Electricity: measuring and testing – Measuring – testing – or sensing electricity – per se – With waveguide or long line
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-09
2001-06-05
Brown, Glenn W. (Department: 2858)
Electricity: measuring and testing
Measuring, testing, or sensing electricity, per se
With waveguide or long line
C324S115000, C324S076140
Reexamination Certificate
active
06242901
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to power level measurement devices and, more specifically, to devices for microwave power level measurements on signals with high peak to average ratios over a wide dynamic range.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Microwave signals with many kinds of modulation formats, such as various forms of CDMA signals, have high but arbitrary peak to average ratios over a very wide dynamic range. These signals pose serious challenges to accurate and rapid power level measurements over wide dynamic ranges.
Some methods have been described that attempt to place the power sensing path in the “square law” region (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,943,764) or otherwise improve power sensor performance (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,613). However, the accuracy afforded measurement of modulated signals with high peak to average ratios is not satisfactory.
Another technique which attempts to accurately perform wide dynamic range microwave power measurements for modulations with high peak-to-average ratios involves characterizing a continuous wave (CW) sensor for a given kind of modulation over the power range of interest, for example −70 dBm to +20 dBm. This technique has the drawback of being accurate only to the extent that the modulation being measured is fairly similar to the modulation form for which the sensor was originally charaterized. Because commercial formats such as CDMA are changing rapidly, a sensor characterized for one form of modulation risks obsolescence.
No currently known methods are entirely satisfactory from an accuracy or application standpoint. What is needed is a power measurement device that makes measurements of signals over a 90 dB dynamic range (about −70 dBm to about +20 dBm) with improved accuracy in measuring high peak average power ratio signals above −20 dB.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a power measurement device that measures signals over a wide dynamic range with improved accuracy in measuring high peak average power signals above −20 dBm.
The invention provides a diode stack microwave power sensor which includes an RF signals receiver having wide dynamic power ranges; a low power sensor path connected between the receiver and ground for sensing relatively low power RF input signals. The low power sensor path includes one or more stacked RF diodes in which a number of diode pairs may be coupled to ground through respective capacitors. An impedance network including attenuating resistors R
1
and R
2
are connected in series between the receiver and ground. A high power sensor path is connected in parallel between the attenuating resistors R
1
and R
2
and ground for sensing attenuated relatively high power RF input signals. The high sensor path includes a second stacked RF diode in which a second number of stacked diode pairs are coupled to ground through a respective capacitor, and in which the sensor diode operates in the square law region and senses the power levels over the wide dynamic ranges of the received RF signals.
The invention further provides a diode stack microwave power sensor network. The network includes RF signal receiver having wide dynamic power ranges; a low power sensor path for sensing relatively low power RF input signals, the low power sensor path including first stacked RF diode, which may be single or stacked, having a first number of diode pairs coupled to ground through receptive capacitors. The network also includes an impedance network with a number of attenuating resistors R
1
, R
2
, . . . RN and ground for sensing different levels of attenuated relatively higher power RF input signals. The higher power sensor paths each include a second stacked RF diode which has an arbitrary number of diode pairs coupled to ground through a respective capacitor, and in which the sensor diode operates in the square law region, sensing the power levels over the wide dynamic ranges of the received RF signals.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4207518 (1980-06-01), Hopfer
patent: 4873484 (1989-10-01), Adam
patent: 5204613 (1993-04-01), Cripps
patent: 5714900 (1998-02-01), Ehlers
Ehlers Eric R.
Faick John C.
Hogan, Jr. Ronald J.
Prabhu Ajay A.
Agilent Technologie,s Inc.
Brown Glenn W.
Deb Anjan K.
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