A Broadband Power Density Monitor for Pulsed Microwave Sources

In recent years there has been an increase in the use of high power microwave sources for plasma heating, and their multi-kilowatt peak powers are potentially a hazard to operating personnel. Existing instrumentation has been found unsuitable for monitoring the peak power density of the single RF pulse output required for transient plasma heating. This paper describes an instrument that has been developed to satisfy the following requirements: 1. Broadband frequency operation from 2 to 12 GHz. 2. Respond to a single pulse of milliseconds pulse width or to continuous wave conditions. 3. Be multi-range; have meter readout; be portable. 4. Provide a calibration method for checking detector sensitivity.