Y-type hexagonal ferrite-based band-pass filter with dual magnetic and electric field tunability

This work is on the design, fabrication and characterization of a hexagonal ferrite band-pass filter that can be tuned either with a magnetic field or an electric field. The filter operation is based on a straight-edge Y-type hexagonal ferrite resonator symmetrically coupled to the input and output microstrip transmission lines. The Zn₂Yfilter demonstrated magnetic field tunability in the 8-12 GHz frequency range by applying an in-plane bias magnetic field H₀ provided by a built-in permanent magnet. The insertion loss and 3 dB bandwidth within this band were 8.6 ± 0.4 dB and 350 ± 40 MHz, respectively. The electric field E tunability of the pass-band of the device was facilitated by the nonlinear magnetoelectric effect (NLME) in the ferrite. The E-tuning of the center frequency of the filter by (1150 ± 90) MHz was obtained for an input DC electric power of 200 mW. With efforts directed at a significant reduction in the insertion loss, the compact and power efficient magnetic and electric field tunable Zn₂Y band-pass filter has the potential for use in novel reconfigurable RF/microwave devices and communication systems.