A.V. Korolev1, N.A. Kushnerev2, M.V. Rodin3

1,3 Bauman Moscow State Technical University (Moscow, Russia)

2 JSC «Vega» (Moscow, Russia)

1 korolev.a@bmstu.ru; 2 kushnerev@inbox.ru; 3 mvrodin@bmstu.ru

Problem statement. Nowadays, pulsed radars with active electronically scanned arrays (AESA) largely determine the appearance of the high-tech information infrastructure of the leading economically developed countries. However, despite the significant level of radar evolution, developers do not stop conducting research to improve them in terms of expanding functionality and achieving better performance. Among other things, this is due to the fact that an indispensable step in improving promising AFAR radars is the designing of transmit-receive modules (TRM) with the ability to control the output power. However, with deep adjustment of the TRM output power, a decrease in their energy efficiency is observed, which is an urgent problem in the context of stricter requirements for the weight and dimensional characteristics of AESA. This work is a continuation of the research undertaken by the authors and devoted to the developing TRM for pulsed radars with output power control.

Goal. Taking into account the urgency of the problem of increasing the energy efficiency of TRM, the purpose of the proposed article is to review the possibilities and limitations of various methods of control the TRM output power, as well as to search for conditions conducive to achieving the least reduction in energy efficiency when controlling the TRM output power, taking into account the requirements for control speed.

Results. The article presents the results of a theoretical analysis of various methods of power control at the output of TRM microwave transistor amplifiers, the possibilities and limitations of these methods are formulated, practical recommendations are presented to ensure maximum energy efficiency of TRM in conditions of deep output power control, taking into account the requirements for control speed.

Practical significance. The presented results will be useful for specialists developing TRM for pulsed radars with output power control.

Korolev A.V., Kushnerev N.A., Rodin M.V. Energy-efficient power control of microwave power amplifiers in pulsed radar transmitters: possibilities and limitations. Radiotekhnika. 2025. V. 89. № 12. P. 173−188. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18127/j00338486-202512-18
(In Russian)

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