DEMYSTIFYING RF ATTENUATORS

Nov 1, 2004 12:00 PM, By Harold Kinley Creating a high-precision pad can be tric !--here"s ho# to do it Many different small test accessories often are needed when performin radio fre!"ency, or #$, test and meas"rement wor%& 'ne s"ch item is the #$ atten"ator, which typically consists of several individ"al (pads) that can *e switched in or o"t to increase or decrease the total atten"ation& +,enerally, the word (pad) refers to a sin le fi-ed atten"ator&. /he #$ atten"ator is fre!"ently "sed in many test and meas"rement proced"res in radio comm"nication0 practical information on its constr"ction and "se is presented here& 1tten"ators for a"dio fre!"encies are easily constr"cted o"t of ordinary resistors "sin a form"la or chart to desi n the pad& However, #$ represents a different *all ame& 1t hi h #$s, the desi n of the pad is m"ch more strin ent& 2pecial resistors often are "sed to ma%e a hi hly acc"rate pad& $or e-ample, a 3 dB pad mi ht act"ally present 3 dB of atten"ation at 1 MH4 or lower *"t shows a si nificantly different atten"ation at 150 MH4& 6f yo" are tryin to ma%e precise meas"rements, then hi h7precision atten"ators are necessary& Precision atten"ators for #$ applications are not cheap, and a variety of different atten"ation levels often are needed0 conse!"ently, a well7e!"ipped #$ tool*o- sho"ld contain a ood variety of #$ atten"ators& $i-ed atten"ators of 8 dB, 3 dB and 10 dB are most often needed& #$ atten"ators are availa*le with different #$ connectors& Beca"se of the !"ic% connect9disconnect feat"re, the BN: connector is convenient for testin applications& However, instead of BN: connectors, many #$ devices feat"re ;H$ or /ype N #$ connectors& ;nless yo" have the correct connector on the pad, #$ adaptors will *e re!"ired to ma%e the transition from one type of connector to another& <ith the correct #$ adaptor one can connect (anythin to anythin &) However, the li*eral "se of #$ adaptors can lead to pro*lems& 6f possi*le, it is *est to "se an #$ pad with the proper #$ connector for the partic"lar application at hand& #$ pads can *e connected in a pi y*ac% fashion to provide an atten"ation e!"al to the s"m of the individ"al pads& However, it is *est to "se a sin le pad with the proper atten"ation, if possi*le& 2tep atten"ators also are availa*le in a variety of different atten"ation levels and can *e "sed to provide atten"ation val"es ran in from 1 dB to 100 dB or more& 2witches for step atten"ators may *e simple to le switches, roc%er switches, slide switches or p"sh7*"tton switches& By switchin in the appropriate atten"ators, the atten"ation can *e increased or decreased in 1 dB steps& 1tten"ators may *e constr"cted in the (/) confi "ration +$i "re 1. or the (pi) confi "ration +$i "re 2.&

/a*le 1 shows the val"es of resistors "sed in the / pad for vario"s atten"ation val"es, while /a*le 2 shows the val"es of the resistors "sed in the pi pad for the same atten"ation val"es& /he atten"ators are symmetrical, provided the inp"t and o"tp"t impedances are the same& 6n applications where atten"ators are "sed as impedance7matchin devices, they are not symmetrical&

2tep atten"ators are availa*le in a variety of switchin formats& /hey may *e relay7 pro ramma*le, //=7pro ramma*le, ,P6B7pro ramma*le and so on& No matter how the total atten"ation is set, the principle is the same > individ"al pads e!"alin the total desired atten"ation are switched into a cascade arran ement& /he "n"sed pads are simply *ypassed *y a strai ht7thro" h connection& 2everal different methods can *e "sed to chec% the acc"racy of an atten"ator or a sin le pad& /he simplest method is to "se an ohmmeter to chec% the resistance& /he resistance of an atten"ator or pad desi ned for a 50 ohm system will show the same resistance on either side *eca"se they are of a symmetrical desi n& /his is tr"e whether the pad or atten"ator is made in the / or pi confi "ration& /his is not tr"e of impedance7matchin pads&

/o determine the resistance that sho"ld *e (seen) across the inp"t or o"tp"t of the pad or atten"ator, yo" will need to %now the resistance of the arm and le resistors that ma%e "p the pad& /he val"es of the arm and le resistors for a few val"es of atten"ation are shown in /a*le 1 for / pads and in /a*le 2 for pi pads& ;sin a 8 dB pi pad as an e-ample, /a*le 2 shows that the arm resistor sho"ld *e 1?&3 ohms, and the le resistors sho"ld *e 2@2&4 ohms& /h"s, the resistance seen across the inp"t or o"tp"t is 150&5 ohms& 6f a step atten"ator is composed of pi pads, the test can *e cond"cted with the 1 dB and 2 dB pads switched in and all others switched o"t& 'r, A"st the 8 dB pad can *e switched in, with all others o"t& /he ohmmeter readin sho"ld *e the same no matter how the 8 dB atten"ation is o*tained& 1nother method that can *e "sed is to connect a B: volta e of 1C across the inp"t of the atten"ator or pad +see $i "re 8.& $or a 8 dB pad, the volta e appearin across the other side of the pad will *e 0&?0D volts& /he volta e red"ction factor can *e determined *y "sin the form"la in E!"ation 1&

6n $i "re 8, 1 CB: is applied across the inp"t to the 8 dB pad and 0&?0D CB: is meas"red at the opposite side& 6t is important to note that a 50 ohm termination sho"ld *e connected to the o"tp"t side where the atten"ated volta e is meas"red& 6f the meas"red volta e differs si nificantly from the calc"lated volta e, one or more of the resistors ma%in "p the pad has chan ed val"e& <hile the two previo"s test proced"res will reveal whether the resistors comprisin the pad are of the correct val"e, the tests do not indicate the acc"racy of the pad at #$ fre!"encies& 1 co"ple of other methods can *e "sed for the #$ test& $i "re 4 shows a si nal enerator connected to an atten"ator on one side and a #$ voltmeter connected to the opposite side thro" h a 50 ohm terminated (thro" h) connector& /he si nal enerator is set to the desired test fre!"ency and the o"tp"t level adA"sted to a convenient level, s"ch as 720 dBm& <ith all of the atten"ation switched o"t, the reference readin on the #$ voltmeter indicates the insertion loss of the atten"ator& /his is noted as the reference mar%&

/hen, a level of atten"ation is switched in, s"ch as 8 dB& /he #$ voltmeter sho"ld drop *y 8 dB& 6ncreasin the si nal enerator o"tp"t level *y 8 dB sho"ld ret"rn the #$ voltmeter readin to the reference mar% o*tained at the *e innin of the test proced"re& /his test sho"ld *e r"n at increasin ly hi her fre!"encies "ntil a point is reached where the acc"racy of the atten"ator fails to meet the re!"ired acc"racy& 1ll atten"ator levels sho"ld *e chec%ed at each fre!"ency& 1nother way to do the #$ test is to "se a spectr"m analy4er that can *e set for scale divisions low eno" h to chec% the lowest atten"ation level to *e chec%ed& $or e-ample, to chec% an atten"ator at 1 dB atten"ation, the spectr"m analy4er sho"ld *e set to 0&25 dB9division& /his means that an atten"ation of 1 dB will chan e the displayed si nal *y 4 divisions& ,enerally, the dB9division control is set to the least val"e that will ive ma-im"m chan e of the displayed si nal witho"t oin off the screen& /o chec% for 5 dB atten"ation, the si nal enerator is adA"sted to 0 dBm, and the spectr"m analy4er level is set to prod"ce a display at the top of the reference scale with the dB9division control set to 1 dB9div& /hen, with the 5 dB atten"ator switched in, the display sho"ld drop *y 5 divisions& 6ncrease the si nal enerator level *y 5 dB to ens"re that the display ret"rns to the previo"s level& /his test sho"ld *e r"n at all the fre!"encies at which yo" plan to "se the atten"ator or pad& /ypical "ses of pads incl"de the (paddin ) of the si nal enerator o"tp"t to ma%e s"re the si nal enerator always sees a 50 ohm load impedance& <hen testin *andpass or reAect cavities, *oth sides of the cavity sho"ld *e connected thro" h a pad of 8 dB to 3 dB of atten"ation& 6np"ts and o"tp"ts of amplifiers often are padded to ens"re sta*le operation& Pads are "sed in many test and meas"rement proced"res to ens"re meas"rement acc"racy& 1n important point to remem*er, a*ove all, is to never %ey a transmitter into the pad& ;nless the pad is desi ned to handle the transmitter power, the pad co"ld *e dama ed severely, renderin it "seless& Proper handlin and care of the pad or atten"ator will yield many years of relia*le service& Handle with careF