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S-band communication components include low-pass filter, diplexer, and transmit output filter, which prevent radiation or coupling of unwanted transmitter spurious outputs and to provide isolation while transmitter and receiver operate simultaneously.
An S-band radio frequency subsystem is described including two transmitters, two receivers and two antennas. The subsystem is capable of connecting either transmitter or receiver to either antenna while permitting simultaneous operation of a transmitter and a receiver. Circulator switches provide selection of a specific transmitter and receiver for connection to either a high gain or low gain antenna. Transmitter output filters, receiver input filters, and diplexers are combined to prevent radiation or coupling or unwanted transmitter and receiver signals and to provide isolation, permitting simultaneous operation of the transmitter and receiver. The filter elements are designed of constant diameter coaxial elements to meet demanding rejection, loss, power-handling and environmental characteristics.
Three concepts capable of meeting most of the goals in the designing of the antenna are described. One concept utilizes a subreflector, as in an offset cassegrain. The subreflector is a quasi-optical diplexer so that one or two single frequency horns of desired illumination angle radiate through while four or more frequencies from an SMMR type horn are reflected from it. With this design, performance objectives are obtained. The third concept utilizes a separate feed and one meter reflector for the higher frequencies. An SMMR type multifrequency horn is used as a prime feed for the main reflector. This offers better beam efficiency and options for additional frequencies.
Antenna system ransmits linearly-polarized microwave radio signal, yet circularly-polarized incoming signal is received without polarization-mismatch losses. Network uses only hybrid junctions, diplexer, and four-probe antenna; no waveguide switches are required. Other circuit arrangements are possible, using additional transmitters and receivers.
Trace gases in the upper atmosphere can be measured by comparing spectral noise content of limb soundings with the spectral noise content of cold space. An offset Cassegrain antenna system and tiltable input mirror alternately look out at the limb and up at cold space at an elevation angle of about 22. The mirror can also be tilted to look at a black body calibration target. Reflection from the mirror is directed into a radiometer whose head functions as a diplexer to combine the input radiation and a local ocillator (klystron) beam. The radiometer head is comprised of a Fabry-Perot resonator consisting of two Fabry-Perot cavities spaced a number of half wavelengths apart. Incoming radiation received on one side is reflected and rotated 90 deg in polarization by the resonator so that it will be reflected by an input grid into a mixer, while the klystron beam received on the other side is also reflected and rotated 90 deg, but not without passing some energy to be reflected by the input grid into the mixer.
A single STS package 118 m diameter hoop/column antenna is capable of providing service for appr. 250,000 mobile users. The selected quad aperture configuration is able to provide at least 25 db C/I without cable blockage, column scatter, coupling between quad apertures, and tolerance effects. A feed can be designed which uses single polarized radiating elements while the overall system employs dual polarization. The quad aperture concept can eliminate the use of diplexers and their associated losses. The critical technology issues in the RF area include the design of the radiating elements, BFN, monolithic power amplifiers and receiver front end, tolerance control and packaging of the feed.
A phase control system concept for a solar power satellite is proposed which partitions the system into three major levels. The first level of phase control consists of a reference phase distribution system implemented in the form of phase distribution tree structure. The major purpose of the tree structure is to electronically compensate for the phase shift due to the transition path lengths from the center of the spacetenna to each phase control center located in each subarray. In the reference system, this is accomplished using the master slave returnable timing system technique. The second level of phase control consists of the beam steering and microwave power generating system which houses the power transponders. This transponder consists of a set of phase conjugation multipliers driven by the reference phase distribution system output and the output of a pilot spread spectrum receiver which accepts the received pilot via a diplexer connected to a separate receive horn or the subarray itself. The output of the phase conjugation circuits serve as inputs to the third level of the phase control system. The third level of phase control is associated with maintaining an equal and constant phase shift through the microwave power amplifier devices while minimizing the associated phase noise effects on the generated power beam. This is accomplished by providing a phase locked loop around each high power amplifier.
Design concepts under development utilize two separate spacecraft antenna systems, one uplink at 30 GHz and the other a downlink at 20 GHz, where each antenna provides multiple fixed and scanning beams. Two contractors completed configuration trade-off studies and breadboarding of critical technology components, and are fabricating and testing proof-of-concept (POC) models to demonstrate the technology feasibility. Technology developments required for the proposed systems are presented, along with each contractor's progress to date. The technology development areas discussed include: (1) offset Cassegrain and shaped reflector systems for narrow beams with low sidelobes and wideangle off-axis scan; (2) diplexed beam-forming networks for dual polarization, low sidelobes, and fixed and scan-beam operation; (3) fast switching networks for scanning beams; and (4) fabrication of precision feed components and large offset reflectors.
Design concepts under development utilize two separate spacecraft antenna systems, one uplink at 30 GHz and the other a downlink at 20 GHz, where each antenna provides multiple fixed and scanning beams. Two contractors completed configuration trade-off studies and breadboarding of critical technology components, and are fabricating and testing proof-of-concept (POC) models to demonstrate the technology feasibility. Technology developments required for the proposed systems are presented, along with each contractor's progress to date. The technology development areas discussed include: (1) offset Cassegrain and shaped reflector systems for narrow beams with low sidelobes and wideangle off-axis scan; (2) diplexed beam-forming networks for dual polarization, low sidelobes, and fixed and scan-beam operation; (3) fast switching networks for scanning beams; and (4) fabrication of precision feed components and large offset reflectors.
The technologies which will be implemented in advanced satellite communications systems being studied by NASA and the intended coverage scenarios are described. The systems will function at 30/20 GHz with 2.5 GHz bandwidth for the uplink and downlink. Subfrequencies will have 500 MHz bandwidth and operations will include TDMA modes. Sample scan patterns are presented for the centerminous U.S. The signals will be broadcast from a multibeam offset Cassegrain reflector antenna to obtain a low sidelobe, wide angle scan. Three contiguous low sidelobe beams will be generated with a diplex feed cluster and a 19 element scanning beam-forming network. The same technology will be used to double the capacity of current 14/12 GHz satellites.
Millimeter wave systems, phased array antennas, and high performance components all require wideband circulators (and isolators) to perform diplexing and switching, to improve isolation and Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR), and to construct IMPATT diode reflection amplifiers. Presently, most of the millimeter-wave circulators and isolators are available in the configurations of waveguide or stripline, both of which suffer from the shortcomings of bulky size/weight, narrow bandwidth, and poor compatibility with monolithic millimeter-wave integrated circuits (MMIC). MMW microstrip circulators/isolators can eliminate or improve these shortcomings. Stub-tuned microstrip circulator configuration were developed utilizing the electromagnetic fields perturbation technique, the adhesion problems of microstrip metallization on new ferrite substrate were overcome, the fabrication, assembly, packaging techniques were improved, and then successfully designed, fabricated a Ka band circulator which has isolation and return loss of greater than 16dB, insertion loss less than 0.7dB. To assess the steady and reliable performance of the circulator, a temperature cycling test was done over the range of -20 to +50 C for 3 continuous cycles and found no significant impact or variation of circulator performance.
This paper describes a multifaced, phased array antenna developed for general aviation satellite communications applications. The antenna design satisfies all INMARSAT Aeronautical SDM requirements. Unique features of this antenna include an integral LNA and diplexer, integral phase shifters which are shared among the array faces, a serial beam steering interface and low manufacturing cost.
The purpose of this research was to develop a reliable submillimeter wave spectrometer for space-borne high frequency spectral line work. The emphasis was on improving the efficiency of frequency multipliers to limit the system components to rugged, low power consumption solid-state devices. This research has allowed Millitech to develop increased efficiency and performance in Millitech's existing line of submillimeter components and systems. Millitech has fabricated and tested a complete solid-state spectrometer front end for use at 560 GHz (the 1(sub 10) to 1(sub 01) transition of water vapor). The spectrometer was designed with the rigors of flight conditions in mind. The spectrometer uses a phase-locked, solid-state Gunn diode oscillator as the local oscillator, employing a tripler to produce about 3 mW of power at 285 GHz, and a low noise second harmonic waveguide mixer which requires less than 2 mW of LO power. The LO (and the signal) is injected into the mixer by means of a quasioptical diplexer. The measured system noise temperature is 2800 K (DSB) over 400 MHz. The whole spectrometer front end is compact (21 cm by 21 cm by 24 cm), light (7.4 kg), and has a power consumption of less than 8 W. Other topics explored in this work include compact frequency agile phase lock loops, optical filters, and InP Gunn oscillators for low noise applications. As a result of this research, the improvement in the design of multipliers and harmonic mixers will allow their use as the LO power for a variety of satellite-borne receivers operating in the 200 to 600 GHz frequency range.
The major features of a beam waveguide (BWG) antenna and the variety of feed system configurations that can be used with this type of antenna are described. The first BWG antenna built by NASA (DSS 13), and its microwave feed systems and their major components, such as the low noise amplifiers, passive microwave components, and the frequency selective mirrors used for multiple frequency operation or diplexing purpose, are discussed.
Can improved environmental testing prevent on-orbit component failures such as those experienced in the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) constellation? TDRS communications have been available to user spacecraft continuously for over 11 years, during which the five TDRS's placed in orbit have demonstrated their redundancies and robustness by surviving 26 component failures. Nevertheless, additional environmental testing prior to launch could prevent the occurrence of some types of failures, and could help to maintain communication services. Specific testing challenges involve traveling wave tube assemblies (TWTA's) whose lives may decrease with on-off cycling, and heaters that are subject to thermal cycles. The development of test conditions and procedures should account for known thermal variations. Testing may also have the potential to prevent failures in which components such as diplexers have had their lives dramatically shortened because of particle migration in a weightless environment. Reliability modeling could be used to select additional components that could benefit from special testing, but experience shows that this approach has serious limitations. Through knowledge of on-orbit experience, and with advances in testing, communication satellite programs might avoid the occurrence of some types of failures, and extend future spacecraft longevity beyond the current TDRS design life of ten years. However, determining which components to test, and how must testing to do, remain problematical.
Design emphasizes maintenance of stable frequency despite changes in temperature. Fiber-optic link delivers highly stable 100-MHz reference-frequency signal to receiver at distance of about 700 m from source of signal. Similar fiber-optic links used to transmit stable reference-frequency signals in other applications in which variations in temperature otherwise potentially cause variations in signal-propagation times and cause undesired variations in frequency. Use of fiber-optic link to transmit radio signal as modulation on optical carrier signal described previously in "Diplex Fiber-Optic Link for Frequency and Time Signals" (NPO-18180), and "Improved Microwave Fiber-Optic Link" (NPO-19007).
CAL Corporation has developed a new class of low profile radiating elements for use in planar phased array antennas. These new elements have been used in the design of a low cost, compact, low profile antenna unit for MSAT and INMARSAT Mini-M land mobile satellite communications. The antenna unit which measures roughly 32 cm in diameter by 5 cm deep incorporates a compact LNA and diplexer unit as well as a complete, low cost, beam steering system. CAL has also developed a low profile antenna unit for INMARSAT-M land mobile satellite communications. A number of these units, which utilize a microstrip patch array design, were put into service in 1994.
This paper deals with two hand-held antenna types operating with geostationary and medium earth orbit (GEO and MEO) satellite systems. They could be applied to the low earth orbit (LEO) and highly elliptical orbit (HEO) systems respectively doing the appropriate frequency scale designs. The first one is a lambda/2 (1/2 turn) quadrifilar helix (quasi-hemispherical coverage), and the second one is a self-diplexed antenna made of a circular patch and a short-circuited ring patch in stacked configuration (zenithal coverage).