Non-Magnetic Circulator Based on a Time-Varying Phase Modulator

Non-reciprocal devices are key elements in modern wireless communication systems. The circulator devices can simultaneously save spectrum resources and antennas. A traditional circulator is made of ferrite materials with an external magnetic bias field, and its bulk and incompatibility with CMOS technology can hardly satisfy the miniaturization and integration of modern high-speed communication systems. In recent years, there have been many outstanding achievements in the study of non-magnetic circulators, among which, the method of producing non-reciprocity by temporal modulation is considered the most likely to have a transformative influence on the industry. By varying one of the parameters of the system with time, the time inversion symmetry of the system can be broken so that the non-reciprocal devices can be formed by applying appropriate topological structures without the use of magnetic materials. In the paper, a new concept of a time-varying phase modulator (TVPM) is proposed to achieve a relatively simple method to break the symmetry of time inversion. Two different time-varying phase modulators and buffering units can be integrated to form a gyrator, with which a circulator can be formed. This paper provides a relatively simple design idea and shows the circuit design and implementation method as well as the numerical analysis and simulation results. The simulation results show that the insertion loss of the circulator at the center frequency is −1.7 dB and the isolation is −18 dB. The proposed non-magnetic circulator shows potential applicability in related 5G and pre-6G systems.