Tenders Are Invited For Transmit And Receive Ka-Band Differential Front-End For Direct Radiating Array Antennas

Tenders are invited for Transmit and Receive Ka-Band Differential Front-End for Direct Radiating Array Antennas (Artes at 5c.537) - Expro+ Objective: This objective of the activity is to design, develop and experimentally validate a full-scale engineering model of a transmit and receive differential front-end in Ka-band for direct radiating array antennas for satcom applications, employing differential MMIC amplifiers (power amplifier and low noise amplifier), a differential diplexer, and suitable differential RF transitions.Targeted Improvements: - Size, power and weight reduction by 30%.- Simplified front-end architecture by halving the number of RF lines and reducing number of transitions.- Reduction of common mode noise levels and cross-polarisation isolation by at least 10 dB compared to single-ended solution.Description: The development of differential front-ends for full-duplex in-band communications enables improved RF performance compared to single-ended equivalent, as differential circuits have inherent high-cross polarisation isolation and a higher immunity to noise and electromagnetic interference, which are essential for high-data throughput satcom. By combining the RF active and passive differential development, it becomes possible to co-design MMIC amplifiers and their drivers along with passive devices (such as diplexers and RFtransitions). Therefore, impedance matching at active/passive interfaces can be simplified. Additionally, solid-state power amplifiers in differential-mode operation can achieve better linearity and larger voltage swing. MMIC amplifiers use on-chip combining networks to combine the power of multiple transistor cells at their output. These on-chip combining networks are a source of losses inherent to the power amplifier MMIC. By employing a differential configuration, on-chipcombining structures can be eliminated which leads to the reduction of losses. This enables the required output power for Direct Radiating Arrays using a simplified architecture with a better efficiency.This activity will investigate and develop transmit and receive differential front-end architectures for Ka-band direct radiating arrays. Trade-offs investigating different semiconductor technologies to realise differential MMIC amplifiers (power amplifier and low noise amplifier) will be performed. Critical breadboardingwill be undertaken to characterise the selected front-end architecture concept and the selected technology(ies). A full-scale engineering model of the selected implementation for a transmit and receive differential front-end in Ka-band will be manufactured and tested in relevant environment. Read less Tender Link : https://esastar-publication-ext.sso.esa.int/ESATenderActions/filter/open