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Attenuator

Model attenuator for RF circuit

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  • Attenuator block

Libraries:
RF Blockset / Circuit Envelope / Elements

Description

The Attenuator block to attenuates the signal power by a given factor known as Insertion Loss in dB. Commonly, the block matches the impedance of the RF circuit at the input and output ports. You can use attenuators to dampen the power of the incoming signal to protect RF circuits.

Attenuator block mask icons are dynamic and indicate the current state of the applied noise parameter. This table shows you how the icons on this block vary based on the state of the Simulate noise parameter on the block.

Simulate noise: onSimulate noise: off

Attenuator block icon with Simulate noise is set to on.

Attenuator block icon with Simulate noise is set to off.

Examples

Attenuate Signal Power

Attenuate Signal Power

Use the Attenuator block to attenuate a constant signal of 20 dB by 3 dB.

Parameters

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Level of insertion loss or attenuation to apply to the signal, specified as a scalar in dB.

Input impedance of the attenuator, specified as a scalar in ohms.

Output impedance of the attenuator, specified as a scalar in ohms.

Select this parameter to simulate thermal noise in the attenuator. You must select Simulate noise in the Configuration block.

This parameter inserts a current noise source with the single-sided power density of 4 kT/R A2/Hz, where:

  • T is the value of the Temperature parameter in the Configuration block. Units are in degrees Kelvin.

  • k is the Boltzmann constant.

Select this parameter to ground and hide the negative terminals. To expose the negative terminals, clear this parameter. By exposing these terminals, you can connect them to other parts of your model.

Version History

Introduced in R2016b

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See Also