Wideband Air-Filled Coaxial Filter Line

A design for manufacturing (DFM) of a well-performing wideband coaxial filter line using direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) additive manufacturing is proposed. The demonstrated transmission line is an air-filled coaxial line chosen for low loss and consistent group delay over the bandwidth. Transmission line theory is used first to account for the impact of the shorted stub needed to support the central conductor. Deviations due to parasitics are described to transition the design from an ideal model to a physical prototype. The constraints inherent in DMLS are discussed and accounted for throughout the DFM. This process is demonstrated with a prototype having return and insertion losses of greater than 10 dB and less than 1.64 dB, respectively, over a 5.3:1 bandwidth from 6.4 to 33.9 GHz with a flat group delay of 129 ps ± 7%.