12-kW S-band solid-state transmitter for modern radar systems

The development of a 12-kW solid-state transmitter, operating over 2.7-2.9 GHz, for use in modern surveillance and air-traffic control radars, is described. 12 kW of peak power with a pulse width of 100 mu s and a duty cycle of 10% is achieved by combining 56 300-W high-power solid-state amplifiers. Other key performance parameters are pulse-to-pulse stability (moving-target-indication improvement factor >90 dB), MTBF (mean time between failures) >22,000 h, instantaneous and width of 200 MHz, extremely high pulse fidelity, and self-pulsing low-voltage operation for high efficiency.<
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