A new class of compact microstrip bandpass filters, the stepped-impedance resonators of which are located close together at a gap of 0.1–0.2 mm, is described. Basic two- and three-element sections of microstrip filters, which are designed around stepped-impedance impedance resonators used to implement tiny selective devices with overall sizes and characteristics comparable to those of microwave ceramic filters, are proposed. It is justified that the mentioned filters can be equipped with closely neighboring metallic shields whose heights are equal to the substrate thickness. As a consequence, these filters turn out to be thinner. The frequency responses of experimental microstrip filters operating at frequencies of 1.75–2 GHz and manufactured on the 1-mm-thick substrates with the permittivity ɛr= 100 have been analyzed. The three-pole microstrip filter with a shield (its operating frequency is 1.96 GHz, and sizes are 5 × 5 × 1.5 mm) has been simulated. It is demonstrated that new microstrip filters can be competitive with low-sized ceramic filters in certain applications.
