US 3,986,147 A · Power divider and power combiner utilizing isolator-mismatch and isolator-reflector devices

Abstract

A novel microwave power divider is disclosed that is a combination of an N-port junction circulator and a novel isolator-mismatch device for each circulator port other than one input port and divides microwave signal power incident to the input port into any desired ratio among the output ports and isolates all the ports from microwave power reflected back toward the divider after being propagated through the divider and thus prevents interaction among line devices, e.g. amplifier units, that are fed by the output ports. Also a novel microwave power combiner is disclosed that is a combination of an N-port junction circulator and a novel isolator-reflector device for each port other than one output port to combine at the one output port identical microwave signals or microwave signals that differ in frequency or phase incident to the isolator-reflector devices. The microwave power combiner, like the microwave power divider, provides isolation among the signal transmission lines. Also a novel solid-state microwave power amplifier is disclosed that includes the novel power divider, a solid-state power amplifier unit for each power fraction from the outputs of the divider and the novel power combiner for the amplified outputs of the power divider.

Claims4

Dependent claims

A nonreciprocal microwave signal power divider comprising:

an N-port circulator including one input port and N-1 output ports,
a two-port isomismatch device coupled to and in series with each of the N-1 circulator output ports respectively, the one of the two isomismatch ports coupled to said circulator being an input port and the other port being an output port of the divider,
each isomismatch device having means for absorbing all signal power input to its output port,
the isomismatch device coupled to the last circulator port, in the order of rotation from the circulator input port, transmitting substantially all of the incident microwave signal power from the last circulator port,
each of the isomismatches coupled to the other circulator output ports having means for transmitting a predetermined fraction of the microwave signal power incident from the respective circulator port and reflecting the remainder back toward the respective circulator port, to divide the microwave signal power incident to the circulator input port into predetermined fractions that sum to substantially the signal power input to the circulator.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Power divider and power combiner utilizing isolator-mismatch and isolator-reflector devices

Life of this patent

Power divider and power combiner utilizing isolator-mismatch and isolator-reflector devices

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims4