A varactor tuned branch-line hybrid coupler

This paper introduces a novel branch-line 90° hybrid coupler incorporating varactor diodes which allow tuning of the frequency response. A design covering the DCS, PCS and IMT2000 cellular frequency bands (1710-2170 MHz) is presented. Given a varactor tunability of 2.5:1, simulations suggest 20 dB return loss and 3±1 dB coupling is achievable across each transmit and receive sub-band by tuning the varactors. These results offer an improvement over a conventional single-section branch-line hybrid centred at 1950 MHz, and some miniaturisation is also achieved due to the capacitive loading. A prototype is constructed using commercially available varactor diodes, and reasonable agreement between the measured and simulated results is achieved.