Compact LTCC LPF Chip for Microwave Radar Sensor Applications

A $5^{th}$-order low-pass filter (LPF) chip implemented in a six-layer low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) dielectric substrate has been presented. Lumped elements constituting the LPF are designed three-dimensionally in multilayers. In order to improve the parasitic and mutual coupling effects between them, the LPF is designed by sequentially integrating the three-dimensional (3D) lumped elements, by comparing it to the results of the schematic circuit and 3D electromagnetic (EM) analysis. The designed 3D LPF chip was fabricated in a six-layer LTCC substrate as small as $4.0{\times}3.22{\times}0.68mm^3$. The measured return and insertion losses are less than -11 dB and -0.61 dB, respectively, below 1.5 GHz.