Micro plasma limiter for RF and microwave circuit protection
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorTai Anh Lam
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Abstract
A protection circuit configured to protect delicate electronics from high power signals is disclosed herein. To that end, the protection circuit includes a limiter circuit comprising a phase changing material to prevent high power signals from reaching one or more electronic circuits. The phase changing material assumes a limiting state automatically when an energy of an applied signal exceeds a threshold, which limits the energy of the signal passed on to any associated electronics.
Claims20
A protection circuit configured to protect one or more electronic circuits from high power signals, the protection circuit comprising:
- a first port and a second port electrically connected to opposing ends of a transmission line, the second port operatively coupled to the one or more electronic circuits;
- and
- a limiter circuit operatively coupled to the transmission line and comprising a phase changing material in communication with a resonator, the phase changing material configured in a limiting state when an energy of a signal received at the first port exceeds a threshold to limit an energy of the signal at the second port;
- wherein the limiter circuit further comprises a bias connector electrically connected to the resonator;
- and
- wherein the threshold comprises a variable threshold controlled by a bias signal applied to the bias connector.
A method of protecting one or more electronic circuits from high power signals, the method comprising:
- receiving a signal at a first port of a transmission line, the transmission line comprising the first port and a second port on opposing ends, the second port operatively coupled to the one or more electronic circuits;
- and
- limiting an energy of the signal at the second port when an energy of the signal received at the first port exceeds a threshold using a phase changing material configured in a limiting state, the phase changing material in communication with a resonator operatively connected to the transmission line;
- wherein the threshold comprises a variable threshold, the method further comprising controlling the threshold by controlling a bias signal applied to the resonator.
An aircraft comprising:
- one or more electronic circuits configured to control an operation of the aircraft;
- and
- a protection circuit comprising:
- a first port and a second port electrically connected to opposing ends of a transmission line, the second port operatively coupled to the one or more electronic circuits;
- and
- a limiter circuit operatively coupled to the transmission line and comprising a phase changing material in communication with a resonator, the phase changing material configured in a limiting state when an energy of a signal received at the first port exceeds a threshold to limit an energy of the signal at the second port;
- wherein the limiter circuit further comprises a bias connector electrically connected to the resonator;
- and
- wherein the threshold comprises a variable threshold controlled by a bias signal applied to the bias connector.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.