Development of compact resonator and transmission lines based on multi-layer CRLH structure

We present the design and development of a compact resonator and a 4-cell transmission line based on the concept of composite right/left-handed transmission lines (CRLH TL). The CRLH TL is composed of unit cells which are built on a multilayer substrate with series metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors on the top and shunt inductors etched on the ground plane. A compact resonator and a 4-cell CRLH TL are designed and fabricated based on this multi-layer CRLH structure. The experimental results demonstrate that the CRLH TL resonator with a length of 125 mils has a measured resonant frequency at 4.2 GHz. The 4-cell CRLH TL having left-handed band from 1 GHz to 2 GHz with a physical length of 590 mils is also demonstrated. Within this left-handed band, the measured electrical lengths of the TL are 180 degree at 1.031 GHz and 1.712 GHz and 90 degree at 1.109 GHz and 1.435 GHz.