A DEVICE FOR COUPLING RADIO FREQUENCY ENERGY FROM VARIOUS TRANSMISSION LINES USING VARIABLE IMPEDANCE TRANSMISSION LINES

摘要

An apparatus and method for coupling energy from a transmission line (100) is provided. The apparatus includes a contact (104) designed to "tap" into an inner conductor (102) of the transmission line (100) through an aperture in an outer conductor of the transmission line. A portion of the contact (104) may be coiled (e.g., a spring) and the coil's characteristics may be varied to control the insertion loss and coupling loss of the apparatus. For example, the wire size, coil diameter, number of turns, and pitch design of the coil may be controlled. The apparatus may also include a secondary transmission line connected to the coil and the secondary transmission line may allow additional control over the coupled energy.