RF Burnout of Ku-Band Mixer Diodes (Short Papers )

This short paper describes the experiments conducted to determine the burnout capability of various types of Ku-band mixer diodes when subjected to narrow RF spikes. This condition results frequently in pulsed microwave systems where the receiver is not adequately protected or where the system's limiting devices degrade or fail. The maintenance problems resulting from mixer failures are severe and may become more so with increased usage of Schottky barrier diodes.