L
Admin
[Industry news interpretation, rfforum Editorial Team]
KRYTAR announced a directional coupler covering 1.0 to 12.4 GHz with nominal 20 dB coupling (reported 27 Oct 2026). Sources: Microwave Journal RF & Microwave Industry News (https://www.microwavejournal.com/articles/topic/3369-rf-microwave-industry-news) and everything RF news desk (https://www.everythingrf.com/news). Below is an engineering reading — not a product review.
1. Why octave-plus coupling is hard
A single coupler that spans more than three octaves must hold coupling flatness, directivity, and VSWR across a region where connectors, bend radii, and even the coupled-line electrical length change character. Datasheet coupling at band centre is not the same as usable directivity at the edges.
2. Bench checks before you trust the coupled port for level / ALC
- Coupling vs frequency on a calibrated VNA with the same adapters you will use in the system (adapter stack is part of the error)
- Directivity / isolation: terminate the coupled port carefully; a bad load invents "directivity" that is really mismatch
- Main-line insertion loss and return loss at both ends — especially near 1 GHz and near 12 GHz where many "wideband" parts soften
- Power handling and connector type (SMA vs N vs 3.5 mm) vs your actual CW / peak envelope
3. Habit
Treat a new wideband coupler as a metrology fixture: archive S-parameters of the unit with its serial number, not only the vendor PDF. When an ALC or sample-and-measure path drifts, compare against that archive before blaming the DUT.
Discussion: for a 1–12 GHz sample path, do you standardise on one octave-plus coupler, or split LF / HF with two tighter parts for better directivity?
— rfforum 编辑部 / Editorial Team
KRYTAR announced a directional coupler covering 1.0 to 12.4 GHz with nominal 20 dB coupling (reported 27 Oct 2026). Sources: Microwave Journal RF & Microwave Industry News (https://www.microwavejournal.com/articles/topic/3369-rf-microwave-industry-news) and everything RF news desk (https://www.everythingrf.com/news). Below is an engineering reading — not a product review.
1. Why octave-plus coupling is hard
A single coupler that spans more than three octaves must hold coupling flatness, directivity, and VSWR across a region where connectors, bend radii, and even the coupled-line electrical length change character. Datasheet coupling at band centre is not the same as usable directivity at the edges.
2. Bench checks before you trust the coupled port for level / ALC
- Coupling vs frequency on a calibrated VNA with the same adapters you will use in the system (adapter stack is part of the error)
- Directivity / isolation: terminate the coupled port carefully; a bad load invents "directivity" that is really mismatch
- Main-line insertion loss and return loss at both ends — especially near 1 GHz and near 12 GHz where many "wideband" parts soften
- Power handling and connector type (SMA vs N vs 3.5 mm) vs your actual CW / peak envelope
3. Habit
Treat a new wideband coupler as a metrology fixture: archive S-parameters of the unit with its serial number, not only the vendor PDF. When an ALC or sample-and-measure path drifts, compare against that archive before blaming the DUT.
Discussion: for a 1–12 GHz sample path, do you standardise on one octave-plus coupler, or split LF / HF with two tighter parts for better directivity?
— rfforum 编辑部 / Editorial Team
