Importance of strictly observing operating instructions/precautions for High frequency THz emitters

After completing diagnostics of a few high frequency wave source -mostly 200GHz and 300GHz emitters - under warranty cases our experts came to a bitter conclusion of the malfunction ‘The built-in frequency multiplier was damaged beyond repair (burned). Such damage was likely caused by the end-user’s failure to observe operating rules / precautions’.

As you know, each of high frequency wave source (e.g. 200GHz; 300GHz and 580GHz wave sources) contain a specific precaution highlight bright yellow on its casing that clearly state

 REFLECTED POWER 10% MAX

Our expert thought it was quite unambiguous instructions, but the real operating practice showed that some of our international customers may not understand its meaning. In fact, it’s fairly easy to break that rule, by simply putting some obstacle in front of the horn (at a distance of around 10cm) when the device is ON (emitting THz waves). As our experts believe, such damage (caused by the customer accidentally or due to failure to meet operating requirements) is not supposed to be covered by our warranty. This is why it is highly important to make sure this precaution is strictly observed.

I hope our end-users also noticed a very prominent precaution in the operator’s manual of the device with basically the same warning (worded in a bit different way).

        Below is the copy-&-paste of that critical precaution that my colleague was referring to.

       DO NOT reflect more than 10% of the output power into the RF output port. Failure to follow this procedure can damage or destroy the device

Here we would like to emphasize and remind of the importance to observe this warning and make sure you and your colleagues always follow this requirement.

Of course, each warranty case is closely examined and investigated during diagnostics. However, the end users of our terahertz wave sources should also keep in mind that replacement of burnt frequency multipliers is a lengthy process (and pretty expensive too) and may take a few months. The bottom line, it’s much easier to prevent the man caused damage than to cope with its consequence.