Design and Development of Wilkinson Power Divider

for Wifi Application.

Prathamesh Bagal

Student, Electronics,
K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Somaiya Vidyavihar University
Mumbai, India
E-mail: prathamesh.bagal@Somaiya.edu

Aditya Mishra

Student, Electronics,
K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Somaiya Vidyavihar University
Mumbai, India
E-mail: aditya.mishra@somaiya.edu

Makarand Kulkarni

Assistant Professor, Electronics,

K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Somaiya Vidyavihar University
Mumbai, India
E-mail: Makarandkulkarni@Somaiya.edu

Nilesh Lakade

Assistant Professor, Electronics,

K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Somaiya Vidyavihar University
Mumbai, India
E-mail: nilesh.lakade@Somaiya.edu

Abstract
This paper presents a 3-Port Equal-Split Wilkinson Power Divider tailored for Wifi
Applications operating at 2.4 GHz, It plays an important role in uniform signal
distribution across multiple devices within a network. Its compact design and equal
power division capability make it well-suited for Internet of Things (IoT)
applications.

The study showcases the potential of this Radio Frequency (RF) Component to
contribute to the advancements of wireless communication.

Keywords: Wilkinson power divider, IoT, Equal-Split, PathWave-ADS, Signal

Distribution, Wifi Application.
 I. Introduction
The Wilkinson power divider is known for its compact design and vast area of
application, Among the other types of power dividers available, the Wilkinson
power divider offers better isolation alongside the insertion and reflection loss. In
this paper, we have designed and simulated an equal-split 3-port Wilkinson power
divider tailored for wifi frequency using Pathwave ADS software. The objective is
to design the most compact Wilkinson power divider tailored for wifi frequency.
Wilkinson power dividers are used in household wifi networks, where it plays a
crucial role as a signal Distributor. It efficiently splits the WiFi signal, ensuring that
every corner of our home receives a robust signal. This means that all devices in
range get a fair share of the WiFi signal. It helps in maintaining a good and balanced
WiFi signal for multiple devices in our home. They are also used in IoT applications
where efficient power distribution to various devices in a network is essential.

II. Literature review

1. Design of Wilkinson Power Divider for Mobile and WLAN Applications [5]

The power divider is a crucial device in microwave and RF applications. Operating

on a single frequency band with quarter-wave lines, it plays a vital role in
distributing power from an input signal to multiple output signals. This design
introduces a three-output port power divider tailored for 2.4 GHz frequency and was
designed using the HFSS simulator.

(M. C. Farah and F. Salah-Belkhodja, "Design of Wilkinson Power Divider for

Mobile and WLAN Applications," in Proceedings of the International Conference
for Pioneering and Innovative Studies, June 5-7, 2023).

Wilkinson power divider can be used for mobile and wlan applications, it delivers
satisfactory performance despite its bandwidth limitations

2. Design of Wilkinson Power Divider for Mobile and WLAN Applications [11]

A Wilkinson power divider was designed to operate at 915 MHz and 2.4 GHz. The
objective of this paper was to design a Planar Wilkinson power divider that has
reduced size and was designed using the ADS software.

(Prof. G. Kalpanadevi and S. J. Keerthanaa, "Design of Wilkinson Power Divider

for Mobile and WLAN Applications," IOSR Journal of Electronics and
Communication Engineering (IOSR-JECE), pp. 57-60, e-ISSN: 2278-2834, p-ISSN:
2278-8735.)

Wilkinson power divider utilizes a Quarter wave transformer line for providing
impedance matching and 90-degree phase shift alongside an isolation resistor to
provide better isolation among the two output ports.
III. Design and Simulation
For the design of the desired Wilkinson power divider we have used a Quarter wave
transformer line (λ/4) topology which has a characteristic impedance of 1.414Z0,
alongside an isolation resistor of 2Zo, which is 100Ω. The Quarter wave line
provides a 90-degree Phase shift meaning from the input port an equal amplitude
and phase of the input signal is split into the two output ports as well providing
impedance matching across the input and output port.

Figure-1: Schematic design

 Figure-2: Design Layout

Figure-3: Co-Simulation Design

Figure-4: Substrate design

The substrate design is composed of FR4 (Flame Resistant) Material with the height
of the substrate being 1.57mm and the thickness of the conductor, which is copper
being 0.01 mm, refer Figure-4.
IV. Simulation Results and Discussion

Figure-5: Simulation result of Wilkinson power divider on ADS

Upon Simulating the design at 2.4 GHz frequency we get the following results:

S11 = -58.942 dB;

S22 = S33 = -64.514 dB,

S12 = S21 = S13 = S31 = -3.048 dB

S32 = S23 = -64.039 dB

 TABLE-1: Comparison of S-Parameters

Reference S11 S21 S31 S32

No.

1. -31.90 -3.255 -3.251 -48.05

2. -26.41 -4.16 -4.16 -27.41

Proposed -58.942 -3.048 -3.048 -64.039

Work

(Source: Author’s compilation)

As we can notice that the values are matched, reciprocal and excellent isolation is
there between the two output ports due to the presence of the isolated SMD resistor.
S12-S21-S13-S31 is in the desired range of -2.8 dB to -3.2 dB, S1, S22, S33, S23,
S32 is under -20 dB. Further research can be done to improve these results and
design an even more efficient, compact design Wilkinson Power Divider tailored for
wifi frequency along with a Defect Ground Structure design that acts as a bandstop
filter to eliminate unwanted harmonics and avoid distortions.

V. Conclusion
The design has yielded excellent results in terms of insertion, reflection and
isolation loss. Based on the literature survey, our work has yielded far better results
and an almost perfect -3 dB power distribution across the two output ports. Further
work will be done on the addition of a Defected Ground Structure (DGS) to the
design to eliminate the unwanted harmonics from appearing and causing distortions.

References
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