Circulator used as a high power TX/RX switch

摘要

A circuit card can include a circulator for routing a signal from a first amplifier to an antenna and for routing a signal from the antenna to a second amplifier, replacing a traditional transfer switch. The circulator can be a surface mount element to enable the circulator, first amplifier, and second amplifier to be mounted on the same circuit card thereby minimizing the size of a transceiver that employs the circuit card. Multiple circulators can be included on the same circuit card to allow for multi-band operation.

主权项

1. A circuit card assembly comprising:
a circulator having a first port, a second port, and a third port, the second port being configured to be connected to an antenna to allow radio frequency signals to be provided to the antenna and received from the antenna; a first amplifier having an output that is connected to the first port of the circulator such that radio frequency signals output by the first amplifier are output from the second port of the circulator; a second amplifier having an input that is connected to the third port of the circulator such that radio frequency signals input to the second port of the circulator are received at the input of the second amplifier; and a power limiter connected between the third port of the circulator and the input to the second amplifier, the power limiter configured to limit power input to the second amplifier reflected from the antenna.