Patent ID: 7839137

Claim:
A distributed RF/microwave power detector for detecting a power of a signal, the power detector comprising: a substrate; a first-stage detection unit disposed on or in the substrate, the first-stage detection unit comprising a first-stage distributed amplifier for amplifying the signal and outputting a first amplified signal and a first-stage detector for detecting a power of the first amplified signal; a second-stage detection unit disposed on or in the substrate and cascaded with the first-stage detection unit, the second-stage detection unit comprising a second stage distributed amplifier for amplifying the first amplified signal and outputting a second amplified signal, and a second-stage detector for detecting a power of the second amplified signal; and a multiplexer disposed on or in the substrate for multiplexing outputs of the first-stage and second-stage detectors; wherein the first-stage detector and second-stage detector each has a dynamic range different from the dynamic range of the other.