A VSAT PACKAGED HPA FOR GROUND TERMINAL AND DIGITAL RADIO APPLICATIONS

摘要

Two broadband satellite networks are in the final stages of development and plan a service launch for North America in early 2004. Systems like these are expected to provide wideband, high speed communications for Internet and multimedia applications across North America and Europe for years to come. High power ground terminals are required at each customer site to communicate with these satellite networks, and designers are searching for ways to reduce costs and increase efficiencies in on-going development programs. Low cost packaged high power amplifiers (HPA) at Ka-band are needed for emerging satellite ground terminal and millimeter-wave digital radio applications. Expensive hermetic packages will not meet the price point goals for these markets. The industry has instead searched for a simple, low cost packaged alternative that can be dropped into the RF module with minimal impact to assembly flow. The challenge is to provide a low cost MMIC with acceptable performance that can function in a cost-effective, Ka-band package environment. Such a single MMIC package solution will allow subsystem integrators to replace multi-chip modules now in use, thereby decreasing product complexity and cost.