Research and Development of Digitally Controlled Continuous Microwave Attenuators

The article presents the development of a continuous attenuator with a minimum number of sequential stages, with digital control for microwave operation. The use of continuous attenuators reduces the number of sequential cascades. This allows for a broadband attenuator in the frequency range from 1 GHz to 6 GHz, with a minimum loss of not more than 1.9 dB and a maximum isolation of not less than 31 dB. The use of a bridge circuit gives a significant gain in providing isolation, as it compensates for the influence of parasitic capacitances on any technological processes in a wide frequency range. For digital control, you can build a discrete attenuator with a given resolution, by using a high-bit DAC. The article presents a topological scheme and assesses the influence of parasitic components on the characteristics of the microwave attenuator.