The main applications of RF circulators

　　In various RF circuit design applications, RF circulators have multiple applications. Usually they tend to be used at microwave frequencies, so they are commonly referred to as microwave circulators.

　　Duplex: One of the most obvious and common applications of RF circulators is in radar systems or wireless communication systems, where the transmitter and receiver use a common antenna.

　　Circulator used as a duplexer

　　For example, the transmitter output is connected to port 1, the antenna is connected to port 2, and the receiver is connected to port 3. Therefore, the transmitter power will loop to the antenna instead of the receiver, and the signal received by the antenna will loop to the receiver. In this way, the receiver is isolated from the transmitter, but the antenna has power from the transmitter and transmits the received signal to the receiver without any mechanical switching.

　　RF isolator: RF circulators can be used as RF isolators. This is very useful for protecting amplifiers that must operate at high VSWR levels. If directly connected to the antenna in these situations, the power amplifier may be damaged due to high voltage or current levels.

　　Usually, transmitters need to operate over a wide bandwidth, and in these cases, it is not possible to maintain good impedance matching across the entire bandwidth, and the destructive level of VSWR may be observed. To overcome this problem, a circulator can be used to protect the power amplifier PA from the influence of reflected power.

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