A Novel Analysis of a $Ku$-Band Planar p-i-n Diode Limiter

Two new analyses for a single-stage limiter were presented; one is an analytic approach based on the approximation of the voltage waveforms of a p-i-n diode in the limiter, while the other models the p-i-n diode by a p-n diode. The analytic expressions resulting from the analytic approach explicitly show the role of the diode parameters on the limiter performances, which can be used as a guide to select adequate p-i-n diodes for the limiter. The two analyses were verified using the large-signal p-i-n diode model developed by measurements. Our analysis was then extended to multistage limiters. Based on our analysis, we designed and fabricated a limiter with an insertion loss of 1.3 dB and a flat leakage of 11.7 dBm for a Ku-band input power of 20 W.

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