Dielectric Resonator and Filter With Dielectric Resonator

The present invention relates to a dielectric resonator and also to a filter employing the dielectric resonator.

In FIG. 1, the principle of a conventional filter provided with a disc type dielectric resonator 2 which is formed by ceramic material of the titanium dioxide (TiO.sub.2) family is schematically illustrated. A reference numeral 4 designates a metal casing, and the resonator 2 is hermetically disposed in the casing 4 approximately at a center portion by a support 6, also made of ceramics, such as forsterite. The operation mode is TE.sub.01.delta.. A coupling circuit includes an input means and an output means which are diagrammatically shown at 8 and 10. The size of the casing 4, particularly the dimension of the internal space is so arranged as to produce a cut-off condition at a dominant frequency. It is to be noted that the resonator 2 which is shown as having a disc shape can be arranged in a shape of a doughnut or in a shape of a polygon prism. Furthermore, the support 6 can be formed by an electrically non-conductive substrate. An external circuit (not shown) which is to be connected to the coupling circuit can be any known circuit, i.e., waveguide circuit, coaxial circuit or MIC circuit. Although the above described type of resonator has a high Q-factor, there are several disadvantages as follows;

(i) In the field of electronic parts and devices, many approaches have been made to reduce their size, and from this point of view, the size of the conventional filter is still bulky. This is due to the large configuration of the dielectric resonator, which accordingly increases the size of the casing.

(ii) When used in a high power circuit, the resonator generates a large amount of heat which is not completely transmitted to the casing, and accordingly, the temperature of the resonator increases. This results in deviation of resonant frequency and/or reduction of Q-factor.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a dielectric resonator which is compact in size and can readily be manufactured at low cost.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a filter employing the above described type dielectric resonator to reduce the configuration of the filter.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a filter of the above described type which can effectively transmit the heat generated from the resonator to the casing to prevent an undesirable temperature increase of the resonator.

In accomplishing these and other objects, a dielectric resonator according to the present invention is presented in a shape of a sector or segment of a predetermined design configuration and a filter according to the present invention comprises signal emitting means for emitting a signal to be filtered, signal receiving means for receiving a filtered signal and a path defining means for defining a signal path between the signal emitting means and the signal receiving means. At least one dielectric resonator of the sector shape is disposed in the path.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, throughout which like parts are designated by like reference numerals, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art resonator so accommodated in a casing to form a filter according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a resonator in general showing its operation;

FIGS. 3 to 8 are perspective views of various types of resonators according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken along a line IX--IX shown in FIG. 10 and showing a filter according to the first embodimemnt of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view taken along a line X--X shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XI--XI shown in FIG. 12 and showing a filter according to the second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XII--XII shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XIII--XIII shown in FIG. 14 and showing a filter according to the third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XIV--XIV shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XV--XV shown in FIG. 16 and showing a filter according to the fourth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XVI--XVI shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XVII--XVII shown in FIG. 18 and showing a filter according to the fifth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XVIII--XVIII shown in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XIX--XIX shown in FIG. 20 and showing a filter according to the sixth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 20 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XX--XX shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XXI--XXI shown in FIG. 22 and showing a filter according to the seventh embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XXII--XXII shown in FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XXIII--XXIII shown in FIG. 24 and showing a modified filter; and

FIG. 24 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XXIV--XXIV shown in FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is a cross sectional view taken along line XXVI--XXVI shown in FIG. 26 and shows a filter of a further embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 26 is a cross sectional view taken along line XXV--XXV shown in FIG. 25.

Referring to FIG. 2, a dielectric resonator according to the present invention is first explained from a theoretical point of view. When a conventional doughnut type resonator 12 receives a resonant signal, a magnetic field M is produced in the form of a loop and in linked relationship with the doughnut type resonator 12 such that the lines of magnetic field M passing through the center hole of the resonator 12 extend parallel to the axis of the resonator 12 and, when viewed from the top, such lines further extend radially outward from the resonator 12. Furthermore, an electric field E is produced inside the resonator 12 in the form of loop about the center of the resonator 12. Therefore, it can be understood that the magnetic field M is in a linked relationship with the electric field E. When an imaginary plate 14 of an electrically conductive material which includes the axis of the resonator 12 is assumed, such plate 14 does not cut across any lines of magnetic field M, and accordingly, the magnetic field M will not be disturbed by the presence of such a plate 14, and neither will the electric field E. Therefore, it can be considered that the plate 14 divides the resonator 12 into two sectors 12a and 12b without disturbing the magnetic field M nor the electric field E, and that the plate 14 shields the two sectors 12a and 12b from each other. Thus, when one sector, e.g. 12b is removed, the other sector 12a provided with the plate 14 still functions as a resonator. In this case, the plate 14 touching the cut end face of the sector 12a is necessary to maintain the electric field E produced in the resonator, i.e., sector 12a. The remaining portion of the plate 14 which is not touching the cut end face of the sector 12a is not necessary.

Although the above example is given when the plate 14 is a plane including the axis of the resonator 12, such a plate 14 can be bent at the axis of the resonator 12. Therefore, the resonator according to the present invention can be prepared in various sectors cut by two plates 14a and 14b which intersect with each other along the axis of the resonator 12. Furthermore, the resonator before being cut, herein after referred to as a predetermined designed symmetrical base resonator, can be other than a doughnut type such as, for example, a disc type or a polygon type.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown an acute sector type resonator 16 of the present invention which includes a sector shaped dielectric body 16a cut out from a disc type base resonator and defining an acute angle between the cut end faces. The cut end faces are deposited with electrically conductive plates 16b and 16c.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a quarter sector type resonator 18 of the present invention which includes a quarter sector shaped dielectric body 18a cut out from a disc type base resonator and defining a right angle between the cut end faces. The cut end faces are deposited with electrically conductive plates 18b and 18c.

Similarly, FIG. 5 shows a half sector type resonator 20 including a half sector shaped dielectric body 20a cut out from a disc type base resonator and an electrically conductive plate 20b is deposited on a cut face. The cut face can be considered as formed by two cut end faces which define 180.degree. about the axis of the base resonator.

Moreover, FIG. 6 shows a V-cut sector type resonator 22 including a V-cut sector shaped dielectric body 22a formed from a disc type base resonator and electrically conductive plate 22b and 22c which are deposited on the cut faces. The electrically conductive plates can be formed by the deposition of thin silver film through any known method, such as printing or baking.

The various sector shaped resonators described above in connection with FIGS. 3 to 6 are shown merely as examples of the present invention. From a theoretical point of view, an angle .theta. (FIG. 3) defined between the cut faces can be any degree selected from 0.degree.<.theta.<360.degree.. Furthermore, the base resonator can be any known type of resonator so long as its shape is symmetric about the center. For example, FIG. 7 shows a half sector type resonator 24 whose base resonator has a disc shape, and FIG. 8 shows a half sector type resonator 26 whose base resonator is octagon. In these half sector resonators 24 and 26, the cut faces are radially spaced equidistant from the axial position, K1, and are deposited with electrically conductive plate.

Referring particularly to FIG. 7, the dielectric resonator of the present invention whose base resonator is of a disc type or doughnut type can be generally expressed as a dielectric resonator comprising: first and second planes 24b and 24c having the same configuration to each other, said first and second planes positioned perpendicularly to an imaginary plane P1 and in revolution symmetric relation to each other about an imaginary line K1 extending perpendicularly from the imaginary plane; and a dielectric body 24a filling a volume defined by the rotation of the first plane 24b from its position to the position of the second plane 24c about the imaginary line K1. Stated differently, the FIG. 7 resonator can be described as comprising a dielectric member with the geometry of the member corresponding to a body with a section removed therefrom. The body, before the section is removed, is generally symmetrical about axis K1 and the removed section is defined by planes 24b and 24c which intersect along the axis. The angle defined by planes 24b and 24c can be varied between a value greater than 0.degree. and less than 360.degree.. For the FIG. 7 embodiment, the angle is 180.degree.. For the FIGS. 3-6 embodiments the angles are greater than 270.degree., 270.degree., 180.degree. and less than 90.degree., respectively.

Referring particularly to FIG. 8, the dielectric resonator of the present invention whose base resonator is the prism of a polygon such as an octagon can be generally expressed as a dielectric resonator comprising: first and second planes 26b and 26c having the same configuration to each other, said first and second planes positioned perpendicularly to an imaginary plane P1 and in a revolution symmetric relationship to each other about an imaginary line K1 extending from the imaginary plane P1; and a dielectric body 26a filling a volume defined by a plurality of right angle triangle prisms assembled together between said first and second planes 26b and 26c with the edge of each prism containing an angle smaller than 45.degree. being aligned on said imaginary line K1. Stated differently, the FIG. 8 resonator can be described as comprising a dielectric member with the geometry of the member corresponding to a body with a section removed therefrom. The body, before the section is removed, is generally symmetrical about axis K1 and has a polygonal cross section with each side of the cross section spanning an angle about the axis of less than 45 degrees. The removed section is defined by planes 26b and 26c which intersect along axis K1 and which form an angle which can be varied between a value greater than 0.degree. and less than 360.degree..

As apparent from the foregoing description, the sector shaped resonator according to the present invention can be prepared in a compact size, and accordingly, the dielectric material needed to form such sector resonators can be reduced. Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, there is shown a filter 30 employing four half sector resonators 20A, 20B, 20C and 20D. The filter 30 comprises an elongated shield casing 32 having its inner dimension so designed as to present a cut off characteristic at a predetermined frequency. An exciting rod 34 is provided inside the casing 32 at one end portion thereof in a perpendicular relationship to the long axis of the casing 32. A socket 36 is provided on the outside of the casing 32 for connecting the exciting rod 34 with a coaxial cable (not shown). Similarly, a receiving rod 38 coupled with a socket 40 is provided at the other end portion of the casing 32. The half sector resonators 20A to 20D are bonded on one inner surface of the casing 32 in alignment with each other between the rods 34 and 38 with a predetermined pitch spaced from each other and the curved surface being projecting towards an opposite inner surface. The pitch of the resonators is with axis K1 generally perpendicular with respect to the signal path. Furthermore, a plane defined between the rods 34 and 38 intercepts the center of opposite flat faces of each half sector resonator so as to effectively resonate each resonator. The bonding of the half sector resonators 20A to 20D can be carried out by the use of a bonding agent between the inner wall of the casing 32 from which the rods 34 and 38 extend and the face of the half sector resonator deposited with the plate.

In operation, an input signal emitted from the rod 34 is transferred through the space inside the casing 32 to the first half sector resonator 20A, and from which the resonant signal is emitted, resulting in filtering of a signal (resonant signal) to a certain degree. Since the half sector resonators 20A to 20D have the same characteristic, the signal is further filtered as it passes through the half sector resonators, and when it reaches the receiving rod 38, a filtered output signal is taken out from the socket 40. As apparent from the above, an increase in the number of the segmented resonator members increases the filtering effect. Therefore, the number of the resonator members, which has been explained as four, can be changed to any desired number.

Referring to FIGS. 25 and 26, there is shown a filter 30 similar to the filter depicted in FIGS. 9 and 10 with the exception that the four half sector resonators 20A, 20B, 20C and 20D are derived from a base resonators having polygonal rather than circular cross sections.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, there is shown a filter 44 according to the second embodiment. The filter 44 comprises shield casing 32, exciting rod 34 coupled with a socket 36 and receiving rod 38 coupled with a socket 40, which are arranged in a similar manner to the first embodiment. The filter 44 further comprises five half sector resonators 20A to 20E which are bonded on opposite inner surfaces of the casing 32. More specifically, three half sector resonators 20A, 20C and 20E are bonded to one inner surface of the casing 32 in a similar manner described above but with a longer pitch, and two half sector resonators 20B and 20D are bonded to the opposite inner surface in an offset relationship with the resonators 20A, 20B and 20C, such that the half sector resonator 20B is positioned approximately between the half sector resonators 20A and 20C and the half sector resonator 20D is positioned approximately between the half sector resonators 20C and 20E. Furthermore, there are provided a plurality of walls 46a to 46e made of electrically conductive material to guide the signal transmitted through the casing 32. For example, the wall 46a prevents the signal emitted from the exciting rod 34 from being transmitted directly to the second half sector resonator 20B, and accordingly, the signal from the rod 34 is guided to the first half sector resonator 20A. The walls 46a and 46b guide the signal from the first half sector resonator 20A to the second half sector resonator 20B. According to the second embodiment, the signal is transmitted rather in a zig-zag format.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, there is shown a filter 50 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The filter 50 comprises shield casing 32, exciting rod 34, socket 36, receiving rod 38 and socket 40 which are arranged in a similar manner described above. The filter 50 further comprises four quarter sector resonators 18A, 18B, 18C and 18D which are bonded to one inner surface of the casing 32 such that one cut face provided with the plate 18b (FIG. 4) is bonded to the inner surface and the other cut face provided with the plate 18c is bonded to a wall 52a which is projecting inwardly and perpendicularly from said one inner surface. The quarter sector resonators 18A and 18B are positioned side-by-side to define a semicircle theretogether. Similarly, the quarter sector resonators 18C and 18D are positioned side-by-side through a wall 52b to define a semicircle theretogether. A wall 54 is provided between the resonators 18B and 18C for adjusting the coupling between the resonators 18B and 18C. These walls 52a and 52b are made of an electrically conductive material.

According to a preferred embodiment, the width W (FIG. 13) of the wall 52a or 52b should be slightly smaller than the radius of the quarter sector resonator to improve the coupling between the neighboring resonators, e.g., 18A and 18B.

In operation, a signal emitted from the rod 34 is transferred to the first quarter sector resonator 18A, and then the signal is further transferred to the next quarter sector resonator 18B through the air. Likewise, the signal is transferred in turn to the resonators 18C and 18D and when it reaches the rod 38, the filtered signal is taken out from the socket 40.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, there is shown a filter 60 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. This filter 60 also has the casing 32, exciting rod 34, socket 36, receiving rod 38 and socket 40 which are arranged in a similar manner described above. The filter 60 further has eight quarter sector resonators 18A to 18H in which the quarter sector resonators 18A, 18D, 18E and 18H are bonded on one inner surface in a similar manner to the four quarter sector resonators provided in the filter 50 of the third embodiment. The remaining resonators 18B, 18C, 18F and 18G are bonded on the opposite inner surface in an offset relationship with the opposing resonators 18A, 18D, 18E and 18H, respectively. There are provided walls 62a, 62b, 62c, 62d and 62e for improving the shielding effect between the neighboring resonators, e.g., 18A and 18D and further for guiding the signal. For this purpose, the width W' of the walls 62a to 62e is greater than the radius of the quarter sector resonator.

In operation, the signal emitted from the rod 34 is transferred via resonators in the order of 18A, 18B, 18C, 18D, 18E, 18F, 18G and 18H, to the receiving rod 38, and the resulting signal is taken out from the socket 40.

Referring to FIGS. 17 and 18, there is shown a filter 70 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The filter 70 comprises a casing 33 having approximately a square configuration when viewed from the top, and a partition wall 72 made of electrically conductive material and extending from the center of one inner surface towards the opposite inner surface of the casing with a predetermined distance spaced between the end of the partition wall remote from said one inner surface and said opposite inner wall to allow signals to pass therethrough. A pair of plates 74 and 76 made of electrically conductive material and extending perpendicular from the partition wall 72 are provided such that the partition wall 72 and the plates 74 and 76 define a cross shaped configuration approximately at the center of the casing 33. When viewed from the side as shown in FIG. 18, the partition wall 72 and the plates 74 and 76 extend from the top plate to the bottom plate of the casing 33. The exciting rod 34, which is coupled with the socket 36, is located on one side of the partition wall 72 adjacent to the surface from which the partition wall 72 extends, and extends perpendicularly to the partition wall 72. The receiving rod 38 coupled with the socket 40 is located on the other side of the partition wall 72 approximately in alignment with the exciting rod 34. In the casing 33 there are provided four quarter sector resonators 18A, 18B, 18C and 18D which are bonded to the four corners defined by the cross such that the faces of each quarter sector resonator containing the right angle are fixedly bonded to each corner of the cross.

In operation, the signal emitted from the exciting rod 34 is transferred to the quarter sector resonators in the order of 18A, 18B, 18C and 18D through the space around the resonators and further to the receiving rod 38.

Referring to FIGS. 19 and 20, there is shown a filter 80 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. When compared with the filter 70 of the fifth embodiment, the filter 80 further comprises electrically conductive plates 82, 84, 86 and 88 extending radially from the crossing point of the partition wall 72 and the plates 74 and 76 so as to define eight corners each containing an angle of 45.degree.. Provided in the corners are eight acute sector resonators 16A, 16B, 16C, 16D, 16E, 16F, 16G and 16H. Accordingly, the signal emitted from the rod 34 is transferred through the acute sector resonators in said order to the receiving rod 38.

Referring to FIGS. 21 and 22, there is shown a filter 90 according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. The filter 90 comprises a casing 35 having a V-shaped groove portion 35a which is recessed inwardly when viewed from the top (FIG. 21) and extends from top to bottom of the casing 35 (FIG. 22) so as to present a V-shaped projection inside the casing. Fittingly bonded on the V-shaped projection is a complimentary V-cut sector resonator 22. The exciting rod 34 and the receiving rod 38 are positioned on the opposite sides of the resonator 22 so that the signal emitted from the rod 34 is filtered in the resonator 22 and is taken from the receiving rod 38.

In the above described embodiment one through seven, the attachment of the sector resonator to the inner surface or to the wall can be carried out, instead of using the bonding agent, by the method of soldering.

Furthermore, in any one of the embodiments, since the casing is made of an electrically conductive material, it is not necessary to provide plate e.g. 16c and 16b (FIG. 3) to the cut faces of the resonator. Therefore, the sector shaped dielectric body, e.g., 16 can be directly bonded to the wall or inner surface of the casing.

According to the present invention, since the resonator can be formed in a compact size, the filter can also be formed in a compact size. Particularly, in the embodiments described in connection with FIGS. 17 to 22, the signal propagates through a passageway having a figure of a "U", and accordingly, the length of the casing can be shortened.

Furthermore, since the resonators are held in contact with the casing with a considerably large contact area, the heat generated in the resonators can be effectively transmitted to the casing. Accordingly, when filtering a signal of a large power of signal, the heat generated from the resonator can be dissipated through the casing to maintain the temperature of the resonator considerably low, and accordingly, the undesired change of resonant characteristic caused by the temperature change can be avoided. The effect of such heat dissipation is particularly noticeable when the resonators are attached to partition wall 72 and plates 74 and 76 which function as heat dissipation fins.

Instead of bonding on the inner wall or plates, the sector shaped resonator according to the present invention can be mounted on a dielectric support 92 as shown in FIG. 24. In this case, the cut face of the resonator should be coated with an electrically conductive film 22b and 22c, as shown by the bold line in FIG. 23.

Although the present invention has been fully described by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, many modifications and variations thereof will now be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the scope of the present invention is therefore to be limited not by the details of the preferred embodiments described above, but only by the terms of appended claims.