An Optimized Compact Rat Race at 2.45 GHz

A compact microstrip rat race attained by artificially shortening its lines by inserting stubs is presented. The design starts with a preliminary theoretical length reduction where quarter wavelength lines are shortened thanks to shunt open circuit stubs placed in the line mid-points. Such a preliminary design is then optimized via particle swarm optimization (PSO) within a full wave electromagnetic CAD, also bending the stubs to attain maximum compactness. The resulting design occupies an area up to only 37% of a conventional rat race, with performances comparable to those of a standard rat race.