A uniplanar compact photonic-bandgap (UC-PBG) structure and itsapplications for microwave circuit

This paper presents a novel photonic bandgap (PBG) structure for microwave integrated circuits. This new PBG structure is a two-dimensional square lattice with each element consisting of a metal pad and four connecting branches. Experimental results of a microstrip on a substrate with the PEG ground plane displays a broad stopband, as predicted by finite-difference time-domain simulations. Due to the slow-wave effect generated by this unique structure, the period of the PBG lattice is only 0.1λ₀ at the cutoff frequency, resulting in the most compact PEG lattice ever achieved. In the passband, the measured slow-wave factor (β/k₀) is 1.2-2.4 times higher and insertion loss is at the same level compared to a conventional 50-Ω line. This uniplanar compact PBG (UC-PBG) structure can be built using standard planar fabrication techniques without any modification. Several application examples have also been demonstrated, including a nonleaky conductor-backed coplanar waveguide and a compact spurious-free bandpass filter. This UC-PBG structure should find wide applications for high-performance and compact circuit components in microwave and millimeter-wave integrated circuits