A Very Fast Switched Attenuator Circuit for Microwave and R.F. Applications.

An electronic circuit was designed and constructed that can switch an r.f. signal between two amplitude levels at very fast speed (less than 10 ns). The circuit incorporates a TTL control for convenient interfacing to existing equipment. The attenuation of the more attenuated state can be adjusted to be up to 12 dB more than for the less attenuated state. The initial application was in Pulsed Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to produce a π/2 - π pulse sequence with pulses of equal time duration and 6 dB difference in amplitude. A new method for measuring electron spin echoes for narrow, homogeneously-broadened lines is described.