Balanced Symmetrical Quasi-Reflectionless Singleand Dual-Band Bandpass Planar Filters

Microwave planar balanced single-/dual-band bandpass filters (BPFs) with symmetrical quasi-reflectionless differential-mode behavior are presented in this letter. They are made up of a direct single-/dual-band BPF branch with virtually short-ended stubs in differential-mode operation, whose input and output accesses are loaded with stub-loaded-type single-/dual-band bandstop filter (BSF) branches that are terminated with a resistor. These BSF branches exhibit a quasi-complementary transfer function with regard to the one of the BPF branch and absorb the differential-mode inputsignal energy not transmitted by the filter to achieve quasi-reflectionlesss capabilities. The theoretical foundations of the proposed balanced quasi-absorptive single-/dual-band BPFs and synthesis examples are given. Furthermore, for experimental-demonstration purposes, microstrip prototypes of 3-GHz secondorder single-band and 2.85/3.15-GHz first-order dual-band BPFs are manufactured and characterized.