Radio frequency power splitter

Claim 1

RADIO FREQUENCY POWER SPLITTING APPARATUS COMPRISING A RECTANGULAR WAVEGUIDE INPUT TRANSMISSION LINE HAVING AT LEAST A SMALL REGION CAPABLE OF AT LEAST PARTIALLY SUPPORTING TWO ORTHOGONAL MODES OF PROPAGATION HAVING RESPECTIVELY PREDETERMINED ELECTRIC FIELD LINE CONFIGUARTIONS, MEANS FOR TRANSFORMING INPUT POWER SUPPLIED TO SAID INPUT TRANSMISSION LINE INTO ONLY A FIRST OF THESE ORTHOGONAL MODES, MEANS FOR DIVIDING THE POWER PROPAGATED IN SAID FIRST MODE IN SAID INPUT TRANSMISSION LINE INTO AT LEAST TWO UNEQUAL PORTIONS, SAID MEANS COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE CONDUCTIVE WALL DIVIDING THE CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF SAID INPUT TRANSMISSION LINE INTO AT LEAST TWO UNEQUAL PARTS, AT LEAST TWO RECTANGULAR WAVEGUIDE OUTPUT TRANSMISSION LINE SECTIONS, MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING SAID PORTIONS TO RESPECTIVE ONES OF SAID OUTPUT TRANSMISSION LINE SECTIONS WITHOUT SUBSTANTIAL ATTENUATION OF OR INTERACTION BETWEEN SAID PORTIONS AND FOR CAUSING POWER SUPPLIED TO SAID APPARATUS AT A SINGLE ONE OF SAID OUTPUT TRANSMISSION LINES TO BE PROPAGATED AT LEAST PARTIALLY IN THE SECOND OF SAID ORTHOGONAL MODES IN SAID REGION OF SAID INPUT TRANSMISSION LINE, AND MEANS LOCATED IN SAID REGION FOR ABSORBING POWER PROPAGATED IN THE SECOND OF SAID MODES WITHOUT SUBSTANTIALLY ATTENUATING THE FIRST OF SAID MODES, THE LAST SAID MEANS COMPRISING A THIN BODY OF LOSS MATERIAL LOCATED SUBSTANTIALLY TRANSVERSE TO ELECTRIC FIELD LINES OF SAID FIRST MODE, WHEREBY SAID OUTPUT TRANSMISSION LINE SECTIONS ARE SUBSTANTIALLY ISOLATED FROM EACH OTHER AS RESPECTS RADIO FREQUENCY POWER WITHIN THE OPERATING FREQUENCY RANGE OF THE APPARATUS.