Ferrite switching networks have a wide variety of uses in commercial and military, space and terrestrial, and low and high power applications. These include low noise amplifier (LNA) redundancy switches, T/R modules, high power isolators and switch matrices. Ferrite switches are desirable for these applications due to their high reliability and low loss, and because they contain no moving parts or thermal noise sources. Ferrite latching switches are functionally equivalent to conventional (fixed-bias) circulators, but with a selectable direction of circulation. RF energy can be routed with low insertion loss to either of two outputs, depending on the polarity of the control pulse. Hot switching is possible, as the ferrite switch will not be damaged by applied power during a switching event, which is on the order of 1 (is. Once the control pulse is sent to the switch, it is latched to the selected state indefinitely, without the need for further commands or applied power. A switching isolator is similar to a circulator, but one of the two output ports is terminated in a matched load.
展开▼
