The AN7 Thermopad Series from Smiths Interconnect are Temperature Variable Chip Attenuators that operate from DC to 6 GHz. The Thermopad is a totally passive absorptive microwave attenuator, which provides power dissipation that varies with temperature. The device can be used in any application that requires a known amount of attenuation change for a particular temperature shift. This is particularly useful for preventing gain loss over the temperature in various amplifier applications.
The patented Thermopad line of products that compensate for gain variation over temperature are totally passive, surface-mountable temperature variable attenuators. They require no bias or control voltage and do not generate distortion. It can be used in place of a standard chip attenuator to combine level setting or buffering and temperature compensation in a single chip design. This will reduce component count, increase reliability, and lower costs. Applications include power amplifiers, mixers, MMIC amplifiers, directional couplers and diode detectors.
These attenuators are available in attenuation values ranging from 0 to 10 dB in 1 dB steps and have a VSWR of less than 1.30:1. They can handle a CW power of up to 200 mW and a peak power of up to 2 watts (10 µS pulse width and 1% Duty Cycle). The attenuators have been constructed on an Alumina substrate with rugged thick film terminations and thick film thermistor technology, featuring a protective coating for added protection from various environmental conditions. These RoHS-compliant attenuators are available in a tape and reel package with multi-temperature shift options.
