SBIR-STTR Award

The Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) and the associated, dispersed 30/20 GHz ground terminals now under development are the prototypes and precursors of future 30/20 GHz SATCOM systems. In order to fully exploit these evolving large-scale communications capabilities, it is imperative that earth-station 30 GHz transmitters be simple, reliable, inexpensive, and with sufficient RF power, typically 8-16 W, for time-domain, multiple-access (TDMA) burst rates of 13.75-27.5 Mbps. Since the average burst duty cycle for the up-link is about 0.025, a pulsed, solid-state power amplifier (SSPA) built from high-peak-power IMPATTs might be developed into a simple, low-cost, 30-GHz transmitter.Phase I will investigate the suitability of a pulsed IMPATT amplifier, including its intrapulse, gain-phase and transient characteristics, to handle TDMA traffic without degradation. A pulsed 30 GHZ IMPATT SSPA design will be generated which could be the basis of a Phase II hardware development program.

Potential Commercial Applications:
This development could provide low-cost, high-performance, pulsed 30 GHz IMPATT SSPAs suitable for the entire gamut of next-generation, commercial 30/20 GHz terminals.STATUS: Phase I Only