What are Dual-Junction Circulators?

A Dual-Junction Circulator is a series combination of two circulators integrated into a single package. It is used for applications where higher isolation and better directivity are required. Dual-junction Circulators are non-reciprocal microwave ferrite devices that allow the flow of signals in one direction while isolating the flow in the other direction. Since the RF signal has to go through two isolation paths, dual junction circulators provide better isolation are compared to single-junction devices. The trade-off here would be that these circulators have a higher insertion loss and are larger in size compared to single-junction circulators.

Like regular circulators (single junction circulators), these are most often used between the Receiver/Transmitter and the antenna. The addition of the second junction adds additional isolation that is often required in applications like radars and Transmit/Receive modules where there can be high levels of power reflected back to the system.

A dual junction circulator is a four-port device that has an input port, output port and two isolated ports.

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