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RF/MW power standard realization without unitary efficiency assumption at dc/LF

Thermoelectric power sensors are widely used in commercial power meters at RF and microwaves, due to their superior robustness, stability, and accuracy if compared with other types of power sensors. Furthermore, their electrical architecture and related performance turned out to be very useful in the realization of the broadband primary power standards as alternative to resistive power sensors, i.e. bolometers. Hereby we present a comparison in term of effective efficiency of a thermoelectric sensor calibrated by applying two different methods of power substitution when used as thermal load in a coaxial microcalorimeter at RF and microwaves. The aim is to test a technology that could enable the realization of a primary RF/MW power standard independently of the assumption of unitary efficiency at the dc (or LF) reference power.