Design and Comparison of Pcb- and Thin-Film-Based Ka-Band Wilkinson Power Dividers

Efficient and broadband power dividers/combiners play a critical role in wireless communication, imaging, and radar networks. Modern trends demand designs that offer high performance and broadband frequency response, while remaining cost-effective, having short lead times, and allowing easy repeatable fabrication. This work investigates Wilkinson power dividers implemented on two platforms: conventional printed circuit board (PCB) substrates and thin-film alumina substrates. Simulations were made in the 3 0 - 4 0 G H z range using a full-wave frequency-domain solver. Insertion loss, return loss, and isolation performances were evaluated. The thin-film approach offered lower loss, while the PCB approach provided a more cost-effective solution.