Novel rat-race hybrid coupler for RF front-end module

In this paper, a novel compact rat-race hybrid coupler incorporating an improved beeline compact microstrip resonant cell(IB-CMRC) is presented firstly. The size of the coupler is reduced by 46.5% than conventional one due to IB-CMRC's excellent slow-wave effect. The novel coupler possesses strong ability of high-order harmonic suppression (above 30 dB) in addition. The measured insertion loss is comparable to that of a conventional microstrip hybrid coupler. Great potential applications of this IB-CMRC can be explored in MICs and MMICs to reduce the circuits size, suppress harmonics and improve the overall performance of the RF front-end module.