Patent ID: 9054676
Filing Date: 2015-06-09
Classification: H03F,H03H

Abstract:
1. An active circulator for a microwave system, said microwave system comprising at least one front-end arrangement, each front-end arrangement comprising a power amplifier function arranged to deliver an amplified output signal via a circulator function to an antenna in a transmit mode, and a low noise amplifier function arranged to amplify an input signal from the antenna via the circulator function in a receive mode, the circulator function being arranged to direct a signal flow between the transmit and receive modes, wherein each front-end arrangement comprises one active circulator, said active circulator comprising: the power amplifier function, the low noise amplifier function and the circulator function for directing a signal flow, said three functions being integrated into one module, wherein the power amplifier function and the low noise amplifier function of the active circulator are arranged as a Distributed Power Amplifier, and as a Distributed Low Noise Amplifier, thus achieving a broad band performance, a distributed amplifier comprising at least two amplifiers connected in parallel between two transmission lines, one transmission line comprising an input port to the distributed amplifier and the other transmission line comprising an output port of the distributed amplifier; an output transmission line; an antenna transmission line; and an input transmission line arranged in parallel, with the antenna transmission line located between the output transmission line and the input transmission line, the transmission lines being arranged to extend between a first side and a second side of the active circulator, wherein the output transmission line comprises a transmit input port at the first side and a first termination impedance at the second side, wherein the antenna transmission line comprises a second termination impedance at the first side and an antenna port at the second side, wherein the input transmission line comprises a receive output port at the first side and a third termination impedance at the second side, wherein the Distributed Power Amplifier comprises at least two transmit amplifiers connected in parallel between the output transmission line and the antenna transmission line, and the Distributed Low Noise Amplifier comprises at least two receive amplifiers connected in parallel between the antenna transmission line and the input transmission line, and wherein at least one of the transmit or the receive amplifiers comprises at least two layers of sub amplifiers, wherein the sub amplifiers are arranged between two transmission lines where at least one is an intermediate transmission line.