In this phase I SBIR proposal, power combining has been proposed as a viable approach to design of an array of amplifier with effective output power of >30 W at 71-76 GHz. Switching power amplifiers with efficiency of >45% at 76 GHz have also been proposed to reduce the array size. The entire SSPA array is monolithic and its implementation has been elaborated in the proposal.
Benefit: The market for optical components used in telecom and datacom networks is expected to grow from $1.5 billion ($ US) this year to over $6.6 billion ($ US) in 2011. This market is served currently by optical pipelines of 10 Gbps and 40 Gbps. Current IEEE802.15 S3C proposal addressed by TiaLinx is intended to extend the application of RF beamforming as physical layer for UWB point-to-point and point-to-multi-point access nodes. V-band and E-band UWB wireless link technology is similar to terrestrial fiber in terms of speed and reliability for deployment in extended Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs). However, it has a substantial advantage over terrestrial fiber because it costs less to deploy resulting in a lower cost of ownership and, the company''s virtual fiber links can be deployed in a day. Terrestrial fiber can take many months, even a year, to deploy and also require significant regulatory and environmental approvals prior to deployment. The proposed high power transmitter module has a significant value proposition to replace the fiber for short distance point-to-point wireless communication links.
Keywords: V-Band, Solid State Power Amplifier, Mmic, Power Combiner, Power Added Efficiency, Radiation Hardened, Communication Data Rate, Linearity