CPW balun for printed balanced antennas

Abstract

In coplanar waveguide (CPW) circuits, printed balanced antennas must be excited through baluns. These baluns often feature coplanar-to-slotline transitions that must be tuned and matched by electromagnetic optimisation, and may interfere with the antenna backward radiation. A new CPW balun for printed balanced antennas is presented and modelled. As its multimodal circuit model makes clear, it integrates an impedance-matching network within its structure that can be analytically designed. The balun has been experimentally tested, exhibiting good agreement with its circuit model and a weak electromagnetic interaction with the antenna radiation.