Waveguide amplifiers, or full-band/multi-band waveguide amplifiers, are amplifiers housed in assemblies that have either waveguide or coaxial interconnect. Though waveguide interconnect is more common for waveguide amplifiers, some waveguide amplifiers have coaxial interconnect instead, but still perform as specified over a given waveguide frequency band.
The main feature of waveguide amplifiers is that they are designed to deliver specific performance over an entire waveguide band, or several depending on the device.
There are a variety of types of waveguide amplifiers, with the most common being waveguide power amplifiers and waveguide low-noise amplifiers. Having a waveguide interface on a waveguide amplifier allows for higher power handling, lower insertion loss and standard waveguide fixturing that is both mechanical and environmentally robust.
The benefit of a waveguide amplifier is that a single device can be used to amplify frequencies for an entire waveguide band, as opposed to having amplifiers for a given set of frequency bands from a telecommunications or radar protocol. Hence, waveguide amplifiers are commonly found in test equipment and sensing equipment where measurements may be made throughout a given waveguide band.
As the size of a waveguide interface is directly related to the waveguide frequency band, it is more common to see waveguide amplifiers for microwave and millimetre-wave frequencies, such as K-band and higher. Waveguide amplifiers are commonly used for satellite ground equipment as low-noise amplifiers, as well as high-power transmitters. These amplifiers are also commonly used in test equipment, radar, military radio systems and a wide range of other microwave and millimetre-wave applications. Mainly, the high gain, low insertion loss and overall good electrical and mechanical performance of waveguide amplifier designs make them attractive for many performance applications.
Other important specifications of waveguide amplifiers are gain flatness across a waveguide band, noise figure, VSWR (voltage standing wave ratio), spurious/harmonics, linearity (OIP3 and P1dB), and reverse isolation. Gain variation over operating temperature range and operating temperature range are also important features for some critical applications with harsh environment requirements.
X-band radar RF Design
Editor's Choice Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
X-band radar systems, particularly those leveraging beamforming ICs (BFICs), advanced gallium nitride (GaN) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) components, are leading the way in providing the high-performance radar capabilities required for modern defence and surveillance.
Read more...Reference board for cardio monitoring Altron Arrow
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The STDES-ESP01 reference board from STMicroelectronics demonstrates the capability of the ST1VAFE6AX and ST1VAFE3BX biosensors to detect ECG and SCG signals.
Read more...LTE Cat 1 bis communication iCorp Technologies
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The EG810M series is a series of LTE Cat 1 bis wireless communication modules specially designed by Quectel for M2M and IoT applications.
Read more...Quad-channel 16-bit converter RFiber Solutions
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The ARF0468 from Advance RF is a quad-channel mixed-signal processing chip, with each channel comprising three major functional modules: ADC/DDC/DDS.
Read more...Tactical navigation system Etion Create
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Etion Create’s CheetahNAV Compact is a versatile tactical navigation system designed for security services, emergency services, and light all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) using offline navigation maps.
Read more...Smart module for multi-media devices iCorp Technologies
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Powered by a Qualcomm processor, Quectel’s new SC200V is designed to deliver exceptional performance across system capabilities, multimedia functions, and network connectivity.
Read more...Remote provisioning firmware added to SIMCom modules Otto Wireless Solutions
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
SIMCom recently announced that its range of Cat 1 bis IoT modules are now being prepared with the firmware necessary to support SGP.32 functionality.
Read more...GNSS antenna redefining what’s possible RF Design
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
u-blox has achieved what was once thought impossible with the launch of the DAN-F10N, the industry’s smallest and most reliable L1, L5 dual-band GNSS antenna module.
Read more...Innovative satellite navigation receiver Altron Arrow
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
STMicroelectronics has released an innovative satellite navigation receiver to democratise precise positioning for automotive and industrial applications.
Read more...u-blox expands NORA-B2 BLE modules RF Design
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The new nRF54L chipset-based wireless modules reduce current consumption and double processing capacity, catering to diverse mass market segments.
printer friendly version