The Nuts and Bolts of

RF & Microwave Power Measurement

by David A. Brown and the Berkeley Nucleonics team

Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation

Second Edition · 2026

A Message from the President

RF and microwave power measurement is one of those disciplines where a half-decibel of confusion costs real money. Engineers spend careers getting it right. We wrote this book because the foundational knowledge has always been scattered across application notes, instrument manuals, and hard-won bench experience, with no single resource that builds the picture from first principles all the way through to a production floor decision. That gap is what this book closes.

At Berkeley Nucleonics we are genuinely excited about where RF measurement is heading. Phased-array radar, 5G mmWave, satellite communications, and next-generation test automation are rewriting what accuracy and speed have to mean. We are building instruments for that future, and we want the engineers using them to have every conceptual tool they need. This book is part of that commitment.

David Brown
President, Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation

Principles of Power Measurement

A Working Engineer's Primer on RF & Microwave Power Measurement

Second Edition, Revised and Expanded

Why a Second Edition, and Why Now

RF power is one of those quantities that looks easy until you try to measure it. Hand a voltmeter to a newcomer, point at a signal generator, and the trouble begins. Phase angles creep in. Reflections pile up. A perfectly reasonable cable suddenly lies to you. By the time the signal climbs past a few gigahertz, even the wall outlet in the next room starts to matter.

The first edition of this guide became a quiet favorite in labs and on production floors around the world. We heard it was being photocopied, marked up, taped to walls, and passed between shifts. That is the highest compliment a reference book can earn.

So why revise it now? The measurement work itself has moved. Phased-array radar, 5G mmWave, satellite links, and high-volume automated test have all raised the bar on accuracy and speed at once, and the sensors have changed to keep up. For this edition we kept everything that made the original useful, then tightened the prose, refreshed the examples, and added a proper tour of the Berkeley Nucleonics power sensor family. You will find new application case studies drawn from radar, 5G, EMC, and high-volume manufacturing, plus a selection guide for picking the right sensor on the first try.

Read it cover to cover, or drop into the chapter you need. Either way, we hope it saves you time, and that it saves you from at least one bad measurement.

How to Read This Book

The book runs in three sections. Section 1 (Chapters 1 through 3) builds the foundation: what power is and why it matters, the main sensor technologies from thermal and diode detectors through receiver-based and direct-sampling approaches, and the distinction between CW, average, and peak power that trips up even experienced engineers when they move from steady-state to pulsed or modulated signals. New to this territory? Start here and read straight through.

Section 2 (Chapters 4 through 9) is the practical core: equipment selection, calibration issues, RF power analysis, applications, performance tips, and measurement accuracy. These chapters stand on their own. Troubleshooting a calibration workflow? Open Chapter 5. Optimizing a radar test setup? Chapter 7 is waiting. Cross-references point back to Section 1 when foundational context would help.

Section 3 (Chapters 10 and 11) is the reference layer. Chapter 10 collects conversion tables, power level charts, and quick-look formulas. Chapter 11 covers the Berkeley Nucleonics power measurement line, including the 12100 Series USB sensors, selection guidance, and integration notes. Appendices A through C add a glossary, quiz questions, and an answer key, the pages you will reach for most once the book lives on your bench.

Copyright

Copyright (c) 2026 Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior written permission, except brief quotations in reviews. The Nuts and Bolts of RF & Microwave Power Measurement, Second Edition, 2026. Published by Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation, San Rafael, California. BNC and the Berkeley Nucleonics logo are trademarks of Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation; specifications are subject to change, consult the current datasheet for authoritative figures.

Front Matter

Section 1: RF and Microwave Power Measurement Fundamentals

Section 2: Making Power Measurements

Section 3: Power Measurement Reference

Appendices