Periodic Silicon Carbide Limiter

Two microwave limiters will be built from silicon carbide (SiC) field effect transistors (FETs). The first will operate between 1 and 5 GHz with insertion loss below 0.8 dB. This limiter will protect down stream low-noise amplifiers from exposure to 200 Wcontinuous wave (CW) radiation. The second limiter will operate between 4 and 20 GHz with less than 0.8 dB of insertion loss across the band. It will protect downstream components from 50 W CW.Individual SiC FEts will be used in a flip-chip package to minimize parasitic apacitance and inductance. The package foot print will be no larger than 3 x 3 cm.BENEFITS: A multi-octave SiC FET-based limiter offers unsurpassed performance with wide militaryand commercial applications. Due to its small footprint and tolerance to high temperature, it is ideally suited for upgrading systems already in wide use. In addition, it will provide protection from high-power pulsed sources - and area just beginning tobe addressed by military planners. Similarly, as the exploding wireless technology floods the commercial market, needs will be surfacing for similar protection for these products.