High power radio frequency (RF) antenna switch
A technology is provided for handling signals with defined power levels that are received at an antenna port. The signals can be received at a first antenna port, wherein the first antenna port is coupled to a plurality of PIN diodes positioned in parallel in between one or more transmission lines with a defined impedance. The defined power levels associated with the signals can be determined to exceed a predetermined threshold. The signals with the defined power levels that exceed the predetermined threshold can be redirected to a second antenna port, wherein the second antenna port is coupled to the plurality of PIN diodes positioned in parallel in between the one or more transmission lines with the defined impedance.
1. A system for managing signals with defined power levels that are received at an antenna port, the system comprising:
a first antenna port directly coupled to a first antenna, the first antenna port configured to receive the signals via the first antenna with the defined power levels, wherein the first antenna port is coupled to a first pair of quarter wavelength transmission lines with an impedance of Zx;
N shunt PIN diodes positioned in parallel between the first pair of quarter wavelength transmission lines, wherein N is a predefined integer greater than one;
a second antenna port directly coupled to a second antenna, the second antenna port configured to receive the signals via the second antenna with the defined power levels, wherein the second antenna port is coupled to a second pair of quarter wavelength transmission lines with the impedance of Zx;
N shunt PIN diodes positioned in parallel between the second pair of quarter wavelength transmission lines, wherein N is a predefined integer greater than one; and
a front-end receiver configured to receive the signals from one of the first antenna port or the second antenna port,
wherein the impedance of Zx associated with the first pair of quarter wavelength transmission lines and the second pair of quarter wavelength transmission lines is set based on the N shunt PIN diodes,
wherein the signals that are received at the first antenna port or the second antenna port are redirected to an opposite antenna port when the defined power levels associated with the signals exceed the predetermined threshold.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the N shunt PIN diodes are positioned in parallel and function to distribute thermal energy generated from the signals received at the first antenna port and the second antenna port.
3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a third pair of quarter wavelength transmission lines with the impedance of Zx coupled to the first pair of quarter wavelength transmission lines and the second pair of quarter wavelength transmission lines, wherein the N shunt PIN diodes are positioned in parallel between the third pair of quarter wavelength transmission lines.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the impedance of Zx is set to 50/IN, wherein N is the predefined integer indicating a number of shunt PIN diodes.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the signals having the defined power levels that exceed the predetermined threshold are redirected to the opposite antenna port when the N shunt PIN diodes are reverse biased.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the front-end receiver includes a low noise amplifier to amplify the signals that are received from the first antenna port or the second antenna port.
7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the front-end receiver receives the signals from the first antenna port or the second antenna port when the N shunt PIN diodes are reverse biased.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein a transmission line intrinsic impedance associated with the N shunt PIN diodes is calculated from 50/√N, wherein N is the predefined integer.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the N shunt PIN diodes can manage the increase in power handling by up to N times, wherein N is the predefined integer.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first antenna port and the second antenna port are included in a missile system or a radar system.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein a line width associated with the first pair of quarter wavelength transmission lines, the second pair of quarter wavelength transmission lines, and the third pair of quarter wavelength transmission lines corresponds to the N shunt PIN diodes.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the line width supports a plurality of parallel blocking capacitors to spread power and dissipate heat from the signals.
13. A system for managing signals with defined power levels that are received at an antenna port, the system comprising:
a first antenna port configured to receive the signals via a first antenna, wherein the first antenna port is coupled to a plurality of PIN diodes that are positioned in parallel between one or more transmission lines with a defined impedance;
a second antenna port configured to receive the signals via a second antenna, wherein the second antenna port is coupled to the plurality of PIN diodes that are positioned in parallel between the one or more transmission lines with the defined impedance; and
a front-end receiver configured to receive the signals from one of the first antenna port or the second antenna port when the defined power levels associated with the signals are less than a predetermined threshold,
wherein the defined impedance associated with the one or more transmission lines is set based on the plurality of PIN diodes,
wherein at least one of the first antenna port or the second antenna port is further configured to redirect the signals to an opposite antenna port when the defined power levels associated with the signals exceed the predetermined threshold.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the signals are redirected to the opposite antenna port when the plurality of PIN diodes are reverse biased.
15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the defined impedance associated with the one or more transmission lines is set to 50/√N, wherein N is the plurality of PIN diodes.
16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more transmission lines are quarter wavelength transmission lines.
17. The system of claim 13 , wherein a line width associated with the one or more transmission lines increases as the number of PIN diodes increases, wherein the line width supports a plurality of parallel blocking capacitors to dissipate heat from the signals.
18. A method for managing signals with defined power levels that are received at an antenna port, the method comprising:
receiving the signals at a first antenna port via a first antenna, wherein the first antenna port is coupled to a plurality of PIN diodes positioned in parallel between one or more transmission lines with a defined impedance;
determining that the defined power levels associated with the signals exceed a predetermined threshold; and
redirecting the signals with the defined power levels that exceed the predetermined threshold from the first antenna port to a second antenna port, wherein the second antenna port is directly coupled to a second antenna and is coupled to the plurality of PIN diodes positioned in parallel between the one or more transmission lines with the defined impedance.
19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising redirecting the signals to the second antenna port when the plurality of PIN diodes are reverse biased.
20. The method of claim 18 , further comprising directing the signals to a front-end receiver when the defined power levels associated with the signals do not exceed the predetermined threshold.
21. The method of claim 18 , further comprising setting the defined impedance associated with the one or more transmission lines to 50/√N, wherein N is the plurality of PIN diodes.