A Flexible High-Selectivity Single-Layer Coplanar Waveguide Bandpass Filter Using Interdigital Spoof Surface Plasmon Polaritons of Bow-Tie Cells

In this article, a flexible high-selectivity single-layer coplanar waveguide (CPW) bandpass filter using interdigital spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPP) of bow-tie cells is proposed, simulated, and fabricated. The low and high cut-off frequency can be adjusted independently, which is one of the characteristics of the presented bandpass filter. The SSPP of bow-tie cells is used to adjust the high cut-off frequency, while the interdigital coupling structure of the SSPP is designed to adjust the lower one. The proposed filter also has advantages of single-layer structure and high selectivity. Simulated results of the proposed filter show a theoretical 3-dB bandwidth from 2.28 to 5.12 GHz (about 76.8%) with high selectivity (IS
₁₁
I <; -15 dB and -0.4 dB >IS
₂₁
I > -1.1 dB in the passband), and measured results agree well with simulated ones. Since the filter in this article is designed based on the flexible printed circuit (FPC) board, the circuit can be tested in bent, folded, and even twisted states, and these measured results are all basically consistent with the test result of the flat state circuit. This characteristic can greatly reduce the size of the filter and increase the flexibility of the circuit application.