Broadband microwave combiners for use in HPAs

12th July 2017

Alice Matthews

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Manufacturer of RF and microwave components and subsystems, Link Microtek, has launched a new range of broadband microwave combiners for use in high power amplifier systems (HPAs) for applications such as automotive EMC testing. These combiners enable high power, broadband and low loss combination of microwave signals with performance that cannot be achieved by other methods such as Wilkinson.

For example, the AMRC-8-7/16 is a 3-6GHz, 8-way combiner offering loss of only around 0.3dB whilst able to combine powers with output up to 1,000W easily. It is a radial design with eight N-type input ports and one 7/16 output port. Since the design is reciprocal, it can be used as a power splitter as well. The unit is of small size (190mm long, 56mm diameter) and low weight (1.1kg), being fabricated in aluminum. This device is unpainted but a black satin paint finish is also available.

Combining power from microwave amplifier modules is an increasing requirement as module pricing becomes lower and power and broadband capability increases. A solid state combined HPA can reach the output of vacuum tube devices but can also offer ‘graceful degradation’ upon failure of a single module rather than the catastrophic ‘all or nothing’ performance when a tube fails.

Designed and manufactured at Link Microtek’s facility in Basingstoke, these combiners are individually built to customer specifications. The company can offer wider band (1-6GHz) or narrower band (X-band) versions with different number of ports and connector configurations. A typical narrow band pulsed application would be for weather radar.