Electrical Solitons for Microwave Systems: Harmonizing Nonlinearity and Dispersion with Nonlinear Transmission Line

Nonlinearity and dispersion are often nuisances that microwave engineers seek to curb. However, there is a system that can harmonize these two effects to produce useful-and fascinating-dynamics with unique microwave engineering opportunities: the nonlinear transmission line (NLTL) [1]-[11]. The NLTL is a ladder network of lumped inductors and varactors [Figure 1(a)] that can be alternatively built by periodically loading a smooth transmission line with lumped varactors [Figure 1(b)].