Compact Frequency Programmable Ka-Band Transmitter for Future Geo Satellites
Keywords:
Amplifier, Frequency, Modulator, Phase Locked Loop, Satellites, TransmitterAbstract
An increasing number of geostationary missions to provide satellite-based applications such as communication, navigation, and imaging resulted in a scarcity of bandwidth in lower frequency bands. Hence, the frequency band of payload operation has reached from S-Band to Ka-Band and Q-Band. A bandwidth of 10 MHz is typically allotted in the edges of the payload bandwidth for the main frame communication of these satellites. Hence, upcoming Geo missions essentially need Ka-Band communication systems. Ka-Band RFIC-based transmitters are available in commercial grade for various applications. However, for Geo Satellites, the transmitter should be designed to withstand launch phase environmental conditions such as vibration and acoustics along with radiation effects in the orbit while capable of serving the mission life of 15 years of continuous operation in space. The selection of devices, fabrication processes, rigorous test and validation, and quality control during every stage plays critical roles in the performance of the designed hardware in space systems.
This paper describes the design and development of compact and production friendly Ka-Band Transmitter using BiCMOS based PLL and internally matched MMICs. This paper includes details of evolution of the Ka-Band transponders for various applications, specifications and block level design of the transmitter, circuit level implementation, integrated hardware performance and comparison with state-of-the-art transmitters.
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