Microwave Solutions is a manufacturer of solid state microwave amplifiers from 10 MHz to 26 GHz for military and commercial industries based in Southern California. They are now offering Multi-Function Modules (MFM) with multiple signal control functions within a single, standard size drop-in module.
Originally designed for radar and microwave test instruments, these Multi-Function Modules (MFM) can provide gain control, amplification, coupler and/or detection for an integrated automatic level control (ALC) function all within a single package. Examples include an attenuator-amplifier-coupler-detector module, a coupler-sampler module with multiple sample ports, and a coupler-coupler-detector module for both coupling and power level detection.
Microwave system designer can specify the control functions they want/need in the module. Microwave Solutions develops each component, tests them individually to ensure performance objectives are met and then inserts them into a system. This provides the designer with flexibility and better control over meeting design specification targets because parameters such as gain and coupling values can either be specified as part of the initial design, or left as a ‘black box’ and then revised when the exact performance criteria is determined after the system printed circuit board is completed.
The removable SMA connectors allow for testing and verification in a coaxial system and then, with the connectors removed, the module is placed into a printed circuit board based system.
This approach has a number of advantages like better isolation (as each device is housed seperately) and the ability to use different substrates for each device to ensure optimal performance. There are a number of other advantages to this type of approach. Click here to learn more about Microwave Solutions Inc.
