Impedance tuners with position feedback
AssigneeMaury Microwave, Inc.
InventorsByung Lee, Gary R. Simpson, Sathya Padmanabhan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An impedance tuner includes a controller, an RF transmission line, and a movable capacitive object configured for movement commanded by the controller relative to the transmission line to alter impedance. A position sensor is configured to provide feedback position data to the controller indicative of the actual position of the capacitive object after it is moved. The controller is configured to utilize the feedback position data in a closed loop to position the capacitive object at a desired position within a tolerance.
Claims19
An impedance tuner, comprising:
- a controller;
- an RF transmission line;
- a movable capacitive object configured for movement commanded by the controller relative to the transmission line to alter impedance;
- a position sensor configured to provide position feedback data to the controller indicative of actual positions of the capacitive object after it is moved;
- and
- wherein the controller is configured to utilize the position feedback data in a closed loop to position the capacitive object at a desired position within a tolerance.
An impedance tuner, comprising:
- a controller;
- a transmission line;
- a capacitive object which is configured for movement relative to the transmission line to alter impedance;
- a motor coupled to the capacitive object and configured to move the capacitive object in response to commands from the controller;
- a position sensor configured to provide position data to the controller indicative of actual positions of the capacitive object relative to the transmission line, and wherein said motor is a motor type other than a stepper motor;
- and
- wherein the controller is configured to utilize the position data in a feedback loop to position the capacitive object at desired positions within a tolerance.
An impedance tuner for presenting a variable impedance to a device under test, comprising:
- a controller;
- an RF transmission line;
- a carriage movable along a first axis parallel to the transmission line;
- a movable capacitive object configured for movement commanded by the controller relative to the transmission line to alter impedance;
- a motorized drive system configured to move the capacitive object along a first axis parallel to the transmission line, and along a second axis transverse to the transmission line, the drive system including a first motor drive coupled to the carriage for moving the carriage along the first axis, and a second motor drive mounted to the carriage and coupled to the capacitive object for moving the capacitive object in directions transverse to the transmission line;
- a position sensor configured to provide position feedback data to the controller indicative of actual positions of the capacitive object along the first axis after it is moved;
- and
- wherein the controller is configured to utilize the position feedback data in a closed loop to position the capacitive object at a desired position along the first axis within a tolerance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.