Explore topic-wise MCQs in Microwave Engineering.

This section includes 161 Mcqs, each offering curated multiple-choice questions to sharpen your Microwave Engineering knowledge and support exam preparation. Choose a topic below to get started.

51.

A disadvantage of microstrip compared with stripline is that microstrip:

A. Does not readily lend itself to printed circuit techniques
B. Is more likely to radiate
C. Is bulkier
D. Is more expensive and complex to manufacture
Answer» C. Is bulkier
52.

A ruby maser amplifier must be cooled:

A. Because maser amplification generates a lot of heat
B. To increase bandwidth
C. Because it cannot operate at room temperature
D. To improve the noise performance
Answer» D. To improve the noise performance
53.

The biggest advantage of the TRAPATT diode over the IMPATT diode is its:

A. Lower noise
B. Higher efficiency
C. Ability to operate at higher frequencies
D. Lesser sensitivity to harmonics
Answer» C. Ability to operate at higher frequencies
54.

The transferred-electron bulk effect occurs in:

A. Germanium
B. Gallium arsenide
C. Silicon
D. Metal semiconductor junctions
Answer» C. Silicon
55.

One of the following microwave diodes is suitable for very low-power oscillators only:

A. Tunnel
B. Avalanche
C. Gunn
D. IMPATT
Answer» B. Avalanche
56.

One of the following is not used as a microwave mixer or detector:

A. Crystal diode
B. Schottky-barrier diode
C. Backward diode
D. PIN diode
Answer» E.
57.

Indicate which of the following diodes does not use negative resistance in its operation?

A. Backward
B. Gunn
C. IMPATT
D. Tunnel
Answer» B. Gunn
58.

Indicate which of the following diodes will produce the highest pulsed power output?

A. Varactor
B. Gunn
C. Schottky barrier
D. RIMPATT
Answer» E.
59.

The maximum power that may be handled by a ferrite component is limited by the:

A. Curie temperature
B. Saturation magnetization
C. Line width
D. Gyromagnetic resonance
Answer» B. Saturation magnetization
60.

A parametric amplifier has an input and output frequency of 2 25 GHz, and is pumped at 4 5 GHz. It is a:

A. Travelling-wave amplifier
B. Degenerate amplifier
C. Lower-sideband up-converter
D. Upper-sideband up-converter
Answer» C. Lower-sideband up-converter
61.

If high-order frequency multiplication is required from a diode multiplier:

A. The resistive cutoff frequency must be high
B. A small value of base resistance is required
C. A step-recovery diode must be used
D. A large range of capacitance variation is needed
Answer» D. A large range of capacitance variation is needed
62.

A varactor diode may be useful at microwave frequencies (indicate the false answer):

A. For electronic tuning
B. For frequency multiplication
C. As an oscillator
D. As a parametric amplifier
Answer» D. As a parametric amplifier
63.

For a microwave transistor to operate at the highest frequencies, the (indicate the false answer):

A. Collector voltage must be large
B. Collector current must be high
C. Base should be thin
D. Emitter area must be large
Answer» E.
64.

For Gunn diodes, gallium arsenide is preferred to silicon because the former:

A. Has a suitable empty energy band, which silicon does not have
B. Has a higher ion mobility
C. Has a lower noise at the highest frequencies
D. Is capable of handling higher power densities
Answer» B. Has a higher ion mobility
65.

Negative resistance is obtained with a Gunn diode because of:

A. Electron transfer to a less mobile energy level
B. Avalanche breakdown with the high-voltage gradient
C. Tunneling across the junction
D. Electron domains forming at the junction
Answer» B. Avalanche breakdown with the high-voltage gradient
66.

A maser RF amplifier is not really suitable for:

A. Radioastronomy
B. Satellite communications
C. Radar
D. Troposcatter receivers
Answer» D. Troposcatter receivers
67.

Parametric amplifiers and masers are similar to each other in that both (indicate false statement):

A. Must have pumping
B.
C. Are extremely low-noise amplifiers
D. Must be cooled down to a few kelvins
E. Generally require circulators, since they are one-port devices
Answer» D. Must be cooled down to a few kelvins
68.

The ruby maser has been preferred to the ammonia maser for microwave amplification, because the former has:

A. A much greater bandwidth
B. A better frequency stability
C. A lower noise figure
D. No need for a circulator
Answer» B. A better frequency stability
69.

The magnetic field is used with a ruby maser to:

A. Provide sharp focusing for the electron beam
B. Increase the population inversion
C. Allow room-temperature operation
D. Provide frequency adjustment
Answer» E.
70.

The biggest disadvantage of the IMPATT diode is its:

A. Lower efficiency than that of the other microwave diodes
B. High noise
C. Inability to provide pulsed operation
D. Low power-handling ability
Answer» C. Inability to provide pulsed operation
71.

SAW devices may be used as:

A. Transmission media like stripline
B. Filters
C. UHF amplifiers
D. Oscillators at millimeter frequencies
Answer» C. UHF amplifiers
72.

A PIN diode is:

A. A metal semiconductor point-contact diode
B. A microwave mixer diode
C. Often used as a microwave detector
D. Suitable for use as a microwave switch
Answer» E.
73.

The biggest advantage of gallium antimonide over germanium for tunnel-diode use is that the former has a:

A. Lower noise
B. Higher ion mobility
C. Larger voltage swing
D. Simpler fabrication process
Answer» D. Simpler fabrication process
74.

The negative resistance in a tunnel diode:

A. Is maximum at the peak point of the characteristic
B. Is available between the peak and valley points
C. Is maximum at the valley point
D. May be improved by the use of reverse bias
Answer» C. Is maximum at the valley point
75.

A tunnel diode is loosely coupled to its cavity in order to:

A. Increase the frequency stability
B. Increase the available negative resistance
C. Facilitate tuning
D. Allow operation at the highest frequencies
Answer» B. Increase the available negative resistance
76.

The gain-bandwidth frequency of a microwave transistor, fT, is the frequency at which the:

A. Alpha of the transistor falls by 3 dB
B. Beta of the transistor falls by 3 dB
C. Power gain of the transistor falls to unity
D. Beta of the transistor falls to unity
Answer» E.
77.

The non-degenerate one-port parametric amplifier should have a high ratio of pump to signal frequency because this:

A. Permits satisfactory high-frequency operation
B. Yields a low noise figure
C. Reduces the pump power required
D. Permits satisfactory low-frequency operation
Answer» C. Reduces the pump power required
78.

A parametric amplifier sometimes uses a circular to:

A. Prevent noise feedback
B. Allow the antenna to be used simultaneously for transmission and reception
C. Separate the signal and idler frequencies
D. Permit more efficient pumping
Answer» B. Allow the antenna to be used simultaneously for transmission and reception
79.

Travelling-wave parametric amplifiers are used to:

A. Provide a greater gain
B. Reduce the number of varactor diodes required
C. Avoid the need for cooling
D. Provide a greater bandwidth
Answer» E.
80.

Surface acoustic waves propagate in:

A. Gallium arsenide
B. Indium phosphide
C. Stripline
D. Quartz crystal
Answer» E.
81.

The tunnel diode:

A. Has a tiny hole through its centre to facilitate tunneling
B. Is a point-contact diode with a very high reverse resistance
C. Uses a high doping level to provide a narrow junction
D. Works by quantum tunneling exhibited by gallium arsenide only
Answer» D. Works by quantum tunneling exhibited by gallium arsenide only
82.

The TWT is sometimes preferred to the magnetron as a rader transmitter output tube because it is:

A. Capable of a longer duty cycle
B. A more efficient amplifier
C. More broadband
D. Less noisy
Answer» B. A more efficient amplifier
83.

Periodic permanent-magnet focusing is used with TWTs to:

A. Allow pulsed operation
B. Improve electron bunching
C. Avoid the bulk of an electromagnet
D. Allow coupled-cavity operation at the highest frequencies
Answer» D. Allow coupled-cavity operation at the highest frequencies
84.

The attenuator is used in the travelling-wave tube to:

A. Help bunching
B. Prevent oscillations
C. Prevent saturation
D. Increase gain
Answer» C. Prevent saturation
85.

The primary purpose of the helix in a travelling-wave tube is to:

A. Prevent the electron beam from spreading in the long tube
B. Reduce the axial velocity of the RF field
C. Ensure broadband operation
D. Reduce the noise figure
Answer» C. Ensure broadband operation
86.

To avoid difficulties with strapping at high frequencies, the type of cavity structure used in the magnetron is the:

A. Hole-and-slot
B. Slot
C. Vane
D. Rising-sun
Answer» E.
87.

Manganese ferrite may be used as a (indicate false answer):

A. Circulator
B. Isolator
C. Garnet
D. Phase shifter
Answer» D. Phase shifter
88.

A directional coupler with three or more holes is sometimes used in preference to the two-hole coupler:

A. Because it is more efficient
B. To increase coupling of the signal
C. To reduce spurious mode generation
D. To increase the bandwidth of the system
Answer» E.
89.

Short term fading in microwave communication links can be overcome by:

A. Increasing the transmitted power
B. Changing the antenna
C. Changing the modulation scheme
D. Diversity reception and transmission
Answer» E.
90.

The front end of an amplifier chain in manufacture of communication system is kept immersed in liquid nitrogen, to:

A. Dissipate heat generated by amplifier
B. Expand its frequency response
C. Improve its noise figure
D. Reduce the distortion by the amplifier
Answer» C. Improve its noise figure
91.

In microwave we take the elements as:

A. Lumped circuit element
B. Distributed circuit element
C. Both (a) and (b) above
D. None of the above
Answer» C. Both (a) and (b) above
92.

The main advantage of the two hole directional coupler is:

A. Low directional coupling
B. High SWR
C. Poor directivity
D. Narrow bandwidth
Answer» E.
93.

For a directional coupler the power is in the range of:

A. 40 dB
B. 30 dB
C. 20 dB
D. 10 dB
Answer» D. 10 dB
94.

Most of the power measuring microwave devices measure:

A. Average power
B. Peak power
C. Instantaneous power
D. None of these
Answer» B. Peak power
95.

In comparison to an unloaded cavity, value of factor of a loaded cavity is:

A. Higher
B. Lower
C. Same
D. None of these
Answer» C. Same
96.

Which of the following is directly measured in sweep reflectometry?

A. SWR
B. Impedance
C. Reflection Coefficient
D. Return loss
Answer» E.
97.

A PIN diode is suitable for use as a:

A. Microwave switch
B. Microwave mixed diode
C. Microwave detector
D. None of these
Answer» B. Microwave mixed diode
98.

A magic-tee is nothing but:

A. A modification of E-plane tee
B. A modification of H-plane tee
C. A combination of E-plane and H-plane tee
D. Two E-plane tees connected in parallel
Answer» D. Two E-plane tees connected in parallel
99.

Rain drop attenuation in most microwave communication links is caused due to:

A. Scattering of microwaves by water drops of specific size
B. Scattering of microwaves by a collection of droplets acting as a single body
C. Absorption of microwave by water and consequent heating of the liquid
D. Absorption of microwaves by water-vapour in the atmosphere
Answer» E.
100.

The semiconductor diode which can be used in switching circuits at microwave range is:

A. PIN diode
B. Tunnel diode
C. Varactor diode
D. Gunn diode
Answer» B. Tunnel diode