Modeling of Coplanar Waveguide Meander-Line

Inductors

Kevin Ming-Jiang Ho, Grant Andrew Ellis, Ban-Leong Ooi, Mook-Seng Leong
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Block E4,
Level 5, Room 48, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576
Received 8 October 2001; accepted 5 March 2002

ABSTRACT: A unique and simple method of modeling a coplanar waveguide meander-line

inductor is presented. Using only the lower frequency response of electrically smaller induc-
tors, their higher frequency response is predicted. In addition, the responses of physically
larger inductors can also be made using circuit models synthesized directly from the unit cell
layout of the inductors. The modeling and prediction results for an ideal metal and lossless
substrate is presented, together with comparisons made for various lossy parameters.
© 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 12: 520 –529, 2002. Published online in Wiley
InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mmce.10052

Keywords: coplanar waveguide; meander-line inductors; circuit modeling; computer-aided design

environment; nonlinear optimization methods

I. INTRODUCTION higher frequency responses. Similarly, by using the

Despite being frequently considered over the past few
decades, coplanar waveguides (CPWs) have not been
as widespread in microwave integrated circuit (MIC)
implementations as their microstrip-line counterpart.
The main reason for this could be the difficulty in its
implementation in computer-aided engineering envi-
ronments. Similarly, simple planar reactive circuit
components like the meander-line inductors and com-
plimentary interdigital capacitors have been investi-
gated but are not widely considered, especially for
CPW implementation. The motivation is to derive
models for these planar passive circuit components so
as to allow ease in first-cut computer-aided design of
uniplanar passive structures in MICs.
A method of using a simple circuit topology to
model CPW meander-line inductors is implemented
in this research. With this circuit model of the mean-
der-line inductor, data for the lower frequency re-
sponse of the inductors can be used to predict their
Correspondence to: K.M.-J. Ho; e-mail: engp0280@nus.edu.sg.
frequency response of the physically smaller induc-
tors, the frequency response of the physically larger
inductors can be predicted with reasonable accu-
racy.
The computational requirements of commercial
electromagnetic simulators typically involve a factor
of N2–N3 iterations, where N is typically the number
of subsections or cells into which a circuit is divided,
thus being proportional to both the electrical and
physical size of the structure. Therefore, the motiva-
tion here is the significant time saved in performing
such simulations for larger structures, hence being
useful for first-cut circuit design applications.
All electromagnetic simulated data for the fre-
quency response of the CPW meander-line inductors
used in this research were obtained using the Sonnet威
em威 Simulator (Sonnet Software, Inc.). Sonnet em
uses the method of moments with a fast Fourier trans-
form algorithm to perform 3-dimensional analysis on
planar multilayered dielectric structures with both an
underlying fixed grid and the surface meshed tech-
nique [1].

© 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

520

The modeling and optimization of circuit models
were performed with an HP 85150 microwave and RF
design system (MDS/RFDS, Agilent EEsof EDA).
II. CIRCUIT TOPOLOGY AND
IMPLEMENTATION
The modeled CPW meander-line inductors are shown
in Figure 1. The line spacing to ground is 10 mil, the
line width is 45 mil, and the inductor line width and
line spacing are 5 mil. The figure shows 2-, 3-, 6-, and
10-turn inductors. Besides the number of turns, all
other physical dimensions for the inductors in this
research are kept constant. Many different configura-
tions for CPWs exist, and the case being considered in
this presentation is that of a grounded coplanar as
described in [2], which essentially has a bottom
ground plane and the potential of the two side ground
strips being electrically shorted to the bottom ground
plane. Ensuring that the side coplanar ground strips
are electrically shorted to the bottom ground plane is
essential to prevent the occurrence of multimode
propagation, which is highly undesirable because the
bottom ground plane can provide for a ground current
return for a microstrip mode that is independent of the
coplanar mode of propagation if they are not electri-
cally shorted.
The first step involves the derivation of a suitable
circuit model for the inductors. Optimization with
MDS/RFDS with the electromagnetic simulated data
is then used in obtaining suitable parameters for the
circuit elements of the derived model. Figure 2 shows
the synthesis of the circuit model for a two-turn in-
ductor. Each arm is basically being modeled as a
Figure 1. The physical layout of the modeled inductors.
LS, line spacing to ground; LW, line width; IW, inductor
line width; IS, inductor line spacing.
Modeling of CPW Meander-Line Inductors 521
Figure 2. The synthesis of the circuit topology from the
physical layout of a two-turn inductor.
series inductance and resistance. Shunt capacitance to
ground is being included to synthesize ground capac-
itance to both the bottom ground plane and the side
ground planes. The electric and magnetic coupling
between adjacent arms of the inductors is being in-
cluded, and any higher order coupling effects are
omitted. The electric coupling is modeled with a ca-
pacitor between the arms. Instead of using the mutual
inductance library component found in MDS/RFDS, a
different approach is considered that uses the two
adjacent series inductance and a parallel inductance to
form a T-network, as shown in Figure 3(a). This
circuit arrangement allows for faster convergence in
the optimization process. The implementation of this
T-network, together with the ground capacitance as
shown in Figure 3(b), will allow the shunt capacitance
to ground to act as a DC block and hence prevent the
potential at the junction between the two adjacent
series inductors to drop to ground potential at DC. As
such, the circuit topology is derived, and Figure 3(c)
shows the circuit model used in the modeling of a
two-turn inductor.
Not explicitly shown in Figure 3(c) is the imple-
mentation of the frequency-dependent terms in the
series resistance, which needs to be included to model
skin effects. The lumped series inductor in Figure 3(c)
is replaced with an ideal inductor in series with a
two-port Y-parameter model, and the following Y-
parameters are used.
1
Y 11 ⫽ Y 22 ⫽ ⫺Y21 ⫽ ⫺Y12 ⫽ . (1)
␣0 ⫹ ␣1 冑2␲f
Note that a two-port Z-parameter would not be appli-
cable in this case, because of the definition of two-
port networks, which renders it inappropriate for
modeling a single series passive element. The ␣0 in
eq. (1) can be associated with the DC resistance of the
conductor, although it is not to be directly interpreted
as the actual DC resistance of the conductor. Simi-
522 Ho et al.

Figure 3. A T-model for mutual inductance, (b) implementation of the T-model, and (c) the circuit
model used for modeling the two-turn inductor. L, self-inductance; M, mutual inductance.

larly, ␣1 will be of the magnitude of the conductivity
of the conductor. More discussion on the modeling of
series resistance is presented in Section IV. A series
connection of a ideal lumped resistor with an inductor
with a Q library component in MDS/RFDS yields the
same response as the implementation of eq. (1) in a
two-port Y-parameter with an ideal lumped inductor,
but the latter method of implementation will allow the
optimization process to have a better convergence
faster, in addition to providing a better intuitive un-
derstanding of the two circuit parameters (␣0 and ␣1).
Also, the two-port Y-parameter will allow us to easily
include any other frequency-dependent terms, like
dielectric losses, without extensively modifying the
whole circuit, which will be further touched upon in
Section IV.
Using the physical repetitive nature of the mean-
der-line inductors, the circuit models for any number
of turns are easily derived using the method described
above. With this modeling method, we can have two

Figure 4. The magnitude (dB), phase (degrees), and Smith chart response for a two-turn inductor.
approaches to predict the frequency response. The
first approach is to use the simulated data for the
lower frequency response of an inductor to predict its
higher frequency response. This means that the circuit
model is being optimized using the data of the lower
frequency response and the values of the circuit pa-
rameters are thus derived accordingly, which is then
used with the circuit model to predict the higher
frequency response of the inductor. This approach can
be considered as modeling and predicting in scale
electrically. The second approach is to use the simu-
lated data for the frequency response of inductors with
fewer turns (i.e., a physically similar but smaller in-
ductor) to predict the frequency response of inductors
with more turns (i.e., a physically similar but larger
inductor). Besides the number of turns, all the other
physical aspects of the inductors, like the line lengths
and widths per arm, are kept unchanged, which means
that the circuit model for a physically smaller inductor
is being used to optimize against its frequency re-
sponse to obtain suitable values for the circuit param-
eters. The circuit parameters are then applied to the
circuit models of the inductors with more turns to
predict their frequency response. This approach can
be considered as modeling and predicting in scale
physically.
Modeling of CPW Meander-Line Inductors 523
With appropriate values used in setting the limits
for the circuit parameters prior to performing the
optimization, modeling and prediction in scale can be
achieved for both the physical and electrical aspects.
This is shown for the ideal case of having a perfect
electric conductor (PEC) on an ideal lossless sub-
strate, which is shown in the following section. Fur-
ther considerations required for various lossy cases
are briefly touched upon next.
III. MODELING RESPONSE AND
PREDICTION ACCURACY
The ideal case of having a PEC on an ideal lossless
substrate is illustrated. Using only the simulated data
for the frequency response from 0.3 to 2 GHz of both
two-turn and three-turn inductors, suitable circuit pa-
rameters are obtained from the optimization of their
respective circuit models. As such modeling attempts
can easily derive nonunique circuit parameter values,
steps to ensure the validity of the values have to be
taken, which includes the setting of the limits to
within a reasonable range and using both two-turn and
three-turn inductors to obtain the parameters rather
than just one inductor alone in the optimization pro-
524 Ho et al.
Figure 5. The magnitude (dB), phase (degrees), and Smith chart response for a three-turn inductor.
cess. As far as possible, the variables are made de-
pendent on each other’s fluctuations, like the mutual
inductance term being a fraction of the series induc-
tance term, the end element series inductance being a
fraction of the series inductance of every arm, and so
forth. This will ensure faster convergence in the op-
timization process.
These circuit parameters, together with their circuit
models, are then used to predict the frequency re-
sponse till 20 GHz, shown in Figure 4 for the 2-turn
inductor and in Figure 5 for the 3-turn inductor.
Similarly, the same values for the circuit parameters
are used in the relevant circuit models for 6-turn and
10-turn inductors, and the predicted responses ob-
tained by the models till beyond the third resonance
are shown in Figures 6 and 7, respectively, together
with the electromagnetic simulated responses. Table I
shows the values of the various circuit parameters
obtained for this ideal case consideration. Resonance
in this context refers to the crossing of the real axis for
the input impedance with the imaginary component of
the input impedance being at zero.
The high accuracy obtained in Figures 4 –7 shows
the suitability of this method as a prediction tool.
Using the simulated data for the ideal case of a PEC
on an ideal lossless substrate, prediction in scale elec-
trically and physically is shown to be possible.
Using the simulated data for ideal considerations in
first-cut design applications has its advantages, par-
ticularly for cases when a design using such structures
would require several design or optimization itera-
tions. Such simulated data for ideal cases would usu-
ally be within reasonable accuracy from most non-
ideal cases and is further discussed in the following
section. Moreover, motivation for considering the
ideal case includes less computational time required
with commercial electromagnetic simulators like Son-
net em [3]; hence, more time can be saved for first-cut
design processes in computer-aided design environ-
ments, in addition to less time being required for
computing both electrically and physically smaller
structures.
IV. NONIDEAL CASES
The validity of the optimization method shown above
will be subjected to the extent that the nonideal con-
siderations deviate from the ideal case. As such, the
tan ␦ of 0.0035, finite conductivity of 5.8 ⫻ 107 S/m,
and metal thickness of 1.4 mil are considered [4] for
typical substrate (C␧r-10 substrate, Taconic Advanced
Dielectric Division, Taconic) values, and their elec-
tromagnetic simulated response of the reflection co-
 Modeling of CPW Meander-Line Inductors 525

Figure 6. The magnitude (dB), phase (degrees), and Smith chart response for a six-turn inductor.

Figure 7. The magnitude (dB), phase (degrees), and Smith chart response for a 10-turn inductor.
526 Ho et al.

TABLE I. Values for Circuit Parameters Obtained first-cut design process, ensuring that they do not need
for Ideal Case to run repetitive iterations if the need for different
Acryonyms inductors with different turns are involved.
in Figure In considering how different and more extreme
Components/Arm 3(c) Values Units nonideal parameters may affect the accuracy of the
Series inductance SInd 0.4200 nH circuit models, several Sonnet em simulations were
Shunt capacitance to ground GCap 0.0515 pF performed using different loss parameters; the differ-
Mutual inductance MInd 0.0042 nH ences for a three-turn inductor are shown in Figures 9
Coupling capacitance TCap 0.0299 pF and 10 for the more extreme cases of a very lossy
End element substrate with tan ␦ at 0.01 (case A), a metal of finite
Series inductance ESInd 0.1554 nH conductivity with thickness of 1.4 mil (case B), and a
Shunt capacitance to thin metal of finite conductivity with thickness at 0.5
ground EGCap 0.0102 pF
␮m (case C).
Note: The total number of iterations required before conver- As shown in Figure 9, not considering the phase
gence in MDS/RFDS gradient optimization is approximately 40. deviations around the second resonance and the lower
frequency response, the difference in the magnitudes
efficients are shown in Figure 8. Ignoring the response of the reflection coefficients between the ideal mod-
near the dip, the figure shows the close proximity of eled case and the various lossy cases is less than 10%.
the lossy cases with the ideal case to well within 2% In fact, not considering the lossy thin metal, this
for the midfrequency range and within 5% for the difference is within 5 and 10% for the lower fre-
lower frequency range. Hence, the claim of this opti- quency response. Lossy thin metal has a much higher
mization method to be well within 5% for most typ- DC resistance, and so the simple circuit model’s se-
ical MIC design applications using typical substrates ries real impedance is insufficient in this case to
can be made at this stage. This thus provides a unique model it accurately for the whole frequency span.
and useful method for circuit design engineers in their Further detailed descriptions for considering resis-

Figure 8. Reflection coefficients for a three-turn inductor with loss parameters from Taconic’s
C␧r-10 substrate.
 Modeling of CPW Meander-Line Inductors 527

tances of thin metal can be found in [5] and [6] and is

not discussed in further detail here. Alternatively,
using two circuit models simultaneously, with one
having constant real series impedance for the lower
frequency considerations and the other for the square
root of the frequency dependence for the higher fre-
quency response, we can still model the inductors to
within 5% of accuracy.
Also from Figure 10, the differences in the trans-
mission coefficients are less than 7% for all cases.
Based on these differences, we found our method of
using only the simulated data of the lower frequency
response for physically smaller inductors with a PEC
on an ideal lossless substrate to be quite accurate.
Moreover, it will lead to within a 10% deviation for
most lossy considerations, which is a reasonable ac-
curacy for first-cut design applications, and results in
nearly 2–3% accuracy for typical MIC applications up
to and including X-band.
The success of modeling and predicting in scale
electrically using data from measurements or electro-
magnetic simulations with the metal having finite
conductivity and substrate losses will not be as suc-
cessful as the simulation with the PEC on an ideal
lossless substrate shown in Section III unless more
elaborate considerations are taken into account. Mod- Figure 10. Transmission coefficients for various lossy
cases for magnitudes (dB) (top) and differences in percent-
ages (bottom).

eling of the substrate losses includes either the addi-

tion of a shunt resistance to ground or alternatively
changing the series resistance of eq. (1) to

1
Y 11 ⫽ Y 22 ⫽ ⫺Y21 ⫽ ⫺Y12 ⫽ ,
␣0 ⫹ ␣1 冑2␲f ⫹ ␣2 f
(2)

where ␣2 can be associated with the substrate losses,

Figure 9. Reflection coefficients for various lossy cases for
magnitudes (dB) (top) and differences in percentages (bottom).
which is similar to that used in [7]. As mentioned
above, modeling of the resistance of metal with finite
conductivity is more tedious, especially for thin metal,
and it requires two separate models. Appropriate
boundaries for the variations of the circuit values are
needed prior to performing the optimization, and suit-
able values can be obtained from [8]. If required,
more elaborate expressions for the series impedance
terms can be obtained from [9]. Together all these
considerations will help enable the success of model-
ing and predicting in scale electrically, which will be
presented at a later stage.
Nevertheless, success in modeling and predicting
in scale physically has been definite, when using data
from measurements or electromagnetic simulations
with a metal having finite conductivity and substrate
528 Ho et al.
losses. We have successful predictions (not shown) of
physically large inductors with the circuit values ob-
tained from the modeling of the smaller inductors
(two- and three-turn inductors) using the same circuit
models and method as described in Section III. Al-
though it is not as ideal in CAD environments as
being able to predict in scale both physically and
electrically, prediction in scale physically will also
enable considerable time saved in circuit optimiza-
tions with repetitive iterations.
V. CONCLUSION
A simple method is shown for predicting the fre-
quency response of physically or electrically large
meander-line inductors using circuit models synthe-
sized directly from their physical layout.
Using simulated low frequency data and the de-
sired inductor dimensions with the simulations based
on the ideal case of a PEC on an ideal lossless sub-
strate for the physically smaller inductors, we can
predict the actual response to within to 10% accuracy
or even better. For typical cases of MIC applications
on substrates with typical loss parameters, this devi-
ation can be well within 3–5%. The motivation for
this implementation on computer-aided circuit design
applications results in a significant reduction in com-
putational efforts and time in obtaining the simulation
data from commercial electromagnetic simulators,
such as the Sonnet em, on the electrically and phys-
ically smaller structures.
However, if data for cases of nonideal consider-
ations were to be used in obtaining circuit parameters,
then more considerations would be required if the
prediction of the higher frequency response is being
sought. By setting appropriate limits in the optimizing
procedure, the lower frequency response of the phys-
ically smaller inductors can also be used for predict-
ing the higher frequency response by setting appro-
priate limits on the circuit parameters, which is the
BIOGRAPHIES
Kevin Ming-Jiang Ho obtained his B.Eng.
(Hon.) from the National University of Sin-
gapore in 2000. Since then he has been work-
ing toward his postgraduate degree. His cur-
rent research interests include microwave
and monolithic MIC design and passive de-
vice modeling.
subject of future research. Nevertheless, by using the
nonideal data for a wider frequency range to beyond
the first resonance of the physically smaller inductors,
accurate prediction of the response for the physically
larger inductors is also possible. This would be appli-
cable for all lossy cases.
Similarly, the method of extending this modeling
method to inductors of different dimensions would be
feasible and can be further considered. The possibility
of extending this method of modeling and prediction
to the complementary interdigital capacitors or for
such uniplanar structures in multilayer environments
can also be further considered.
REFERENCES
1. Sonnet Software, Inc., “Introduction,” Sonnet user’s
manual, Sonnet Software, Inc., Liverpool, NY, April
1999, Vol. 1, pp. 1– 4.
2. Sonnet Software, Inc., “Modeling coplanar waveguide
(CPW) in Sonnet,” Sonnet Software knowledge base,
Sonnet Software, Inc., May 2001, Available at http://
www.sonnetusa.com/support/kb.asp?id⫽62.
3. Sonnet Software, Inc., “Time required for analysis,” Em
user’s manual, Sonnet Software, Inc., Liverpool, NY,
April 1999, Vol. 1, pp. 237–243.
4. Taconic Advanced Dielectric Division, Product data
sheet for Taconic C␧r-10 substrate, Taconic Advanced
Dielectric Division, Taconic, Petersburg, NY, 1998.
5. J.C. Rautio, An investigation of microstrip conductor
loss, IEEE Microwave Mag 1 (4, 2000), 60 – 67.
6. F. Schnieder and W. Heinrich, Model of thin film mi-
crostrip line for circuit design, IEEE Trans MTT, Vol.
49, No. 1, January 2001, pp. 104 –110.
7. I.J. Bahl, High current handling capacity multilayer in-
ductors for RF and microwave circuits, Int J RF Micro-
wave CAE 10 (2000), 139 –146.
8. C.S. Walker, Capacitance, inductance, and crosstalk
analysis, Artech House, Norwood, MA, 1990.
9. A.R. Djordjevic and T.K. Sarkar, Closed-form formulas for
frequency-dependent resistance and inductance per unit
length of microstrip and strip transmission lines, IEEE
Trans MTT, Vol. 49, No. 2, February 1994, pp. 241–247.
Grant Andrew Ellis was born in Portland,
OR, on December 5, 1960. He received the
B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineer-
ing from Washington State University, Pull-
man, WA, in 1983 and 1986, respectively,
and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineer-
ing from the University of Washington, Se-
attle, in 1995. From 1983 to 1985 he was a
staff engineer with the Boeing Aerospace

Company, and from 1987 to 1998 he was with the Boeing Defense
and Space Group. He was an Assistant Professor of electrical
engineering with the National University of Singapore from 1998 to
2001. His current research interests are in microwave circuit design
including monolithic MIC design, active antenna design, and prop-
agation analysis. Dr. Ellis is a member of Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa
Nu, and the IEEE.
Ban-Leong Ooi received his B.Eng. and
Ph.D. degrees from the National University
of Singapore in 1992 and 1997, respectively.
He is currently an Assistant Professor of
electrical and computer engineering at the
National University of Singapore. Dr. Ooi
served in the Singapore IEEE MTT/
EMC/AP as the Chapter Secretary in 2000
and 2001. He was also actively involved in
organizing the 1999 Asia Pacific Microwave Conference in Singa-
pore and served as the publication chairman in the 1999 Asia
Pacific Microwave Conference in Singapore, Westin Stamford,
Singapore. His main research interests include active antennas
microwave semiconductor device modeling and characterization,
microwave and millimeter wave circuits, and electromagnetic nu-
merical methods. He was the recipient of the URSI Young Scientist
Award in 1993.
Modeling of CPW Meander-Line Inductors 529
Professor Mook-Seng Leong Prof M.S. Le-
ong obtained his BSc (Eng) 1st Class Hons.
in 1968 and PhD (Microwave Engineering)
in 1971, both from the University of London.
From 1971 to 1973, he worked as a postdoc-
toral research fellow at Queen Mary College,
London, investigating antenna problems in
collaboration with Andrew Antennas, Scot-
land, and Microwave Associates, Luton, En-
gland. Prof. Leong joined the National University of Singapore in
1973, and is currently a professor in the Department of Electrical
Engineering. His current research interests include electromagnetic
wave scattering, finite-difference-time-domain analysis, device pa-
rameter extraction and antenna boundary-value problems. He has
been involved in consultancy work with SIA, RSAF, CAAS, and
Agilis Communications. The areas covered include EMI/EMC,
radar reflection and scattering, and microstrip circuit designs. Prof
Leong is a member of the Electromagnetics Academy in the Insti-
tute for Systems and Components, Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology, a Chartered Engineer registered with the Engineering
Council, UK, and a Fellow member of the Institution of Electrical
Engineers of London. He is also the founding Chairman of the
Microwave Theory and Techniques/Antennas and Propagation/
Electromagnetic Compatibility Joint-Chapter, Singapore IEEE Sec-
tion.