Patent ID: 8466758

Claim:
A method for exchanging the DC bias network integrated in a programmable electro-mechanical impedance slide screw tuner; said DC network comprising a DC branch and an RF branch; and said tuner comprising a test (input) port and an idle (output) port and a slotted airline/slabline between said ports and one or more mobile carriages traveling along the axis of said slabline, each said carriage carrying one or more RF probes insertable vertically into the slot of said slabline; said DC network being inserted between the test port and the idle port of the tuner and mounted on the center conductor of said slabline; and whereby said DC branch has two ends, one end being connected to the center conductor of the slabline and the other end to an external power supply; and whereby said RF branch has two ends and is inserted in series with the center conductor of the slabline; and whereby said DC branch is inserted between the tuner test port and the RF branch; and whereby said DC network is exchangeable by disconnecting the DC branch from the center conductor.