High temp superconductor RF devices
J.M. Madden · IEEE Potentials · 1998
Recently, considerable interest has been expressed for superconducting radio frequency (RF) devices for commercial and government applications. One very interesting example is the application of superconducting RF filters for cellular base stations. The reason is quite clear: RF filters based on superconductor materials are fundamentally more efficient than normal-metal filters. They allow a system to use more of its allocated RF spectrum by reducing "guard bands", and they allow cellular base stations to cover more ground. Many cellular base station systems engineers are beginning to seriously consider using this technology. Companies, such as Motorola, AT&T and others, have teamed up with R&D labs to investigate the idea. This article gives the reader a brief introduction to the technology and its potential impact on wireless communications systems.