Rectangular waveguide calorimeter for single intense microwave pulses

A new calorimeter for single intense microwave pulses has been designed and tested. The device was constructed in WR284 rectangular waveguide and was operated at frequencies from 2.5 to 4.3 GHz with a tunable instantaneous bandwidth of approximately 500 MHz. The calorimeter used a single thermistor to measure the energy deposited on a carbon absorber having a microwave power absorbance of 90%. The calorimeter was tested at power levels from 100 to 1000 MW for pulse lengths of 12–6 ns, respectively. The sensitivity of the device was 200–300 mV/J.