Utilizing Solid State and CW Amplifiers for Radiated Pulse Immunity Testing

Pulsed signals are primarily defined by
- rise and fall time
- pulse width
- duty cycle (pulse-to-pause ratio)
- pulse repetition frequency (P-RF)
- droop (power level drop during pulse width / duration)

It is critical for pulsed signals that the required current is directly available fast in time at the final stage transistors.

There are many difficult combinations of pulse width and pulse repetition frequency.

Identifying specific timing to the amp supplier in advance we will ensure that they are ideally / perfectly amplified

Solid State RF Pulsing Technology

For wideband ranges no dedicated pulsed transistors are available. Therefore, using CW transistors the optimization for pulsed operation is not that ideal. However, power supplies and cooling can be reduced accordingly. Specifically at higher output levels it remains important.

• 150 - 4000 MHz
• 1 - 10 GHz
• Narrow band amplifiers only at this time
• Typical duty cycle of pulsed power solid state designs is 10%
• Typical pulse width is 100 µs

Pulsed travelling wave tube amplifiers

• Cover 2 - 18 GHz with two amplifiers
• up to 30 kW pk
• Significantly higher output power levels than standard CW tubes
• Typical duty cycle of travelling wave tube designs is 1 … 6%
• Standard pulse width is 50 µs; optional for some tubes 100 µs