Measurement of pulse power capability for microwave attenuators

The test method of the pulse power capacity of microwave attenuators is proposed, which can be summarized to use directional couplers to test and compare. The pending microwave attenuators are placed between two directional couplers which are used to detect the waveforms. With increasing the input microwave power, the waveforms of pulses will change, which is a criterion to estimate the working state of attenuators. The measurement system contains a microwave source, directional couplers, attenuators, detectors, and oscillographs. Primary measurement results show that, at X band, with single pulse of μs duration, the power capacity of ferrite BJ-100 rectangular waveguide attenuator is 50 kW; the power capability of thick film resistance coaxial attenuator exceeds 10 kW.