Abstract
Diode detection and bolometric detection have been widely used to measure radio frequency (RF) power. However, flow calorimeters, in particular micro-fabricated flow calorimeters, have been mostly unexplored as power meters. This paper presents the design, micro-fabrication and characterization of a flow calorimeter. This novel device is capable of measuring power from 100 μW to 200 mW. It has a 50-Ohm load that is heated by the RF source, and the heat is transferred to fluid in a microchannel. The temperature change in the fluid is measured by a thermistor that is connected in one leg of a Wheatstone bridge. The output voltage change of the bridge corresponds to the RF power applied to the load. The microfabricated device measures 25.4 mm × 50.8 mm, excluding the power supplies, microcontroller and fluid pump. Experiments demonstrate that the micro-fabricated sensor has a sensitivity up to 22 × 10−3 V/W. The typical resolution of this micro-calorimeter is on the order of 50 μW, and the best resolution is around 10 μW. The effective efficiency is 99.9% from 0–1 GHz and more than 97.5% at frequencies up to 4 GHz. The measured reflection coefficient of the 50-Ohm load and coplanar wave guide is less than −25 dB from 0–2 GHz and less than −16 dB at 2–4 GHz.
Highlights
Radio frequency (RF) power measurement is very important in many applications, such as lab equipment calibration, communication systems, automotive control systems, satellites and robots
Because the calorimetric method of measurement can significantly reduce the errors in the transfer standard, the calorimeter has long been considered the most accurate method for high-level RF power measurement
The principle of the RF power calorimeter is based on the first law of thermodynamics, which states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed, only converted from one form to the other
Summary
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