A Novel Reconfigurable GaN Based Fully Solid-State Microwave Power Module for Communications/Radar Applications

In this paper, we present as a proof-of-concept (POC) the design, integration, and performance of a novel reconfigurable GaN based fully solid-state MPM. The module synergistically integrates diplexers, pre-amplifiers, multistage medium power amplifiers (MPAs), SPDT switches, and CW/Pulsed high power amplifiers (HPAs) with a voltage sequencer, a DC blanking controller, and a low voltage electronic power conditioner. The POC SSMPM operates at both S-band and X-band to serve multiple roles. The SSMPM can be reconfigured to deliver Psat of 39 dBm (8 W CW) at S-band, Psat of 46 dBm (40 W CW) at X-band, and Psat of >50 dBm (>100 W Pulsed) at X-band. Lastly, our link budget calculations indicate that the SSMPM with Psat = 40 W when coupled to a 10 cm X-band transmit antenna on a low Earth orbiting (900 km) satellite can close a 1 Gbps (QPSK) data downlink to a 1 m receive antenna on ground with 3 dB margin.