High-performance 16-way Ku-band radial power combiner based on the TE01-circular waveguide mode

This work presents a 16-way Ku-band radial power combiner for high power and high frequency applications, using the very low loss TE₀₁ circular waveguide mode. The accomplished design shows an excellent performance: the experimental prototype has a return loss better than 30 dB, with a balance for the amplitudes of (±0.15 dB) and (±2.5°) for the phases, in a 16.7% fractional bandwidth (2 GHz centered at 12 GHz). For obtaining these outstanding specifications, required, for instance, in high-frequency amplification or on plasma systems, a rigorous step-by-step procedure is presented. First, a high-purity mode transducer has been designed, from the TE₁₀ mode in the rectangular waveguide to the TE₀₁ mode in the circular waveguide, with very high attenuation (>50 dB) for the other propagating and evanescent modes in the circular waveguide. This transducer has been manufactured and measured in a back-to-back configuration, validating the design process. Second, an E-plane 16-way radial power divider has been designed, where the power is coupled from the 16 non-reduced-height radial standard waveguides into the TE₀₁ circular waveguide mode, improving the insertion loss response and removing the usual tapered transformers of previous designs limiting the power handling. Finally, both the transducer and the divider have been assembled to make the final radial combiner. The prototype has been carefully manufactured, showing very good agreement between the measurements and the full-wave simulations.