MICROWAVE ENGINEERING

EKT 345
 CHAPTER 2:
(Part 2)
MICROWAVE MEASUREMENTS

Outline:

1.3 Measurements : Power, insertion loss and

attenuation, VSWR, return loss, impedance,
frequency, cavity, dielectric constant,
scattering parameters of network, radar cross
section
 1.3 Measurements

1.3.1 Power Measurements

The quantity of energy dissipated or
stored per unit time.
 Low, medium and high power.

A power sensor which converts the
microwave power to heat energy
 Schottky barrier diode, bolometer,
thermocouple.
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Power meter
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Thermocouple sensor
 A junction of two dissimilar metals or
semiconductors that generate emf.
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High power measurement

Calorimetric method:
 Involves conversion of the
microwave energy into heat,
absorbing heat in fluid, measuring
the temperature rise of the fluid.
 Static calorimeters
 Circulating calorimeters
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1.3.2 Insertion Loss and Attenuation

Measurements

Insertion loss: the difference in the power
arriving at the terminating load, with or
without the network in the circuit.

Insertion loss = reflection loss + attenuation loss

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1.3.3 VSWR Measurements

VSWR & the magnitude of voltage
reflection coefficient
 to determine the degree of impedance
matching
 to measure the load impedance.

By detecting Vmax and Vmin

Low VSWR, high VSWR
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Basic experimental set up

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1.3.4 Return Loss Measurements

Measure the magnitude of reflection
coefficient by reflectometer

Two identical directional couplers are
connected opposite to each other.
 Forward wave
 Reverse wave
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Experimental set up
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1.3.5 Impedance Measurement

Complex quantity – measure both
amplitude and phase:
 Slotted line method
 Reactive Discontinuity
 Reflectometer
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1.3.6 Frequency Measurement

Commercially measured using
frequency counter and cavity
wavemeter.
 Wavemeter method
 Slotted line method
 Down conversion method
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1.3.7 Cavity Measurement

Slotted line measurement of Q

Q from transmitted power
 CW measurement
 Swept frequency measurement
• Advantages
• Requires less frequency stability of the RF
source
• Accurate measurement of BW
• Small measurement time
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Reflectometer method
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1.3.8 Dielectric Constant Measurement

Dielectric constant is defined by the
permittivity of material with the
respect to that ε0 of air or free space.
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Decrement method of measuring Q

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Transient response of cavity

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Waveguide method
•Material assumed to be lossless.
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Cavity perturbation method
• Highly sensitive and accurate
• Advantageous in the determination of the dielectric
constant and small loss tangents.
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1.3.9 Network Scattering Parameters
Measurement

S-parameter can be measured following
Deschamps method – utilizes measured
values of complex input reflection
coefficient under a number of reactive
terminations.
 S-parameters of a two-port network
 S-parameters of a magic-T
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1.3.10 Microwave Antenna Measurement

Parameters to be measured to determine
antenna performance
 Radiation amplitude patterns
 Radiation phase patterns
 Absolute gain
 Directivity
 Radiation efficiency
 Beam width
 Input impedance
 BW
 polarisations
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Reflections from
surrounding
environment are
reduced by:
 Selecting the
directivity and side
lobe level of Tx
antenna
 Making LOS
between antennas
obstacles free
 Absorbing the
energy
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For accuracy of the measurement, care must be taken so that

1. All antennas meet the far field criteria: R ≥ 2D2/λ.
2. The antennas are aligned for bore-sight radiation face-to-face.
3. The measuring system is frequency stable.
4. Impedance mismatched in the system components is minimum.
5. Polarisation mismatch is minimum.
6. Reflection from various background and support structure is
minimum.
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1.3.11 Radar Cross Section Measurement

RCS of a target

Two basic – monostatic CS or bistatic CS

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