A Report on

Microwave Laboratory Components

Submitted as a part of course requirement of
Microwave Laboratory







Submitted by
Abhinay Dubey
Integrated Dual Degree IVth year
Department of Electronics and Computers Engg,
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee











Submitted to:
Dr. Dharmendra Singh,
Assistant Professor
Department of Electronics and Computers Engg
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee

A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
Table of Contents
Table of Contents........................................................................................................ 2
Microwaves An Overview....................................................................................... 3
Uses of Microwaves.................................................................................................... 3
Microwave Frequencies.............................................................................................. 4
Standard Radar Frequency Letter-Band Nomenclature (IEEE Standard 521-1984) .. 4
Microwave Systems.................................................................................................... 5
Waveguide .................................................................................................................. 5
Microwave Hybrid Circuits ........................................................................................ 7
Waveguide Bends ....................................................................................................... 7
Waveguide Tees.......................................................................................................... 9
Directional Couplers ................................................................................................. 11
Circulator .................................................................................................................. 12
Isolators..................................................................................................................... 13
Attenuators................................................................................................................ 14
Klystron..................................................................................................................... 16
Reflex klystron.......................................................................................................... 17
Frequency Meter ....................................................................................................... 17
Gunn Diode............................................................................................................... 18
VSWR meter............................................................................................................. 19
Klystron Power Supply............................................................................................. 20
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
Microwaves An Overview
Microwaves, also referred to as "micro-kilowaves", are electromagnetic waves with
wavelengths longer than those of Terahertz (THz) wavelengths, but relatively short for
radio waves. Microwaves have wavelengths approximately in the range of 30 cm
(frequency = 1 GHz) to 1 mm (300 GHz). However, the boundaries between far infrared
light, Terahertz radiation, microwaves, and ultra-high-frequency radio waves are fairly
arbitrary and are used variously between different fields of study. The term microwave
generally refers to "alternating current signals with frequencies between 300 MHz (3 x
108 Hz) and 300 GHz. This range of wavelengths has led many to question the naming
convention used for microwaves.
The existence of electromagnetic waves, of which microwaves are part of the higher
frequency spectrum, was predicted by James Clerk Maxwell in 1864 from his Maxwell's
equations. In 1888, Heinrich Hertz was the first to demonstrate the existence of
electromagnetic waves by building an apparatus that produced and detected microwaves
in the UHF region. The design necessarily used horse-and-buggy materials, including a
horse trough, a wrought iron point spark, Leyden jars, and a length of zinc gutter whose
parabolic cross-section worked as a reflection antenna.
The microwave range includes ultra-high frequency (UHF) (0.3-3 GHz), super high
frequency (SHF) (3-30 GHz), and extremely high frequency (EHF) (30-300 GHz)
signals.
Above 300 GHz, the absorption of electromagnetic radiation by Earth's atmosphere is so
great that it is effectively opaque , until the atmosphere becomes transparent again in the
so-called infrared and optical window frequency ranges.
Uses of Microwaves
Microwaves are used in broadcasting transmissions because microwaves pass
easily through the earth's atmosphere with less interference than longer
wavelengths. There is also much more bandwidth in the microwave spectrum than
in the rest of the radio spectrum. Typically, microwaves are used in television
news to transmit a signal from a remote location to a television station from a
specially equipped van.
Radar also uses microwave radiation to detect the range, speed, and other
characteristics of remote objects.
Wireless LAN protocols, such as Bluetooth and the IEEE 802.11g and b
specifications, also use microwaves in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, although 802.11a
uses an ISM band in the 5 GHz range. Licensed long-range (up to about 25 km)
Wireless Internet Access services can be found in many countries (but not the
USA) in the 3.54.0 GHz range.
Metropolitan Area Networks - MAN protocols, such as WiMAX (Worldwide
Interoperability for Microwave Access) based in the IEEE 802.16 specification.
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
The IEEE 802.16 specification was designed to operate between 2 to 11 GHz. The
commercial implementations are in the 2.5 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 5.8 GHz ranges.
Cable TV and Internet access on coax cable as well as broadcast television use
some of the lower microwave frequencies. Some mobile phone networks, like
GSM, also use the lower microwave frequencies.
Many semiconductor processing techniques use microwaves to generate plasma
for such purposes as reactive ion etching and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor
deposition (PECVD).
Microwaves can be used to transmit power over long distances, and post-World
War II research was done to examine possibilities. NASA worked in the 1970s
and early 1980s to research the possibilities of using Solar power satellite (SPS)
systems with large solar arrays that would beam power down to the Earth's
surface via microwaves.
A maser is a device similar to a laser, except that it works at microwave
frequencies.
Microwave Frequencies
The term microwave frequencies are generally used for those wavelengths measured in
centimeters, roughly from 30cm to 1mm (1 to 300 GHz). However, microwave really
indicates wavelengths in the microns range. This means microwave frequencies are up to
infrared and visible light regions.
In 1984, the IEEE agreed on the standard letter-band designations shown in the table
below:
Standard Radar Frequency Letter-Band Nomenclature (IEEE Standard 521-
1984)
Band
Designator
Frequency (GHz) Wavelength in Free Space (centimeters)
L band 1 to 2 30.0 to 15.0
S band 2 to 4 15 to 7.5
C band 4 to 8 7.5 to 3.8
X band 8 to 12 3.8 to 2.5
Ku band 12 to 18 2.5 to 1.7
K band 18 to 27 1.7 to 1.1
Ka band 27 to 40 1.1 to 0.75
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
V band 40 to 75 0.75 to 0.40
W band 75 to 110 0.40 to 0.27
Microwave Systems
A microwave system normally consists of a transmitter subsystem, including a
microwave oscillator, waveguides, and a transmitting antenna, and a receiver subsystem
that includes a receiving antenna, transmission line or waveguide, a microwave amplifier,
and a receiver.
Waveguide
In general a waveguide consists of a hollow metallic tube of rectangular or circular shape
used to guide an electromagnetic wave. Waveguides are used principally at frequencies in
the microwave range. At frequency range of X band from 8.00 to 12.00 Ghz, for
example, the U.S. standard rectangular waveguide WR-90 has an inner width of 2.286 cm
and an inner height of 1.016 cm (0.4 in).
In waveguides the electric and magnetic fields are confined to the space within the
guides. Thus no power is lost through radiation, and even the dielectric loss is negligible,
since the guides are normally air filled. However, there is
some power loss as heat in the walls of the guides, but the
loss is very small.
Depending on the frequency, waveguides can be
constructed from either conductive or dielectric materials.
Generally, the lower the frequency to be passed the larger
the waveguide is. For example the natural waveguide the
earth form given by the dimensions between the conductive
Ionosphere and the ground as well as the circumference at the median altitude of the earth
is resonant at 7.83 Hz. This is also known as Schumann resonance. Waveguides can also
be less than a millimeter in width. An example might be those that are used in extremely
high frequency (EHF) Satellite Communications (SATCOM).
Electromagnetic waveguides are analyzed by solving Maxwell's equations, or their
reduced form, the electromagnetic wave equation, with boundary conditions determined
by the properties of the materials and their interfaces. These equations have multiple
solutions, or modes, which are eigenfunctions of the equation system. Each mode is
therefore characterized by an eigenvalue, which corresponds to the axial propagation
velocity of the wave in the guide.
Waveguide propagation modes depend on the operating wavelength and polarization and
the shape and size of the guide. The longitudinal mode of a waveguide is a particular
standing wave pattern formed by waves confined in the cavity. The transverse modes are
classified into different types:
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
TE modes (Transverse Electric) have no electric field in the direction of
propagation.
TM modes (Transverse Magnetic) have no magnetic field in the direction of
propagation.
TEM modes (Transverse ElectroMagnetic) have neither electric nor magnetic
field in the direction of propagation.
Hybrid modes are those which have both electric and magnetic field components
in the direction of propagation.
In hollow metallic waveguides, the fundamental modes are derived from the transverse
electric TE
1,0
mode for rectangular and TE
1,1
for circular waveguides.
In the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum, a waveguide normally consists
of a hollow metallic conductor. Hollow waveguides must be one-half wavelength or more
in diameter in order to support one or more transverse wave modes.
In some waveguides, there may be a positive gas pressure internally present, allowing for
the detection of potentially dangerous RF leaks. Another solution to detect RF leakage of
a waveguide is to have a partial vacuum present inside. Then leaks can be detected in
basically the same way.
A slotted waveguide is generally used for radar and other similar applications. The
waveguide structure has the capability of confining and supporting the energy of an
electromagnetic wave to a specific relatively narrow and controllable path.
A closed waveguide is an electromagnetic waveguide (a) that is tubular, usually with a
circular or rectangular cross section, (b) that has electrically conducting walls, (c) that
may be hollow or filled with a dielectric material, (d) that can support a large number of
discrete propagating modes, though only a few may be practical, (e) in which each
discrete mode defines the propagation constant for that mode, (f) in which the field at any
point is describable in terms of the supported modes, (g) in which there is no radiation
field, and (h) in which discontinuities and bends cause mode conversion but not radiation.
Hollow metallic waveguides are far narrower than the wavelength of operation. They can
take the form of single conductors with or without a dielectric coating, e.g. the Goubou
line and helical waveguides.
VSWR measurements may be taken to ensure that a waveguide is contiguous and has no
leaks or sharp bends. If such bends or holes in the waveguide surface are present, this
may diminish the performance of both TX and RX equipment strings. Arcing may occur
if there is a hole, if transmitting at high power, usually 200 watts or more.
Since waveguides are really only hollow metal pipes, the installation and the physical
handling of waveguides have many similarities to ordinary plumbing. In light of this fact,
the bending, twisting, joining, and installation of waveguides is commonly called
waveguide plumbing. Naturally, waveguides are different in design from pipes that are
designed to carry liquids or other substances. The design of a waveguide is determined by
the frequency and power level of the electromagnetic energy it will carry. The following
paragraphs explain the physical factors involved in the design of waveguides.
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
Microwave Hybrid Circuits
A microwave circuit ordinarily consists of several microwave devices connected in some
way to achieve the desired transmission of a microwave signal. The interconnection of
two or more microwave devices may be regarded as a microwave junction. Commonly
used microwave junctions include such waveguide tees as the E- plane tee, H- plane tee,
magic tee, hybrid ring, directional coupler and the circulator.
Waveguide Bends
The size, shape, and dielectric material of a waveguide must be constant throughout its
length for energy to move from one end to the other without reflections. Any abrupt
change in its size or shape can cause reflections and a loss in overall efficiency. When
such a change is necessary, the bends, twists, and joints of the waveguides must meet
certain conditions to prevent reflections.
Waveguides may be bent in several ways that do not cause reflections. One way is the
gradual bend shown in figure. This gradual bend is known as an E bend because it
distorts the E fields. The E bend must have a radius greater than two wavelengths to
prevent reflections.
Gradual E bend.
Another common bend is the gradual H bend. It is called an H bend because the H fields
are distorted when a waveguide is bent in this manner. Again, the radius of the bend must
be greater than two wavelengths to prevent reflections. Neither the E bend in the "a"
dimension nor the H bend in the "b" dimension changes the normal mode of operation.
Gradual H bend.
A sharp bend in either dimension may be used if it meets certain requirements. Notice the
two 45-degree bends in figure; the bends are 1/4l apart. The reflections that occur at the
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
45-degree bends cancel each other, leaving the fields as though no reflections have
occurred.
Sharp bends.
Sometimes the electromagnetic fields must be rotated so that they are in the proper phase
to match the phase of the load. This may be accomplished by twisting the waveguide as
shown in figure. The twist must be gradual and greater than 2l.
Waveguide twist.
The flexible waveguide allows special bends which some equipment applications might
require. It consists of a specially wound ribbon of conductive material, most commonly
brass, with the inner surface plated with chromium. Power losses are greater in the
flexible waveguide because the inner surfaces are not perfectly smooth. Therefore, it is
only used in short sections where no other reasonable solution is available.
Flexible waveguide.
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
E-Plane and H-Plane bends
Waveguide Tees
As noted waveguide tees may consist of the E-plane tee, H-plane tee, magic tee, corners,
bends twists.
Tee Junctions. In microwave circuits a waveguide or coaxial line junction with three
independent ports is commonly referred to as a tee junction. From the S-parameter theory
of a microwave junction it is evident that a tee junction should be characterized by a
matrix of third order containing nine elements.
Below are some pictures of some waveguide splitters found in the lab. Note that basic
network theory says that you can't make a three-port splitter that is lossless and matched
at all three ports, so if you want to split a signal, your best bet is the magic tee, just feed
the sum port, terminate the delta port and the outputs are the co-linear ports.
E-plane tee (WR-28)
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
E-plane tee (series tee) An E-plane tee is a waveguide in which the axis of the side
arm is parallel to the E- field of the main guide. If the collinear arms are symmetric about
the side arm, there are two different transmission characteristics.
H-plane tee (WR-28)
H-plane tee (shunt tee) An H-plane tee is a waveguide tee in which the axis of the side
arm is shunting the E- field or parallel to the H field of the main guide. It can be seen
that if the two input waves are fed in port 1 and port 2 of the collinear arm, the output
wave at port 3 will be in phase and additive. On the other hand, if the input is fed into
port 3, the wave will split equally into port 1 and port 2 in phase and in same magnitude.
Magic tee (WR-62)
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
Magic Tees (Hybrid tees)- A magic tee is a combination of the E-plane tee and H-plane
tee. The magic tee has several characteristics.
1. If the two ports of equal magnitude and the same phase are fed into port 1 and
port 2, the output will be zero at port 3 and additive at port 4.
2. If a wave is fed into port 4 (H arm), it will be divided equally between port 1 and
port 2 of the collinear arms and will not appear in port 3.
3. If a wave is fed into port 3 (E arm), it will produce an output of equal magnitude
and opposite phase at port 1 and port 2. The output at port 4 is zero.
4. If a wave is fed into one of the collinear arms at port 1 or port 2, it will not appear
in the other collinear arm at port 2 or port 1 because the E- arm causes a phase
delay while the H- arm causes a phase advance.
WR-42 cross-guide coupler with terminated port WR-42 cross-guide coupler
Directional Couplers
A directional coupler is a four-port waveguide junction. It consists of a primary
waveguide and a secondary waveguide. When all the ports are terminated in their
characteristic impedance there is no free transmission of power, without reflection
between port 1 and port 2, and there is no transmission of power between ports 1 and port
3 and between ports 2 and 4 because no coupling exists between these two pair of ports.
The degree of coupling between ports 1 and 4 and between ports 2 and 3 depends on the
structure of the coupler.
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
Here's a broad-wall coupler, a better type of waveguide coupler than the cross-guide. It
has much more directivity than the ones above, but it is a lot bigger.
Circulator
A circulator is a ferrite device (ferrite is a class of materials with strange magnetic
properties) with usually three ports. The beautiful thing about circulators is that they are
non-reciprocal. That is, energy into port 1 predominantly exits port 2, energy into port 2
exits port 3, and energy into port 3 exits port 1. In a reciprocal device the same fraction of
energy that flows from port 1 to port 2 would occur to energy flowing the opposite
direction, from port 2 to port 1.
The selection of ports is arbitrary, and circulators can be made to "circulate" either
clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW).
A circulator is sometimes called a "duplexer", meaning that is duplexes two signals into
one channel (e.g. transmit and receive into an antenna). This is not to be confused with
the term "diplexer" which is refers to a filter arrangement where two frequency bands are
separated into two channels from a single three-terminal device. A lot of people mix up
these terms. You can remember the correct definitions because "filter" and "diplexer"
both have an "i" in them, and "circulator" and "duplexer" both have a "u".
What are circulators good for? The make a great antenna interface for a transmit/receive
system. Energy can be made to flow from the transmitter (port 1) to the antenna (port 2)
during transmit, and from the antenna (port 2) to the receiver (port 3) during receive.
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
Circulators have low electrical losses and can be made to handle huge powers, well into
kilowatts. They usually operate over no more than an octave bandwidth, and are purely
an RF component (they don't work at DC).
A circulator's isolation is roughly equal to its return loss, and should always be specified
to the same requirement. A circulator with 20 dB isolation will need to have a return loss
of 20 dB. Think about it, if you terminate the third arm in a perfect 50 ohms, the
clockwise isolation you will measure in a CCW circulator won't be better than the stray
signal that is bouncing off the loaded port due to the reflected signal due to its mismatch
to 50 ohms.
Isolators
By terminating one port, a circulator becomes an isolator, which has the property that
energy flows on one direction only. This is an extremely useful device for "isolating"
components in a chain, so that bad VSWRs don't contribute to gain ripple.
An isolator is a nonreciprocal transmission device that is used to isolate one component
from reflections of other components in the transmission line. An ideal isolator
completely absorbs the power for propagation in one direction and provides lossless
transmission in the opposite direction. Thus the isolator is usually called uniline. Isolators
are generally used to improve the frequency stability of microwave generators such as
klystrons and magnetrons in which the reflection from the load affects the generating
frequency. In such cases the isolator is placed between the generator and load to prevent
the reflected power from the unmatched load from returning to the generator. As a result
the isolator maintains the frequency stability of the generator.
Circulators and isolators can be made from 100's of MHz to through W-band (110 GHz).
They can be packaged as planar microstrip components, coaxial components or as
waveguide components. Waveguide circulators and isolators have by far the best
electrical characteristics.
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
Attenuators
Attenuators are passive resistive elements that do the opposite of amplifiers, they kill
gain. Why would you want to do that? Suppose your design specification calls for 10 dB
gain, with a 1.2:1 maximum VSWR. You search the amplifier vendors, and locate an
amplifier in your frequency band, but it has 14.5 dB gain and a lousy 2.5:1 match on the
input. By adding an attenuator to the input, you can bring the gain down to 10 dB, and
you will be improving the input match. Two things to consider when you play this game:
dont add an attenuator to an amplifiers input if you are concerned with the amplifiers
noise figure, every dB of attenuation you put on the input will raise the noise figure by
the same amount. Similarly, dont add an attenuator to a power amplifiers output without
considering what it will do to your output power, or what the RF output power of the
power amp might do to your attenuator.
There are five common attenuator topologies used in microwave circuits, the tee, the pi,
the bridged tee, the reflection attenuator and the balanced attenuator. The tee, pi and
bridged tee each require two different resistor values, while the reflection and balances
attenuators need only a matched pair of resistors. This allows both the reflection and
balanced topologies to be used as variable attenuators with a single control voltage or
control current. There are two variations of the reflection attenuator, depending on
whether the terminations R1 are less than or greater than the system characteristic
impedance Z0.
When would you use a tee versus a pi versus a bridged tee? Here's some examples. When
you are designing a fixed-value 3-dB attenuator on a thin film circuit, with a sheet
resistivity fixed at 100 ohms per square, the 8.5 ohm value of R1 for a tee might be a
little hard to accurately etch, and the pi might be a better choice. On the other hand, if
your sheet resistivity was 10 ohms per square, you'd need 29 squares to create R1 for the
pi, and that might prove to be too inductive to work at high frequency. With thick film
circuits, you can take your pick because there are different resistivity values available.
The bridged tee can be thought of as a modified pi network. The attraction to the bridged
tee comes when you are making a variable attenuator, with PIN diodes or FETs. Here are
two reasons you might consider it over the pi. First, it only needs two variable resistors
(pi and tee need three). Second, the bridged tee uses the full range of resistor values, from
zero to infinity, for both R1 and R2. For the pi attenuator, R1 does never goes below Z0
(50 ohms) so some of the diodes' useful resistance range is wasted. Finally, the bridged
tee has a tendency to match itself to Z0 at high attenuation values, because of its two
fixed resistors. In practice, the pi may give you higher attenuation range. The resistor R2
can be a "sneak path" in the bridged tee because the diode (or FET) never reaches zero
ohms.
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
A waveguide attenuator
The table below provides equations for solving for the attenuator resistive elements:
Attenuator equations
Configuration R2 vs. R1 R1 vs. Attenuation R2 vs. Attenuation
Tee Attenuator
Pi Attenuator
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
Bridged Tee
Attenuator
Reflection
Attenuator,
R1 <Z0
Reflection
Attenuator,
R1>Z0
Balanced
Attenuator
Klystron
A klystron is a specialized vacuum tube (evacuated electron tube) called a linear-beam
tube. The pseudo-Greek word klystron comes from the stem form - (klys) of a Greek
verb referring to the action of waves breaking against a shore, and the end of the word
electron.
The Varian brothers (Russel and Sigurd) of Stanford University are generally considered
to be the inventors of the klystron. Their prototype was completed in August 1937. Upon
publication in 1939, news of the klystron immediately influenced the work of US and UK
researchers working on radar equipment. The Varians went on to found Varian
Associates (now known as Varian Medical Systems) to commercialize the technology.
During the second World War, the Axis powers relied mostly on klystron technology for
their radar system microwave generation, while the Allies used the far more powerful but
frequency-drifting technology of the cavity magnetron for microwave generation.
Klystron tube technologies for high-power applications such as synchrotrons and radar
systems have since been developed.
Klystrons are used as an oscillator or amplifier at microwave and radio frequencies to
produce both low power reference signals for superheterodyne radar receivers and to
produce high-power carrier waves for communications and the driving force for linear
accelerators. It has the advantage (over the magnetron) of coherently amplifying a
reference signal and so its output may be precisely controlled in amplitude, frequency and
phase. Many klystrons have a waveguide for coupling microwave energy into and out of
the device, although it is also quite common for lower power and lower frequency
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
klystrons to use coaxial couplings instead. In some cases a coupling probe is used to
couple the microwave energy from a klystron into a separate external waveguide.
Reflex klystron
In the reflex klystron, the electron beam passes through a single resonant cavity. The
electrons are fired into one end of the tube by an electron gun. After passing through the
resonant cavity they are reflected by a negatively charged reflector electrode for another
pass through the cavity, where they are then collected. The electron beam is velocity
modulated when it first passes through the cavity. The formation of electron bunches
takes place in the drift space between the reflector and the cavity. The voltage on the
reflector must be adjusted so that the bunching is at a maximum as the electron beam re-
enters the resonant cavity, thus ensuring a maximum of energy is transferred from the
electron beam to the RF oscillations in the cavity. The reflector voltage may be varied
slightly from the optimum value, which results in some loss of output power, but also in a
variation in frequency. This effect is used to good advantage for automatic frequency
control in receivers, and in frequency modulation for transmitters. The level of
modulation applied for transmission is small enough that the power output essentially
remains constant. At regions far from the optimum voltage, no oscillations are obtained at
all.
There are often several regions of reflector voltage where the reflex klystron will
oscillate; these are referred to as modes. The electronic tuning range of the reflex klystron
is usually referred to as the variation in frequency between half power pointsthe points
in the oscillating mode where the power output is half the maximum output in the mode.
Frequency Meter
The cylindrical cavity forms a resonator that produces a suck-out in the frequency
response of the unit. This you would turn the knob until a dip in the response is observed.
The graduations will tell you what frequency you are at.
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
Waveguide frequency meters use a short circuit resonant cavity, which resonates at half-
wavelength. Most wavemeters are waveguide, however, coaxial types are possible.
Waveguide wavemeters can only measure frequency over their respective frequency
band.
Here is a view of the above wavemeter taken apart. You can see the hole in the E-plane
that couples out to the cavity. At the bottom of the cavity is the piston that changes the
resonant frequency.
Wavemeters are affected by temperature changes, which slightly change the dimensions
of the cavity.
Gunn Diode
A Gunn diode, also known as a transferred electron device (TED) is a form of diode
used in high-frequency electronics. It is somewhat unusual in that it consists only of N-
doped semiconductor material, whereas most diodes consist of both P and N-doped
regions. In the Gunn diode, three regions exist: two of them are heavily N-doped on each
terminal, with a thin layer of lightly doped material in between. When a voltage is
applied to the device, the electrical gradient will be largest across the thin middle layer.
Eventually, this layer starts to conduct, reducing the gradient across it, preventing further
conduction. In practice, this means a Gunn diode has a region of negative differential
resistance.
The negative resistance, combined with the timing properties of the intermediate layer,
allows construction of an RF relaxation oscillator simply by applying a suitable direct
current through the device. The oscillation frequency is determined partly by the
properties of the thin middle layer, but can be adjusted by external factors. Gunn diodes
are therefore used to build oscillators in the 10 GHz and higher (THz) frequency range,
where a resonant cavity is usually added to control frequency. The resonator can be based
on a waveguide, coaxial cavity, YIG resonator, etc. Tuning is done mechanically, by
adjusting the parameters of the resonator, or in case of YIG resonators by electric current.
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
Gallium arsenide Gunn diodes are made for frequencies up to 200 GHz, gallium nitride
materials can reach up to 3 terahertz.
A rough approximation of the VI curve for a Gunn diode, showing the negative
differential resistance region
VSWR meter
The SWR meter or VSWR meter measures the standing wave ratio in a transmission
line. This is an item of radio equipment used to check the quality of the match between
the antenna and the transmission line.
The VSWR meter should be connected in the line as close as possible to the antenna.
This is because all practical transmission lines have a certain amount of loss, causing the
reflected power to be attenuated as it travels back along the cable, and producing an
artificially low VSWR reading on the meter. If the meter is installed close to the antenna,
then this problem is minimized.
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A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
A typical SWR meter
Referring to the above diagram, the transmitter (TX) and antenna (ANT) terminals are a
connected via an internal transmission line. This main line is electromagnetically coupled
to two smaller sense lines which are connected to resistors at one end, and diode rectifiers
at the other. The resistors are chosen to match the characteristic impedance of the sense
lines. One sense line senses the forward wave (connected to FWD), and the other the
reflected wave (connected to REV). The diodes convert these to FWD and REV DC
voltages respectively, the ratio of which is used to determine the VSWR. In a passive
meter, this is indicated on a non-linear meter scale.
To calculate the VSWR, first calculate the reflection coefficient:
= V
rev
/ V
fwd
= (P
rev
/ P
fwd
)
Then calculate the VSWR:
VSWR = (1 + ) / (1 - )
Note that an SWR meter does not measure the actual impedance of a load (ie the
resistance and reactance), but only the mismatch ratio. To measure the actual impedance,
an antenna analyzer or other similar RF measuring device is required. Note also that for
accurate readings, the SWR meter must be matched to the line impedance, ie 50 or 75
ohms as applicable. To accommodate both impedances, some SWR meters have switches
on the rear, to select the appropriate load resistance for the sense lines.
If a mismatch exists between the transmission line and load, the line will act as an
impedance transformer. In this case, the impedance seen at the input to the line will
depend on its electrical length, although (for a lossless line) the VSWR will be the same
at any point along the line. Mismatched transmission lines are often used for impedance
transformation, especially at UHF and microwave frequencies where their dimensions
can be very short. For more information on this handy technique, see smith chart.
When not actually measuring VSWR, it is best to remove the ordinary type of passive
SWR meter from the line. This is because the internal diodes of such meters can generate
harmonics when transmitting, and intermodulation products when receiving. Because
active SWR meters do not usually suffer from this effect, they can normally be left in
without causing such problems.
Klystron Power Supply
Three power sources are required for reflex klystron operation: (1) filament power, (2)
positive resonator voltage (often referred to as beam voltage) used to accelerate the
electrons through the grid gap of the resonant cavity, and (3) negative repeller voltage
20
A Report on Microwave Components Commonly used in the Laboratory
used to turn the electron beam around. The electrons are focused into a beam by the
electrostatic fields set up by the resonator potential (B+) in the body of the tube. Note in
figure that the resonator potential is common to the resonator cavity, the accelerating
grid, and the entire body of the tube.
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