Simulation of the Inhomogeneous Meander Line

Abstract

The influence of asymmetrical and other inhomogeneities on properties of the meander line is considered. The multi-conductor line method and the CST software package Microwave Studio, based on the numerical method, are used for simulation of the system. Applying the multi-conductor line method it is shown that due to even slight asymmetry of the meander electrode with respect to the shield of the delay system (in the transverse direction) the stop-band appears if the quarter of the wave length approaches to the length of the meander rod. The width of the stop-band increases if the asymmetry increases. The results, obtained using the Microwave Studio software package, confirmed the conclusions made using multi-conductor line method. The possibilities of improving the meander line characteristics (reducing non-uniformities of the amplitude-frequency characteristic and widening the frequency pass-band) by narrowing the meander conductors in the loop region are revealed. It is shown that the length of terminals (terminal meander electrode rods) has large influence on the meander delay system characteristics. In the high frequency range, terminal rods of the meander electrode act as the quarter-wave-length transformers. By proper selection of the length of the meander electrode terminal rods, the passband of the delay system can be expanded. Ill. 7, bibl. 9 (in English, summaries in English, Russian and Lithuanian).