AbstractAn improved tunable coplanar waveguide (CPW) bandstop filter, which exhibits good performance, is proposed in this paper. A novel tunable open stub and a useful formula for frequency shift and impedances are also presented. Further, air bridges and a special method of step compensation in the angle bends are employed to overcome differences in the radiation effects as much as possible. From the measured results, a 33% narrower rejection bandwidth with sharper roll‐off was achieved, particularly in comparison to that of the bent filter. An enormous size reduction of 53% was obtained, compared to the conventional open‐stub structure. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 41: 198–200, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.20091