The Surprising Ways MMIC Filters Are Enabling the Development of Next Generation Systems

Filters are ubiquitous throughout RF systems, yet they have not seen the same degree of advancements (e.g. size reduction and high frequency operation) that have been made to the rest of the RF signal chain. Current filter solutions consume  a  large  volume  of  a  system’s  overall  footprint  and  are  susceptible  to  process and lot-to-lot variation. Due to the custom nature of filter requirements, they are often designed in-house, consuming valuable engineering time and resources through multiple iterations of cascade analysis and subsequent design.

This whitepaper aims to discuss what Marki Microwave® contends to be the key metrics of a modern competitive filter technology, how these are achieved through a GaAs MMIC process, and the capabilities of MMIC filters that have been demonstrated thus far. Together with the companion design tool that has been developed, this offers a fast, accurate and trustworthy way of developing filters without consuming large amounts of customer and vendor design resources.