RF front-end component maker TriQuint Semiconductor Inc of Hillsboro, OR, USA says that its Spatium technology achieves unprecedented levels of Ka-band solid-state power, bandwidth and efficiency, providing greater broadband capacity and opening up new satellite possibilities, as it launches a 130W Spatium solid-state power amplifier for Ka-band SatComs in booth 1111 at the Satellite 2014 event in Washington DC (11-13 March).
TriQuint's patented Spatium technology enables satellite communications for commercial and defense use of the recently deployed Ka-band spectrum. Its high-frequency broadband connectivity can be used for media-rich and high-bandwidth communications such as airborne wireless access; defense communications; and video for UAV unmanned aerial vehicles or systems. Spatium combines multiple gallium nitride (GaN) monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs), enabling cost effective and reliable solid-state broadband power amplification (SSPA), the firm says.
"With Spatium, TriQuint is advancing the use of GaN technology in a broad range of radar, electronic warfare and communication applications," says vice president James Klein, TriQuint Infrastructure and Defense Products. "TriQuint's Spatium technology has eclipsed historical industry performance levels by a significant margin, providing exactly what the rapidly growing Ka-band satellite market needs," he claims.
Spatium produces an average saturated power of more than 130W over the entire 27-31GHz band. It also produces linear output power of 60W with more than 15% efficiency, operating at only 20V. TriQuint claims that Spatium's ease of integration, small form factor and integral parallel redundancy ensure that its SSPA is a reliable alternative to travelling-wave tube amplifiers (TWTA). Spatium's high power and bandwidth capability provide a solid-state alternative to TWTAs, which operate at high voltage and require complex and expensive external optimization networks to improve efficiency and linearity, the firm adds.
Spatium amplifiers are available in a wide variety of both off-the-shelf and custom configurations operating at frequencies up to 40GHz and power levels up to multiple kilowatts.
