Design and Realization. of the Dual-mode Channel Filter and Group-Delay-and-Amplitude Equalizer for the Ka-band Satellite Transponder Subsystem

In this paper, the design of a channel filter and its group-delay-and-amplitude equalizer is carried out for the Ka-band satellite transponder subsystem. The 8th order dual-mode filter is employed for high selectivity around the band-edges with an elliptic-integral function response and has an in-line configuration. The 2-pole, reflection-type, group-delay equalizer is designed and manufactured to reduce the group-delay and amplitude variation, which can be large for such a high order filter. It is noted that in both the filter and equalizer, adopting the dual-mode coupling mechanism leads to less mass and volume. Through measurement, the performance of the realized group-delay-equalized filter is shown to meet the equipment requirements and to be appropriate for the satellite input multiplexer.