Research and Development of WRD600: Innovations in High-Power Double Ridge Waveguide Combiners for Ultra-Wideband Applications
This paper proposes for the first time a
novel double-ridge waveguide standard, the WRD600, tailored
for high-power applications across a wide frequency range.
Overcoming the operational constraints of existing standards,
the WRD600 offers a 3:1 bandwidth (6–18 GHz) with a
cutoff frequency at 4.45 GHz. Optimized dimensions ensure
non-dispersive transmission behavior, which is essential for
achieving a promising performance. In addition, a complete
ultra-wideband 4-way power combining assembly is presented
as an application for the proposed double-ridge standard. This
includes building the test setup and experimentally validating the
combining network from 6 to 18 GHz, where an agreement has
been shown between the simulated and measured responses. The
assembly achieves and demonstrates an output return loss and
isolation levels better than 12.5 dB with a 0.8 dB insertion loss
and power handling up to 6 KW.