Advantech Wireless Inc of Montreal, Canada (which manufactures satellite, RF equipment and microwave systems) says that in the last fiscal quarter it has delivered several hundred units of its gallium nitride (GaN)-based solid-state power amplifiers (SSPAs) and block up-converters (BUCs) for maritime applications.
The new generation of GaN-based SSPA/SSPB/BUCs is said to offer an increase in RF linear power performance, while reducing the energy consumption, weight and overall size.
Advantech Wireless' GaN-based C-band, Ku-band and X-band units are specifically designed for maritime applications (yachts, luxury cruise ships and military vessels), where bandwidth demand has grown well beyond initial expectations and where the high temperature in a radome challenges the reliability of high-power amplifiers and frequency converters.
"The unit size in maritime applications is extremely important for perfect balancing on stabilized antenna systems," says Cristi Damian, VP business development. "To survive within the stifling environment of a radome, the heat generation has to be minimized. Therefore, the improved reliability and smaller size of our new generation of GaN-based SSPAs allow perfect integration into maritime stabilized antennas," he adds.
"Our GaN-based SSPAs are gaining overwhelming market acceptance, they have been deployed and installed on thousands of vessels with outstanding performance," continues Damian. "Our field MTBF [mean time between failure] has now reached over 200,000 hours of operation in very challenging environments," he adds.
