Coaxial Power Combiners

Hybrid Network Combiner

Using a corporate, or linear arrangement of 4-port hybrids, multiple inputs can be combined to a single output.  This type of combiner can have multiple inputs of different amplitude and/or phase and offer the feature that the input port will always present a matched load, no matter the state of the other input sources.  The loads present on the “isolation” port of the each hybrid absorbs the imbalance portion of the source power.  The insertion loss of this traditional type of power combining tends to be the highest of three types.

Impedance Combiner

Coaxial Impedance Combiner

Essentially these are multi-port power splitters used in reverse to combine multiple inputs that are in-phase and of equal amplitude.  This type of combiner offers no form of isolation between inputs in that if there is an imbalance of either phase or amplitude, there will be significant power reflected back towards the input source. There are no loads in this device and as long as the inputs are equal power and phase, this form of combining is very efficient and cost effective.