Techniques 1 and 2 both involve the use of absorption meters, whose operation re lies on being able to absorb a e power which would otherwise be destined for the load Technique 3 on the other hand, is based on the use of transmission type meters which draw upon only a small fraction of the power being delivered to the load
As pointed out, the first technique for high-frequency power measurements involves the measurement of voltage across a load resistor, RL, and the calculating o power from P VIRL. For frequencies in the audio range (200 Hz to 20 kHz), power is usually measured by connecting the output of the power source (i e.. an audio amplifier) to a standard-value resistor (4 n and 8 n are common values). An ac meter then measure the voltage across this load resistor and the power is calculated from the meter reading. For high frequencies (RF frequencies up to 500 MHz), the voltmeter and load resistor are usually combined into a single absorption-type power meter instrument. The load resistor is designed to maintain a constant resistance value over the entire range of frequencies of interest, and the voltmeter is capable of accurately responding to such high-frequency signals. The scale of the meter is also calibrated to dis play its readings in units of power. Technique 2 for measuring power at high frequencies utilizes sensing of the heating effects caused by the signal of interest. Two meters (also, in fact, absorption-type power meters) that perform such measurements are known as the calorimeter and the bolometer The calorimeter is an instrument which contains a resistor that is completely surrounded by a well-insulated calorimetric body. The high-frequency (RF) input signal is fed to the calorimeter, and heat is dissipated by the resistor within the meter.
The calorimetric body that surrounds the resistor is in turn heated by thee warmed resistor and the rate of temperature rise is proportional to the power dissipated in the load. A temperature-measuring device, calibrated to display its output in terms of power, serves to indicate the power absorbed (Fig. 9.18). Calorimeters are used to measure RF power in the range 10 mW to 10 W