High Power Coaxial Attenuators (50 to 100 W)

Spectrum Control’s High Power Coaxial Attenuators are engineered to safely dissipate continuous RF energy up to 500 watts while maintaining an exceptional 1.1:1 VSWR and strict ±0.5 dB flatness. Supporting extended operational frequencies up to 50 GHz, these heavy-duty components utilize advanced thermal management architectures to eliminate power coefficient drift and thermal attenuation shifts under maximum load. Designed for high-stress military and aerospace environments, they operate reliably across the full -65°C to +125°C temperature range.

At high power levels, structural power handling and reflection suppression are paramount to preventing catastrophic hardware failure. Inferior high-power designs generate excessive reflected power, creating high standing waves that can travel backward and damage expensive transmitters, traveling wave tubes (TWTs), and solid-state power amplifiers (SSPAs). Spectrum Control’s high-power solutions provide a flawless, reflection-free path. This eliminates back reflections, prevents localized hot spots, and ensures superior spectral purity and phase stability in high-wattage radar, electronic warfare (EW), and transmitter test systems.

With hundreds of rugged configurations available, including models with integrated cooling fins and specialized mounting profiles, these components are optimized for extreme durability. They prevent amplitude ripple, signal reshaping, and unexpected path modulation across wide bandwidths. When your RF system demands uncompromising heat dissipation, power linearity, and precise signal attenuation, our high-power attenuators deliver stable, field-proven performance for the industry’s most demanding applications.

About Coaxial RF Attenuators

To perform effectively in an RF chain, a coaxial attenuator must provide repeatable signal reduction while remaining nearly invisible to the RF signal passing through the circuit. VSWR performance is critical to maintaining a reflection-free signal path. Reflections can distort waveform amplitude and introduce unintended effects such as phase distortion or phase shift, often resulting from poor attenuator VSWR performance. Lower-cost, poorly designed attenuators can create standing waves or attenuation ripple, leading RF designers to troubleshoot nonexistent system issues when the true cause is inadequate attenuator performance.

Reflected power is not simply absorbed within the RF chain; it can travel backward and generate additional reflections that push active devices, such as amplifiers, beyond their intended maximum operating limits.

Spectrum Control Fixed Attenuators

Spectrum Control’s superior VSWR coaxial attenuators help preserve phase linearity and spectral purity, with performance extending up to 50 GHz for demanding high-frequency applications.

Ultra-flat attenuation is another critical parameter, ensuring consistent and precise attenuation across frequency. Variations in attenuation can reshape signals, leading to over- or under-modulation, while amplitude ripple combined with group delay variations from poor VSWR can negatively impact radar, communications, and RF modulation systems.

Scroll down to see all available options ↓