The Roles Of Couplers, Combiners, And Dividers In Radar Power Amplifiers

Radar power amplifiers (HPAs) are essential for boosting signal strength and improving radar performance. Solid-state power amplifiers (SSPAs) are becoming increasingly popular due to their smaller size, higher efficiency, and reliability. To achieve higher power levels, SSPAs often utilize power summation techniques, which involve splitting the input signal, amplifying it in multiple modules, and then combining the amplified outputs. Couplers, combiners, and dividers play critical roles in this process.

Couplers, such as quadrature hybrid couplers, are used to split the input signal and combine the amplified outputs while providing balanced amplification, enhanced linearity, and isolation between amplifier modules. Power dividers distribute the input signal to multiple modules, while power combiners combine the amplified outputs into a single high-power signal. These components are essential for the efficient operation of SSPAs in radar systems, enabling improved range, resolution, and overall performance.