Power Equations: A New Concept in the Description and Evaluation of Microwave Systems

In the existing art, the description and evaluation of microwave systems is usually in terms of the complex wave amplitudes in the (assumed) uniform waveguide by which the components are interconnected. The interrelationships among these amplitudes are given by the scattering equations or indirectly by impedance parameters. This paper introduces an alternative description, based on power equations, where the basic parameter is the net power in the waveguide of interest. Compared with the circuit description, there is a substantial suppression of detail and the remaining parameters are placed in better perspective. In particular, the technique provides a simplified method of describing and evaluating mismatch corrections, in which the precision connector and uniform waveguide requirements have been eliminated.