A novel microwave limiter-discriminator: design and analysis

A new microwave discriminator that incorporates an efficient amplitude limiter is described. The amplitude limiting action is obtained from a pair of low-noise Gunn oscillators synchronized with the input microwave signal. The proposed limiter-discriminator works on the principle of phase-splitting action of the waveguide line, as in the case of a passive microwave discriminator. The figure of merit of the proposed discriminator is the highest among the passive and active discriminators reported in the literature. The implementation of the proposed limiter-discriminator can be easily extended to the millimeter-wave and sub-millimeter wave regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.<>