Why would a three-way unbalanced splitter be used in a system design?

A three-way unbalanced splitter is specifically designed to distribute input signals to multiple output ports. In this context, the primary purpose of using this type of splitter is to ensure that one particular output port can indeed maintain a lower insertion loss compared to the others. This characteristic is crucial in applications where signal quality is paramount, such as in communication systems.

Using a three-way unbalanced splitter allows engineers to tailor the performance of the system by optimizing one output, often where the most critical device or load is connected. In doing so, the splitter can help manage signal power more effectively, ensuring that the primary output can deliver stronger and cleaner signals.

The other options—equal output to all ports, maintaining balance in signal distribution, and minimizing amplification—do not accurately depict the core function of a three-way unbalanced splitter. In fact, it is designed with the intention of creating varying output levels rather than equal ones, making it unsuitable for applications requiring uniform signal distribution.