Microwave Attenuators for Powers up to 1,000 Watts

A new type of high-power, broad-band probe attenuator is described which operates on a capacitance-divider principle. A typical design reduces input powers up to 1,000 watts, by a fixed ratio, to a low level which can be conveniently measured by bolometric means. The prototype consists of a probe, a buffer-equalizer attenuator, and a lossy tapered matched load. Two designs are required to cover the frequency band 1,000 to 10,000 Mc with relatively constant attenuation and voltage standing-wave ratio below 1.30.