Kilowatt-class planar four-way gysel combiner with power-aware impedance optimization for L-band pulsed radar

Résumé

This work presents a compact planar four-way Gysel power divider/combiner designed for kilowatt-class coherent power combining in L-band pulsed radar transmitters. Unlike previously reported waveguide and coaxial Gysel architectures, the proposed planar implementation achieves a 3 kW peak output on an RO4003C substrate while maintaining low-loss, highly manufacturable microstrip construction. A power-aware full-wave electromagnetic optimization framework is introduced to refine characteristic impedances and electrical lengths, explicitly accounting for current distribution, thermal dissipation, and fabrication tolerance sensitivity, resulting in improved mid-band isolation and stable high-power performance. The fabricated prototype achieves an input return loss better than 15 dB, inter-port isolation exceeding 25 dB, amplitude imbalance within ±0.3 dB, and phase deviation within ±1∘ across 1.2-1.4 GHz. Grounded isolation branches equipped with flange-mounted high-power resistors, together with thermally optimized via arrays, ensure efficient dissipation of odd-mode energy under mismatch conditions. Experimental validation shows close agreement with simulation results, demonstrating that the proposed design represents a rare example of a planar microstrip Gysel combiner experimentally validated for reliable kilowatt-class operation in L-band solid-state radar systems, achieving a practical balance between power handling, compactness, and manufacturability.

Citer ce document

Accès au document

Texte intégral en lecture en ligne, réservé aux abonnés SPHAERO et aux membres de l'institution. Se connecter

Auteur(s)

Statistiques

Consultations : 1

Téléchargements : 0