Microwave filter constructed from thick film balanced line structures

Claim 1

A thick film microwave filter, comprising: (a) a plurality of balanced transmission line cells, each said cell including a dielectric substrate base, a first metal trace deposited on said substrate base, said first metal trace having a trace width and a trace length, said first metal trace having first and second ends, a dielectric layer deposited over said first metal layer, and a second metal trace deposited on said dielectric layer, said second metal trace having a trace width and a trace length, said second metal trace having first and second ends, said second metal trace aligned with and generally parallel to said first metal trace, wherein said first and second metal traces form a balanced transmission line having a line impedance and operational frequency, said line impedance determined by said width of said first and second metal traces, said operational frequency determined by said length of said first and second metal traces; (b) an autotransformer having a radio frequency input terminal and a radio frequency output terminal, said autotransformer comprising a first one of said transmission line cells; (c) a first shunt capacitor, said first shunt capacitor comprising a second one of said transmission line cells; and (d) a second shunt capacitor, said second shunt capacitor comprising a third one of said transmission line cells; (e) said second cell electrically connected to said radio frequency input terminal, said third cell electrically connected to said radio frequency output terminal.