Pulsed RF Signal Irradiation Using a Low Voltage NLTL Coupled to a DRG Antenna

Nonlinear Transmission Lines (NLTLs) have been used for RF generation with great success. Possible applications of NLTLs as an RF generator include aerospace radars, telecommunications, battlefield communication disruption, etc. The RF pulses generated by the NLTLs can be radiated using antennas connected to the output of the lines. Also, there has been a paucity in the literature considering experimental results on the extraction and radiation of the RF signals from the NLTL output. This work reports the results obtained with a low voltage lumped capacitive NLTL in which oscillations of about 230 MHz were produced and radiated using two Double-Ridged Guide (DRG) antennas for signal transmission and reception. The RF signal from the NLTL output was extracted using a high-pass filter decoupling circuit. The performance of the NLTL was evaluated using the analysis in time and frequency domains of the RF pulse signals at the outputs of the line and the DRG receiving antenna. A SPICE line model has been implemented showing a good agreement between the simulation and experimental results.