At IMS 2026, everything RF had a conversation with Bob Buxton, Product Line Manager, Smiths Interconnect, who presented the company’s range of RF and microwave filtering, signal routing, and ferrite technologies designed for communications and radar systems. The discussion focused on the company’s ceramic filter solutions, which can be tailored for different RF applications, including IF filtering, local oscillator cleanup, transmit signal cleanup, and receiver filtering. Buxton explained that Smiths Interconnect works closely with customers to develop application-specific designs that meet precise performance requirements.
The portfolio on display at their booth included ceramic filters, Planar X printed filters, cavity filters, RF cables and connectors, and ferrite isolators and circulators. These products are designed to operate across a wide range of frequency bands, from MHz to millimeter-wave, and support different RF system requirements, including signal filtering, routing, and protection.
View the Video of Bob Buxton Talking about Smiths Interconnect's Product Range at IMS 2026
The Planar X filter family is designed for applications where size, weight, power, and cost are important considerations. Based on thin/thick film technology, these filters are available across X, Ku, and Ka bands, with solutions extending to around 30 GHz and beyond. They offer low insertion loss, good out-of-band rejection, and typical power handling up to around 10 W, making them suitable for compact, high-frequency system designs.
The company's cavity filter technologies operate from 30 MHz to 51 GHz with bandwidths ranging from less than 0.5% to over 66%. Built using high-Q resonant structures, these filters provide very low insertion loss and steep selectivity, making them suitable for receiver front ends and high-performance filtering. For high-power applications, waveguide variants are available, covering 1 GHz to 100 GHz with temperature-stable materials, and supporting power levels from tens of watts to kilowatts.
Smiths Interconnect also presented its range of ferrite-based isolators and circulators, available in waveguide, coaxial, and drop-in formats. These components typically offer low insertion loss, high isolation (~20 dB), and good return loss, and are used to protect RF signal chains and control signal flow. They can be integrated with other RF components to support more compact and efficient subsystem designs.
A central theme of the presentation was collaboration. Buxton emphasized the company’s approach of working closely with customers to develop custom RF and microwave solutions, with a focus on fast turnaround times for prototyping and evaluation.
Click here to learn more about Smiths Interconnect's product line.
