frequency tuning, and
ever, using the Spice model provided by the manufac- examples of each are listed below. Based on the differ-
turer seems to provide enough accuracy based on the ent methods used, different values for the tuning range,
authors’ experience. gain, front-to-back ratio, and efficiency are achieved.
In response to the second question, the answer Some methods result in digitally tuned SIW antennas,
can be different based on the approach employed for while others propose analog tuning of the frequency
the first question. For example, if the circuit simula- response. Maintaining the high efficiency and gain of
tor method is being used as the modeling method, the SIW antenna while achieving a wide tuning range
the second question/concern can be more easily dealt is the most challenging task when designing tunable
with. Since circuit simulators are faster, the effects of SIW antennas. Because of their high gain and front-to-
each state on the performance of the other states can back ratio and the fact that they are isolated from the
be easily and quickly studied. However, if 3-D EM backside medium by the cavity, SIW tunable antennas
simulations are only being used, studying the effects are a great choice for tunable antennas mounted on a
of each state on the others is more time consuming. As conductive surface. Table 2 presents a summary and
a result, usually two border states can be chosen (for comparison of the different tuning methods that have
example, the highest and lowest capacitance values of been applied to SIW antennas so far.

Table 2. A summary and comparison of the different tuning methods that have been applied to SIW antennas so far.

Tuning Technique
Based on Reference fc (GHz) FTR Gain Efficiency FTBR

Antennas Method I [39] 10 1.8 4.16 dBi — —

Method II [30] 1.65 66 0–5 dBi 71–78% 5–20 dB

[49] 1.83, 4.93 N/A -4 and — 9–15 dB

dual band 3 dB

Method III [50] 4.13–4.5 GHz 9% 2.1–4 dBi — —

Method IV [51] 10.5 10% 5 dBi — —

[52] 9.96 15% 5 dBi 80–92.9% + 10 dB

[53] 11.4 12.2% — — —

June 2015 41
 Side-Loaded Antennas Using Varactors the side wall of the cavity. The measured gain of the
(Based on Method I) antenna is +4 dB at the lowest frequency of operation.

Tunable SIW Cavity-Backed Via Post-Loaded SIW Antennas

Active Antenna Oscillator (Based on Method II)
In [39], the method shown in Figure 1(a) is applied to
an SIW cavity-backed slot (CBS) antenna to tune the A Reconfigurable SIW-CBS Antenna with One
antenna. The antenna is used in an oscillator circuit Octave Tuning Range
to achieve an antenna oscillator with a narrow tuning In [30], the method shown in Figure 1(b) is applied to
range of 180 MHz around a center frequency of 10 GHz. a CBS antenna. The authors present a reconfigurable
The antenna is loaded with a varactor diode coupled antenna with four of these tuning units and a tuning
to the SIW cavity antenna through a small opening in range of 1.1–2.2 GHz (Figure 2). Resonance contours are

Top Via RF Choke

p-i-n Diode dc Blocks Capacitors
Tuning Post RF Choke

dc
Connector 111.5 mm

Bias Tuning Post 0

Lines Wall Via
-5
114 mm

S11 (dB) -10

-15
Slot
-20
Matching -25
Inductor
-30
SubMiniature 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4
Version A Frequency (GHz)
Top View Connector Bottom View
(a) (b)
Normalized Radiation Pattern

Normalized Radiation Pattern

0 0

-10 -10

-20 -20

-30 -30

-40 -40
-150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150 -150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150
Theta (°) Theta (°)
(c) (d)
Normalized Radiation Pattern

-10 E-Plane Co-Polarized

E-Plane Cross-Polarized
-20
H-Plane Co-Polarized
-30 H-Plane Cross-Polarized

-40
-150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150
Theta (°)
(e)

Figure 2. (a) The fabricated octave reconfigurable SIW-CBS antenna, (b) the measured S 11 , and the measured E- and H-plane
radiation pattern of the antenna at (c) 1.12, (d) 1.72, and (e) 2.27 GHz [30].

42 June 2015
used to find the optimum location for the tuning posts ite right/left-handed (CRLH) metamaterial radiators. By
and, thus, achieve the widest tuning range. An induc- loading the antenna with four through vias connected to
tor in series with the microstrip feed line of the antenna each other and switching them all together using a p-i-n
is used to match the antenna over the proposed wide diode, the antenna operating frequency can be switched
tuning range. A maximum measured gain of 0.5 dB between the positive- and negative-order resonances.
and a front-to-back ratio of 5–20 dB are achieved for A frequency tuning ratio of 4.93:1.83 GHz with gains of
the antenna at different tuning states. The measured -4 and 3 dB and a front-to-back ratio of 9 and 15 dB for
efficiency of the antenna varies in the range of 71–78%. two states are achieved. Figure 3(a) shows the fabricated
Figure 2(a) shows the top and bottom views of the fabri- antenna. The measured S 11 results and the radiation pat-
cated antenna. The measured S 11 and the radiation pat- tern plots for both states are shown in Figure 3(b)–(d).
tern of the antenna are shown in Figure 2(b)–(e).
Floating Patch Diode-Loaded Antennas
A Miniaturized Switchable SIW-CBS Antenna (Based on Method III)
Using Positive- and Negative-Order Resonances
A similar method to that shown in Figure 1(b) is used Frequency Reconfigurable and Miniaturized SIW
to switch the resonance order of a metamaterial slot Interdigital Capacitor (SIW-IDC) Antenna
antenna (Figure 3). In [50], the authors present a minia- Somarith et al. [51] present an SIW cavity-backed IDC
turized switchable SIW-CBS antenna based on compos- slot antenna. Similar to [50], this design also used CRLH

48 mm 0

-5

-10
48 mm

S11 (dB)

-15

-20
State 1
-25
State 2
-30
1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5
Frequency (GHz)
(a) (b)

0 0
-30 0 dB 30 -30 0 dB 30

-15 dB -15 dB
-60 60 -60 60
-25 dB -25 dB

-90 90 -90 90

-120 120 -120 120

-150 150 -150 150

180 180

E-Plane Co-Polarized E-Plane Cross-Polarized

H-Plane Co-Polarized H-Plane Cross-Polarized

(c) (d)

Figure 3. (a) The fabricated miniaturized SIW-CBS antenna, (b) the measured S 11 , and (c), (d) the normalized radiation pattern
of the antenna in states 1 and 2, respectively [50].

June 2015 43
 0

Conductor
-5

Tape
Dielectric Slab Dielectric Slab
-10
-15

-20
(a) Lx = 1.5 mm

Measured S11 (dB)

-25
Lx = 1 mm
Ferrite Slab Ferrite Slab Ferrite Slab H0 = 0.0 T Lx = 0 mm
-30

(a) 5
0 H0 = 0 T 0 -5
0 330 30 330
0 30
Lx = 0.0 mm
E-Plane Lx = 1.0 mm H-Plane -10
Normalized Patterns (dB)

-10 300 Lx = 1.5 mm 60

-15

-20 270 90 270 90 -20

(b) 1,460 MHz
-25 H0 = 0.31 T
-10 120 240 120
240
-30
9.0 9.5 10.0 10.5 11.0
0 210 150 210 150
180 180 Frequency (GHz)
(b) (c)

Figure 4. (a) The fabricated ferrite-loaded bow tie slot antenna, (b) the normalized radiation pattern of the antenna at
H 0 = 0 T, and (c) the measured S 11 of the antenna at bias magnetic fields of H 0 = 0 and 0.31 T [53].

Radiating Capacitor H0 = 0 T, C = 80 fF, f = 10.82 GHz

Slot H0 = 0 T, C = 67 fF, f = 10.98 GHz
H0 = 0.24 T, C = 67 fF, f = 11.27 GHz
H0 = 0.24 T, C = 50 fF, f = 11.84 GHz
SL
0 10
30 -30
Sw 0
CBCPW Via Ferrite Slab
Shielding 60 -10 -60

-20

(a) 90 -90
0
H-Plane
-5 0 10
30 -30
-10
H0 = 0 T, C = 80 fF 0
;S11; (dB)

-15 H0 = 0.36 T, C = 80 fF
H0 = 0.32 T, C = 67 fF 60 -10 -60
-20 H0 = 0.36 T, C = 67 fF
H0 = 0.28 T, C = 50 fF -20
-25 H0 = 0.32 T, C = 50 fF
H0 = 0.36 T, C = 50 fF 90 -90
-30
10.5 11 11.5 12 12.5 13 E-Plane
Frequency (GHz)
(b) (c)

Figure 5. (a) The fabricated SIW antenna loaded with a capacitor and ferrite slab, (b) the measured S 11 of the antenna
with 2-D electrical and magnetic tuning, and (c) the measured radiation pattern of the antenna (dBi) [54].

44 June 2015
metamaterial radiators to achieve a miniaturized CBS
While some tuning methods are
antenna. The zeroth-order resonance of the antenna
is used for tuning, and a varactor diode is embedded based only on changing the electrical
within the IDC slot. By changing the applied voltage characteristics of the cavity resonators,
across the varactor diode, the capacitance value of the
others aim to change both the
radiator changes slightly and a frequency tuning for
the zeroth-order resonance in the range of 4.13–4.5 GHz magnetic and electrical characteristics.
(9%) is obtained. The gain of the antenna varies in the
range of 2.5–4 dBi. The additional biasing slots on the netic fields in the range of 0–0.31 T. An antenna gain of
top cavity wall might introduce additional leakage more than 5 dBi over the tuning range is observed. Fig-
from the top side of the antenna. This becomes criti- ure 4(a) shows the fabricated ferrite-loaded SIW bow tie
cal in terms of efficiency. However, the efficiency of the slot antenna. The measured radiation pattern and S 11
antenna is not studied in this article. results are shown in Figure 4(b) and (c).

Ferrite-Loaded SIW Antennas Simultaneous Electric and Magnetic

(Based on Method IV) Two-Dimensionally Tuned Parameter-
Agile SIW Devices
Magnetically Tunable Ferrite-Loaded SIW Antenna The method shown in Figure 1(d) is used to achieve a
Tan et al. [52] proposed an SIW-CBS antenna loaded simultaneous electric and magnetic tuning for an SIW-
with ferrite slabs. Two ferrite slabs are inserted along CBS antenna in [54]. As a result, a wider tuning range is
the side walls of the SIW cavity slot antenna. Due to the achieved in comparison with the case where only mag-
changes in the magnetic biasing field, the operating fre- netic or electric tuning is used. A ferrite slab is inserted
quency of the antenna is changed. A frequency tuning into the SIW cavity antenna, and then the frequency
range of more than 10.5% at the X-band is achieved, and of the antenna is controlled by changing the external
the antenna gain is more than 5 dBi within this range. magnetic field. Using a method similar to the one pro-
Four neodymium external magnets are used to supply posed in [46], electrical tuning is also achieved. Instead
the bias magnetic field. The magnetic strength is tuned of using a varactor diode, three different capacitor
by changing the distance between the two magnets and values are used as a proof of concept in the fabricated
the corresponding ferrite slab. The results presented prototype. Applying both methods, a tuning range of
in this article prove that the magnets do not affect the 10.7–12.1 GHz is obtained. The fabricated prototype of
radiation characteristics of the antenna. the antenna is shown in Figure 5(a) along with the mea-
sured S 11 and the radiation pattern of the antenna in
Ferrite-Loaded SIW Bow Tie Slot Antenna Figure 5(b) and (c), respectively.
with Broadband Frequency Tunability
In [53], the method shown in Figure 1(d) and similar to Tunable SIW VCOs
what has been proposed in [52] is applied to an SIW cav- In this section, a review of the SIW-based VCOs
ity-backed bow tie slot antenna to make it tunable (Fig- reported in the literature is presented. Three differ-
ure 4). Two ferrite slabs are inserted into the cavity and ent methods shown in Figure 1 are used to tune SIW
result in a tuning range of 14.95% in the X-band. The resonators in oscillator circuits. Based on the meth-
frequency of the antenna can be tuned in the range of ods used, a different tuning range, phase noise, dc
9.23–10.69 GHz with respect to changes in the bias mag- power consumption, RF output power, and harmonic

Table 3. A detailed quantitative comparison for all of the mentioned VCOs.

Second
Tuning L at L at FOMT (dBc/Hz) at Harmonic
Technique 100 kHz 1 MHz Pdc Pout 100 kHz/ FOMT suppression
Based on Reference fc (GHz) FTR (dBc/Hz) (dBc/Hz) (mW) (dBm) (dBc/Hz) at 1 MHz (dBc)
VCOs Method III [54] 9.82 4.8% -88 -117 37 6.5–10 165.59/174.6 35–50 dBc
[55] 2.7, 3.7 N/A -105.5 -119.5 160 5.33, N/A 228.5
dual band 10.83 FOM is + 170
Method I [56] 11.39 4.1% -94 -124 20 1–2.9 174.37/177.37 —
Method V [31] 12.2 2.45% -98 -122 30 7–7.8 173.1/177.1 —
Method II [57] 1.95 26% -109 -130 51 4–5.1 186.42/187.42 228

June 2015 45
 Vd
Cr Cin
SIW Resonator
Vr
Ground

L1 S
L3

Varactor G D Output
L4
L2
S
Ground

(a) (b)
10.0 10 100 60

Second Harmonic Suppression (dBc)

Oscillation Frequency (GHz)

9.9
9

Phase Noise (dBc/Hz)

95 50

Output Power (dBm)

9.8

9.7 8
Measured Frequency 90 40
9.6 Simulated Frequency
Measured Output 7
9.5 Power
85 30
6
9.4

9.3 5 80 20
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9
Reverse Voltage Vr (V) Frequency (GHz)
(c) (d)

Figure 6. (a) The physical configuration of the reflective VCO, (b) the fabricated VCO, (c) the measured and simulated
oscillation frequency and the measured output power of the oscillator, and (d) the measured phase noise at a 100-kHz offset
and the second harmonic suppression [55]. Vr: reverse voltage.

suppression is achieved for each design. Table 3 pres- A Dual-Band Oscillator with Reconfigurable Cavity-
ents a detailed quantitative comparison for all of the Backed Complementary Split-Ring Resonator
mentioned VCOs. Dong and Itoh [56] proposed an SIW dual-band oscillator
based on a reconfigurable cavity-backed complimentary
Floating Patch Varactor-Loaded split-ring resonator. A method very similar to the one
Cavity (Based on Method III) shown in Figure 1(c) and a p-i-n diode is used to make the
SIW resonator reconfigurable. As a result, the oscillator
A Low-Phase-Noise VCO Using an has two different frequencies of operation. A switchable
Electronically Tunable SIW Resonator stub is used to make the matching possible for both states.
In [55], the tuning method shown in Figure 1(c) is A tuning ratio of 3.77:2.675 GHz is achieved. The phase
applied to an SIW cavity resonator. The tunable SIW noise at these two states is -99.6 and -105.5 dBc/Hz at a
cavity resonator is then used in a reflective type 100-kHz offset, respectively. The FOM of the SIW recon-
X-band oscillator and in series with a p-type high elec- figurable oscillator is +170 dBc/Hz at a 100-kHz offset.
tron mobility transistor (HEMT) (Figure 6). Using the
floating metal patch method, a tuning range of 4.8% Side Varactor-Coupled Cavity (Based on Method I)
along with a phase noise of around -88 dBc/Hz at a
100-kHz offset is presented. The dissipated dc power Design of High-Q Tunable SIW Resonator and
by the VCO is 37 mW. With an FOM of 184 dBc/Hz and Its Application to Low-Phase-Noise VCO
an FOMT of 175 dBc/Hz at a 100-kHz offset, the SIW The tuning technique shown in Figure 1(a) is applied to
VCO shows potential for use in onboard applications. an SIW cavity resonator in [57]. The tunable SIW resona-
The layout of the VCO, a photo of the fabricated proto- tor is then used in a parallel feedback coupling oscillator
type, and the measured performance of the VCO are design (Figure 7). The result is an SIW VCO with a tun-
shown in Figure 6(a)–(d). ing range of 4.1% (455 MHz at the X -band) with a phase

46 June 2015
noise of -93 dBc/Hz at a 100-kHz offset. The dissipated dc
Using this method, the resonator
power of the VCO is 20 mW. The FOMT of the VCO based on
the reported data is 174.37 dBc/Hz at a 100-kHz offset. The can be tuned by 2–3%.
measured results of the SIW resonator show an unloaded
quality factor in the range of 286–299. The schematic and point of the via and the cavity changes, and, thus, there
fabricated prototype photos of the SIW low-phase-noise will be a shift in the resonance frequency of the reso-
VCO are shown in Figure 7(a) and (b), respectively. nator. Using this method, the resonator can be tuned
by 2–3%. The designed resonator is then put in series
Post-Loaded Mechanically Tuned Using with an HEMT to shape a reflective-type oscillator
Screw (Based on Method V) (Figure 8). The proposed VCO has a tuning range of
2.5% ( f0 = 12.4 GHz) and a phase noise of -122 dBc/Hz
Mechanically Tunable SIW Cavity-Based Oscillator at an offset of 1 MHz. Dissipating 30 mW of dc power,
In [31], a different technique similar to what is shown the VCO has an FOM of 189.1 dBc/Hz at a 1-MHz off-
in Figure 1(e) and first presented in [45] is used to tune set. Figure 8(a) shows the fabricated prototype of the
a rectangular SIW cavity resonator. The method is mechanically tuned SIW VCO. Measured and simu-
based on a mechanically controlled flap and a metal- lated operation frequencies of the VCO are shown in
ized via post inside the cavity resonator. As the flap Figure 8(b). The measured phase noise of the VCO at
rotates around the axis of the via post, the connection different frequencies is shown in Figure 8(c).

Vtune

MA46H120
0.4

25
2.5
0

28 mm
12.3

3.0
0
0.3
0

12.3
1
12. 3 4
4.5 2.6 Vddd

1.55
5

MGF491AL Vggg
2.5

2
2.5
8.2
2.9

(Unit: mm)

43 mm

(a) (b)

0 0
Output Spectrum (dBm)

-20
-5
;S11; (dB)

-40
-10
Vtune = 0 V -60
Vtune = 0 V
Vtune = 3 V Vtune = 3 V
-15 Vtune = 6 V -80 Vtune = 6 V
Vtune = 9 V Vtune = 9 V
Vtune = 12 V Vtune = 12 V
-20 -100
11.0 11.2 11.4 11.6 11.8 12.0 12.2 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 11.9
Frequency (GHz) Frequency (GHz)
(c) (d)

Figure 7. (a) A schematic of the SIW-based VCO, (b) the fabricated prototype, (c) the measured S 11 results of the SIW resonator, and
(d) the measured output spectrum of the SIW VCO [57].

June 2015 47
 Varactors’ dc 30 mm

Tuning Vias
Varactor Diodes Resonator
Output

40 mm
Flap Bottom View LPF
pHEMT
Transistor
(a)
VCO Output
12.5
Simulated
12.4 Measured Transistor’s dc
Frequency (GHz)

12.3 SubMiniature Version A

Top View Connector Bottom View
(a)
12.2
2.3 5.2

Output Power
12.1 2.2 Cv = 0.7 pF 4.8

(dBm)
2.1 4.4

Frequency (GHz)
12 Cv = 1 pF
2.0 4.0
1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.1
1.9 Cv = 1.6 pF
Frequency
z = 0° z = 90° z = 180° (GHz)
1.8 Cv = 1.9 pF
(b)
1.7 Cv = 2.4 pF
-60
Measurements 1.6
-70 Simulation
Phase Noise (dBc/Hz)

1 2 3 4 5 6
-80 Cg (pF)
0°
-90 (b)

Second Harmonic Suppression (dBc)

-100
-107 40
-110
Phase Noise (dBc/Hz)

-120 -108 36
180°
-130
-109 32
105 106
Frequency Offset (Hz) -110 28
(c)
-111 24
Figure 8. (a) The fabricated mechanically controlled SIW
oscillator, (b) the simulated and measured output frequencies 1.7 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.1
of the oscillator based on flap rotation, and (c) the SIW Frequency (GHz)
oscillator phase noise for different positions of the flap [31]. (c)

Figure 9. (a) The fabricated 1.7–2.2-GHz SIW tunable

Via Post-Loaded SIW VCOs (Based on Method II) VCO, (b) the measured oscillation frequencies of the SIW
VCO with respect to the changes in Cg and Cv (the inset
A 1.7–2.2-GHz Compact Low-Phase-Noise VCO shows the VCO output power for four different frequencies),
Using a Widely Tuned VCO Resonator and (c) the phase noise and second harmonic suppression for
In [58], a new method was presented by which the four different frequencies [58]. pHEMT: pseudomorphic high
authors targeted a wide tuning range for SIW-based electron mobility transistor; LPF: low-pass filter.
VCOs. A widely tuned (+25%) SIW resonator is de-
signed based on the technique described in Method I case. The tunable SIW resonator is then employed in
[Figure 1(b)]. However, instead of digitally tuning a reflective-type VCO. Due to the nature of reflective-
the resonator as in the cases of antennas and filters, a type VCOs, tuning ranges of more than 6% are difficult
varactor diode is used to achieve analog tuning in this to achieve. While being tuned, the changes in the SIW

48 June 2015
resonator, used as a load for the VCO, will override the
The conventional tuning methods
mandatory oscillation conditions. Similar to what has
been proposed in [59], to overcome this problem, the applicable to regular microwave
authors employed another varactor diode at the gate of structures are not effective for SIWs.
the HEMT. The task of this varactor is to compensate
for the impedance changes of the SIW resonator. As a
result of using the additional varactor diode in the cir- ing discussion. Table 4 presents a detailed quantitative
cuit, the tuning range of the VCO is bounded just by comparison for all of the mentioned tunable filters. A
the tuning range of the tunable SIW resonator. A tun- complete review of SIW filters was recently presented
ing range of 1.7–2.2 GHz with a phase noise lower than in [49] where the focus was on studying and categoriz-
-109 dBc/Hz at a 100-kHz offset is achieved. As a result ing the tuning methods for SIW filters.
of the unique tuning method used, the quality factor of
the resonator and, consequently, the phase noise of the Via Post-Loaded
oscillator remain almost constant over the entire tun- SIW Filters (Based on Method II)
ing range. Because of the two-layer structure used, the
entire VCO circuit is placed on the backside of the SIW A 1.2–1.6-GHz SIW RF-MEMS Tunable Filter
resonator. The proposed VCO has a phase noise of -109 A two-pole, SIW, RF-MEMS cavity filter with 28% of
dBc/Hz at a 100-kHz offset, and it dissipates 51 mW of tuning was presented in [41] (Figure 10). The tuning
dc power. The reported FOMT of the VCO is 186.42 dBc/ technique, as shown in Figure 1(b), is based on loading
Hz at a 100-kHz offset.
Figure 9(a) shows the fab-
ricated prototype of the
Post D
VCO. The measured fre- Omron Switch
quencies along with the Top Via Electrostatic Discharge
output power are shown Protection Resistors (R1)
in Figure 9(b). The mea- Post C
sured phase noise of the Reference A
Wall Via
VCO along with the sec-
ond harmonic suppres- dc
sion level is also shown in Connector
Figure 9(c).

Tunable SIW Filters

This section presents a
review of the reported
tunable SIW filters in
the literature. Four of the
80 mm

tuning methods in Fig-

Bias Lines
ure 1 have been used for
SIW filters. Based on the 114 mm
different topologies used, SubMiniature Version A Connector
different values for the Ref Al
tuning range, tuning fre- (a)
quency resolution, qual- 0 0
(P1) (T3)
ity factor, and BW are -10
obtained. While achiev- -10
;S21; (dB)

;S11; (dB)

-20
ing a wide tuning range
is very interesting, main- -30
-20 (P1) (T3)
taining a high Q over the -40
entire tuning range and/ -50
-30
or sometimes constant
-60
BW might be of more 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
concern. A classification Frequency (GHz) Frequency (GHz)
of the tunable SIW filters (b) (c)
developed so far using
these four methods is Figure 10. (a) The fabricated tunable SIW filter with MEMS switches, (b) the measured S 21,
presented in the follow- and (c) the measured S 11 over the entire tuning range for the SIW filter [41].

June 2015 49
 each SIW cavity with perturbing via posts.
Table 4. A detailed quantitative comparison for
A tuning range of 1.2–2.6 GHz is cov-
all of the mentioned tunable filters.
ered using 14 different tuning responses
Tuning (states) with a very fine frequency resolu-
Technique tion so as to behave such as a continuous-
Based on Reference fc (GHz) FTR BW Qu type filter. The insertion loss of the filter
over this tuning range is below 4 dB. The
Filters Method II [40] 1.73 25% 2.3–3% 221–255
magnitude of electric field distribution
[41] 1.4 28% 3.7% 93–132 and resonance contour figures for the
SIW cavity resonator are used to design
Method III [46] 2.76 8.69% 2.8% —
a tunable filter with the highest tunability
[60] 4.2 9.52% 1.5–2% — range possible. Packaged MEMS switches
Method IV [53] + 12.8 10% Fixed BW of + 160
from Omron are used as the switching
+ 4.4% or elements and are directly mounted on
tunable BW the biasing circuit layer of the filter. As
of 3–5% a result, the parasitic effects are mini-
mized. The quality factor of the filter var-
[61] 10.875 7.81% — —
ies from 93 to 132 over the tuning range.
(simulation
The stopband rejection performance is
only)
improved using two low-pass filters at
Method VI [47] 0.9 66% 4% 84–206 the input/output ports of the filter. Fig-
ure 10(b) and (c) shows the measured
S-parameter results for the presented RF-
MEMS tunable filter.

Tunable SIW Bandpass Filters

with p-i-n Diodes
Armendariz et al. [40] presented a tunable
SIW filter implemented using p-i-n diode
switching elements. The perturbing via
post method used in [41] is also used here.
The biasing network and the SIW filter are
completely separated using a two-layer
(a) structure. The performance characteristics
of this filter are discussed in detail in [49]
0 and are not repeated in this article.

-5
Floating Patch Diode-Loaded
-10 Filters (Based on Method III)
S21-Parameters (dB)

-15
Analog Tuning of Compact
-20 Varactor-Loaded Combline
Filters in SIWs
-25
Sirci et al. [46] developed a two-pole tun-
-30 able SIW coupled resonator filter. This
-35 filter is used as a demonstration of the tun-
ing technique shown in Figure 1(c). Then,
-40 the application of this tuning method to
the fine-tuning of the narrowband multi-
4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 pole filters in the postfabrication process is
Frequency (GHz) studied. The method enables fine-tuning
(b) of the center frequency without introduc-
ing degradation of the in-band perfor-
mance. The filter in [60] also uses the same
Figure 11. (a) The fabricated prototype of the varactor-loaded two-pole method. To initially evaluate the tuning
tunable filter and (b) the measured results at different states of 00, 01(10), concept, the authors fabricated a simple
and 11 [60]. 2-bit tuned two-pole Chebyshev filter at

50 June 2015
 Biasing Wire Conductor Tape Varactor Diodes

Ferrite
Slab Two 0.1-pF
l3
W W1 W W2 Capacitors
i (1) (2)
in Series
l1 l2
CBCPW to SIW
(a) (b)

-10
;Sij; (dB)

-20

;S11;
;S21;
-30
H0 = 0 T, Vb = 0 V
H0 = 0.24 T, Vb = 10 V
H0 = 0.32 T, Vb = 20 V
-40
11 11.5 12 12.5 13 13.5 14
Frequency (GHz)
(c)
0
;S11;
;S21;
H0 = 0 T, C = 50 fF
-10
H0 = 0.22 T, C = 75 fF
H0 = 0.28 T, C = 80 fF
;Sij; (dB)

-20

-30

-40
10 10.5 11 11.5 12 12.5 13
Frequency (GHz)
(d)

Figure 12. The fabricated SIW second-order Chebyshev bandpass filter with (a) a top view (varactor diodes) and (b) a
bottom view (fixed capacitors), (c) the S-parameter results for the frequency-tunable filter case, and (d) the S-parameter
results for the tunable BW filter case [54].

6 GHz [Figure 11(a)]. A tuning range of 5.5–6.2 GHz Ferrite-Based SIW Tunable
with an insertion loss of lower than 3 dB for this fil- Filters (Based on Method IV)
ter was measured. The measured results are shown in
Figure 11(b). The filter fabrication was realized using a Simultaneous Electric and Magnetic Two-
single-layer SIW technology. Dimensionally Tuned Parameter-Agile SIW Devices
The filters in [46] and [60] were recently discussed The method of simultaneous electric and magnetic tun-
in detail in a review paper on SIW filters [49]. Thus, this ing of SIW structures is presented in [54] [shown in Fig-
information is not repeated here. ure 1(d)]. Magnetic ferrite slabs (YIG with 4rMs = 1,780 G

June 2015 51
 netic tuning approach similar to what has been shown
in Figure 1(d). However, this article does not propose
any measurement results. Thus, a tunability range of
wc = 1.53 cm wc = 1.53 cm 3 cm
Pd = 1.9 cm Pd = 1.9 cm 10.45–11.3 GHz is achieved by changing the dc-mag-
netic bias applied to the ferrite disk located at the edge
Qang = 100° Qang = 100°
of the SIW cavity based on simulations. The lowest
5 mm internal bias (i.e., 2,100 G) required for saturating the
8 cm ferrite magnet is applied to a single-circulator filter,
(a)
and it is shown that by increasing the diameter of the
Additional dc ferrite disk for a given dc-magnetic bias, the BW of the
Bias Resistors passband filter decreases.

SIW Surface Ring-Gap Combline Filter

(Based on Method VI)

Theory and Design of Octave Tunable Filters

(b) with Lumped Tuning Elements
The method shown in Figure 1(f) is applied to two- and
0
three-pole SIW surface ring-gap combine filters to achieve
-20 a widely tuned bandpass filter [47]. This article presents
S21 (dB)

-40 the theory and design of octave tunable filters using this
-60
method in detail. The two-pole filter has a tuning range
of 0.5–1.1 GHz and a measured insertion loss of 1.67 dB at
-80
1.1 GHz. The three-pole filter has a tuning range of 0.58–
0
1.22 GHz and a measured insertion loss of 2.05 dB. The 3-dB
-5
fractional BW of both the two- and three-pole filter is +4%.
S11 (dB)

-10
Figure 13 shows the proposed three-pole filter and its
-15
measured S-parameter response over the tuning range
-20
of 0.6–1.2 GHz.
-25
0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
Frequency (GHz) Miscellaneous SIW Structures
(c) Due to their high quality factor and isolation from the
surrounding environment, SIW tunable resonators are
also a suitable choice for microwave devices other than
Figure 13. (a) A designed and (b) fabricated octave tunable filters, antennas, and VCOs. Some examples are phase
three-pole filter with measured (c) S21 and S11. [47] shifters, isolators, and fluidically tuned structures. In
this section, some of these devices are presented.
and TH # 17 Oe) are used as the magnetic tuning ele-
ment. A method very similar to that in [46] and [60] is Ferrite-Based SIW Tunable Phase
also used to tune the SIW structures electrically. The con- Shifters and Isolators
cept of 2-D simultaneous tuning is applied to a two-pole
passband filter. As a result of this combination of tuning Tunable Nonreciprocal Ferrite-Loaded
methods, both frequency and BW agility is obtained. A SIW Phase Shifter
tuning range of 10% can be obtained while maintaining a In [62], a ferrite slab is inserted near one of the side walls
constant BW of 4.4% or a fixed frequency response with a of an SIW where the magnetic fields are maximum. In
tunable frequency BW of 3–5%. The insertion loss of the response to the changes in the external magnetic field,
filter is lower than 4 dB. Two prototypes of the filter with the propagation constant inside the SIW is changed.
both fixed capacitors and varactor diodes are fabricated. This results in modifying the phase of the SIW section.
Figure 12(c) and (d) shows the measured S-parameter The nonreciprocal phase shifter operates at the X -band
results for the filters in Figure 12(a) and (b) in the cases of and offers an insertion loss lower than 2 dB and a return
frequency tuning and BW tuning, respectively. loss higher than 10 dB. A phase shifting of more than
400° is achieved by the phase shifter at an existence of
Magnetically Tunable SIW Bandpass 0.24 T of externally applied magnetic field.
Filters Employing Ferrites This article also presents an isolator as a possible
Almalkawi et al. [61] present an SIW double-circulator application of the phase shifter. The isolator is designed
tunable filter in which a ferrite material is inserted based on the principle of a differential phase shift cir-
into the waveguide. The method uses only the mag- culator. The phase shifter is loaded with two ferrite

52 June 2015
slabs along the side walls of an SIW. When biased in challenging. To address all these points in more detail,
the opposite direction with 0.14 T, port 2 becomes iso- the main focus of this article was on frequency-tunable/
lated from port 1 and an isolation of 20 dB at 12.5 GHz reconfigurable SIW structures. The reported tuning
is achieved. methods applied to SIW structures so far are studied,
and their pros and cons are discussed in detail. Also,
Tuning Using Fluidics separate libraries for SIW-based tunable filters, anten-
nas, and VCOs are provided.
Analysis of a Variable SIW Resonator
Enabled by Dielectric Material References
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