A Tunable Dual-Broad-band Branch-Line Coupler Utilizing Composite Right/left-Handed Transmission Lines

A tunable dual-broad-band branch-line coupler (BLC) utilizing composite right/left-handed (CRLH) transmission lines is presented. Two λ/4 segments consisting of CRLH transmission lines are added to each port to broaden the dual bands of the branch-line coupler. Numerical simulation and optimal design of the novel coupler are presented. The dual bands of the novel coupler are tunable and broad. The 1-dB bandwidth of each passband is more than, 16% of the central frequency.