Simulation and Improvement of 5GHz Power Divider on FR-4 PCB

In the recent electronic industry, the fiber-resin (FR-4) material is commonly and usually applied to printed circuit board (PCB). Below 3GHz radio-frequency operation range, the FR-4 material board demonstrates a good stability with frequency variation. However, while the central frequency shifts to 5GHz, the characteristic of this material shows some unstable phenomenon with frequency due to the material integrity. For a real FR-4 material, dielectric constant, dissipation factor, coefficient of thermal expansion, and thermal conductivity, basically, are not uniform in each part. In order to overcome these difficulties, this team adopts the simulation concept of the Wilkinson power divider and experimentally adjusts the micro-strip lines in 5GHz power divider. Shortening the metal-line length on the PCB means that the operation wavelength is also reduced. Using this idea and carefully compensating for extra connection effects with real circuit operation, we successfully provide a lower power-loss 5GHz power divider in commercial IC system applications, especially in wireless local-area network (WLAN).Copyright © 2008 by ASME