Microwave combiner assembly
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorDaniel C. Buck
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A microwave combiner assembly is described incorporating a coaxial transmission line having a plurality of diodes exhibiting negative resistance at high frequency mounted between the center conductor and the outer conductor of the transmission line. Each diode is mounted on a segment forming a portion of the center conductor which are separated by slots containing lossy dielectric. A signal is capacitively coupled from each diode by capacitively coupling each segment to a common center conductor. Each diode is biased by coupling a bias voltage to each segment. The microwave combiner overcomes the problem of mechanically assembling a plurality of diodes in an oscillator or amplifier while attenuating anti-phase currents in the diodes indicative of undesired oscillator modes.
Claims9
Microwave apparatus comprising:
- a coaxial transmission line having a center conductor and an outer conductor, said conductors symmetrically disposed about the longitudinal axis of said line;
- the center conductor having a hollow first section assembly and a second section assembly, each assembly symmetrically disposed about said longitudinal axis;
- said first section assembly having a plurality of segments having edges parallel to said longitudinal axis and positioned to form an interior hollow space of predetermined dimension segments;
- each segment having a first part and a second part of predetermined lengths whereby a slot formed between the longitudinal edges of respective segments in said first part is filled with a lossy dielectric means of predetermined impedance;
- a plurality of diodes each suitable for providing negative resistance each having a first terminal in contact with respective segments in said first part at a predetermined position along said center conductor said diodes being in a radial configuration about said axis, and each diode having a second terminal coupled a heat sink means and to said outer conductor;
- a compression means to secure said heat sink means, diodes, segments, and lossy dielectric means in fixed mechanical relationship to each other and to said axis;
- said second section assembly inserted into said hollow space of the first section assembly and having a conductive means to couple a bias current to each segment and a microwave conductive means to couple microwave signals to said segments;
- and
- said outer conductor surrounding the combined first section and second section assemblies.
A microwave combiner for combining the signals of a plurality of diodes comprising:
- a coaxial transmission line having a center conductor and an outer conductor;
- said center conductor including a plurality of spaced apart segments extending lengthwise and positioned to form the outer surface of said center conductor;
- resistance means coupled between adjacent segments of said center conductor;
- said plurality of diodes each having a negative resistance characteristic at high frequency and a first and second electrode;
- each of said segments having one of said plurality diodes positioned at a predetermined distance along said segment, each said diode having its first electrode coupled to said segment and its second electrode coupled to said outer conductor;
- means for coupling a bias voltage to each of said diodes;
- and
- means for coupling a signal from each of said diodes together and to an output terminal.
An oscillator for generating a signal comprising:
- a coaxial transmission line having a center conductor and an outer conductor;
- said center conductor including a plurality of spaced apart segments extending lengthwise and positioned to form the outer surface of said center conductor;
- resistance means coupled between adjacent segments of said center conductor;
- a plurality of diodes each having a negative resistance characteristic at high frequency and a first and second electrode;
- each of said segments having one of said plurality diodes positioned at a predetermined distance along said segment, each said diode having its first electrode coupled to said segment and its second electrode coupled to said outer conductor;
- means for coupling a bias voltage to each of said diodes;
- and
- means for coupling a signal from each of said diodes together and to an output terminal.
An amplifier for amplifying an input signal comprising:
- a coaxial transmission line having a center conductor and an outer conductor;
- said center conductor including a plurality of spaced apart segments extending lengthwise and positioned to form the outer surface of said center conductor;
- resistance means coupled between adjacent segments of said center conductor;
- a plurality of diodes each having a negative resistance characteristic at high frequency and a first and second electrode;
- each of said segments having one of said plurality diodes positioned at a predetermined distance along said segment, each said diode having its first electrode coupled to said segment and its second electrode coupled to said outer conductor;
- means for coupling a bias voltage to each of said diodes;
- means for coupling an input signal to each of said diodes;
- and
- means for coupling an output signal from each of said diodes together and to an output terminal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.