A spatial power combiner generally refers to a
microwave
Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different fre ...
system in which the output power of several
solid state
Solid state, or solid matter, is one of the four fundamental states of matter.
Solid state may also refer to:
Electronics
* Solid-state electronics, circuits built of solid materials
* Solid state ionics, study of ionic conductors and their u ...
circuits are combined in free space as opposed to in a lossy substrate. Many spatial power combiners use concepts from free-space
optics
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultra ...
in which
dielectric
In electromagnetism, a dielectric (or dielectric medium) is an electrical insulator that can be polarised by an applied electric field. When a dielectric material is placed in an electric field, electric charges do not flow through the m ...
lenses are used to focus a microwave beam into and out of a solid-state circuit array. For this reason, this field of research is also known as
quasioptics Quasioptics concerns the propagation of electromagnetic radiation where the wavelength is comparable to the size of the optical components (e.g. lenses, mirrors, and apertures) and hence diffraction effects may become significant. It commonly desc ...
.
Microwave technology
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