Flexible and efficient computer-aided design tool for advanced comb-line rectangular waveguide filters

A very flexible and efficient computer-aided design CAD tool, specifically suited for advanced comb-line rectangular waveguide filters, is presented in this work. The developed software tool, which makes use of a full-wave analysis technique based on the Boundary Integral-Resonant Mode Expansion method, allows loading the considered comb-line resonators with any number of radially symmetrical partial-height metallic posts. The implemented CAD tool also allows dealing with coupling windows of arbitrary cross-section, thus drastically enhancing the flexibility of the CAD process. The excitation of the analyzed components, which is performed using generalized coaxial probes, has also been inte…