News: Microelectronics
17 June 2022
Filtronic launches E-band mmWave active diplexers with integral PAs and LNAs
Filtronic plc of Sedgefield and Leeds, UK — which designs and manufactures RF, microwave and millimeter-wave (mmWave) components and subsystems — has launched the Hades range of active diplexers, designed to enable original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to manufacture cost-effective E-band radios with significantly increased RF performance, for use in military or commercial telecoms applications, including airborne and High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS).
The active E-band mmWave diplexers operate over the 71–76GHz and 81–86GHz bands, and offer a range of configurable options integrating high power amplifiers (PAs) and low-noise amplifiers (LNAs), reducing size and weight compared with discrete components. Their low overall SWAP (size, weight and power) makes them suitable for airborne and HAPS applications.
Active diplexers can be used in conjunction with a wide range of commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) surface-mount-compatible packaged upconverters and downconverters. This provides enhanced performance compared with using surface-mount products, and allows versatility in the deployment of configurable E-band links with different power levels.
The integral PAs have saturated transmitter (Tx) power output levels up to more than +30dBm, and incorporate a Tx RF power detector to facilitate power calibration and automatic level control (ALC). The LNAs have a receiver (Rx) noise figure of less than 4dB. With a typical output IP3 (third-order intercept point) at +20dBm of +31dBm, the high linearity of the units are capable of supporting modulation formats up to 1024QAM to facilitate very high data rates.
Where specified, the modules can be supplied with full calibration of transmitter power/frequency and receiver gain characteristics, stored on an integrated I2C EEPROM. An integrated temperature sensor also provides users with accurate amplifier temperature data.
A wide range of configuration options are available for the Hades diplexers, which can be specified to integrate either gallium arsenide (GaAs) or indium phosphide (InP) amplifiers as required, in either or both of the Tx and Rx chains. There is also the option to combine two GaAs PAs to give a higher linear Tx power for long-range terrestrial and non-terrestrial E-band communications links. Furthermore, the WR12 port locations and directions can be customised upon request.
“The Hades range of active mmWave diplexers feature multiple configuration options to optimize them for a range of demanding commercial and military communications applications,” says Dan Rhodes, Filtronic’s director of business development ‒ mmWave Technology. “The high power, linearity and low SWAP mean that they deliver unparalleled performance in E-band links for LEO and HAPS systems as well as in many terrestrial use cases,” he adds.
Filtronic is exhibiting in booth 2068 at the IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IMS 2022) at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver (21–23 June).
Filtronic introduces E-band high-power amplifiers for long-range telecoms links
