Microwave Technology for Broadband Satellite Communications · Service Satellite and MSS stands for...

1st November 2018

Microwave Technology for Broadband Satellite Communications Interlligent RF & Microwave Design Seminar, Møller Centre, Cambridge

Ralph Green RT&D Manager and Institutional Liaison Communications Products

Topic Areas

Space and Telecommunications Satellite Parts and Terms Communication Frequencies and Links Communication Products (What we make) Example of Technology Benefits and Challenges Summary

2 Interlligent RF & Microwave Design Seminar 1st November 2018

Eutelsat KA-SAT coverage over Europe showing frequency reuse by different colours KA-SAT was manufactured by Airbus, based on the Eurostar E3000 platform, with a

total weight of 6 tons

Satellites in Earth Orbit

LEO,MEO,GEO Orbits

1,886

3 Interlligent RF & Microwave Design Seminar

63% 6 % 0.5% 30%

includes launches through 4/30/18

1st November 2018

Status of the Communication Satellite Market

Rapidly Changing Sat Com Business Models • Market Evolutions – Introduction of 5G Low latency systems • Demand for massive Very High Throughput Satellites (vHTS) • More Complex Payloads (Processors and Active Arrays) • Increasing Bandwidth and Capacity (Tbps) • Use of Higher frequencies • Reducing Cost for Launch • Constellations of Smaller Platforms

• Introduction of High Altitude Platforms

Airbus Defence and Space Zephyr HAPS

OneWeb


After taking off on 11th July 2018 in Arizona, USA, Zephyr S logged a maiden flight of 25 days, 23 hours, and 57 minutes, the longest duration flight ever made

Interlligent RF & Microwave Design Seminar

LEO MEO GEO

5

35,756 km

10.094°

General Dimensions (Approx to Scale)

12,742 km 2000 km 33,756 km

Gal

ileo

23,

222

km

GP

S 2

0,18

0 km

GLO

NA

SS

19,

100

km

35,786 km

Velocity relative to a fixed point on the Earth

7.5 km/s 0.5 km/s 0 km/s

5 1st November 2018

Why Space is Challenging

6

1. Launching into Space can imposes significant stress on components due to

– Physical Vibration – Mechanical Shock – Extremely High Sound Levels

• 2. Space Hazards

– Radiation – Trapped Radiation – ‘Belts’ of energetic electrons and protons – Cosmic Rays (Energetic Ions) – Solar Event protons - composed mainly of protons with minor

constituent of alpha particles, heavy ions and electrons

• 3. Operation – Temperature Control

– Cooling only possible by Conduction and Radiation – High Efficiency Circuits needed to limit heat generation

Sources of ionizing radiation in interplanetary space

Interlligent RF & Microwave Design Seminar 1st November 2018

Microwave Technology is used in the Payloads of a satellite, Payloads make a satellite work. They do the hard stuff ! Satellites range in sizes from Cube Sats which are made up of multiples of 10×10×10 cm cubic units and have a mass of no more than 1.33 kilograms per unit Small Satellites with a mass of


Anatomy of a Telecommunication Satellite

8 1st November 2018

15 years operational life in Geo- Stationary orbit Airbus Eurostar Neo Platform • 3 propulsion options available,

from fully electric to fully chemical, including hybrid configuration

Solar Power 15KW-20KW Payload consisting of communication equipment’s • TV Direct Broadcast • Mobile • Multi-media • Military Comms


Airbus Telecommunication Satellite in Assembly Integration and Test Area

9 1st November 2018

Satellite Communications Frequencies


• Most of the communication satellites operate in microwave frequency band. There are some satellites which operate in UHF and VHF range, for example one more military application satellites operate in 200-400 MHz UHF frequency range. The other amateur radio OSCAR satellites operate in VHF/UHF range.

• Satellite applications include FSS,BSS and MSS. FSS stands for Fixed Service Satellite, BSS stands for Broadcast Service Satellite and MSS stands for Mobile Service Satellite.

• The most popular frequency bands available on satellite are L band, S band, C band, X band, Ku band, k band and Ka bands. C band Satellite will usually will have 5.925 to 6.425 GHz frequency range in the uplink and 3.7 to 4.2 GHz frequency range in the downlink. Ku band satellite will have 14 to 14.5 GHz range in the Uplink and 11.7 to 12.2 GHz frequency range in the downlink

1st November 2018

Typical Link budget



Communication Products

Secure TCR (Telecommand &

Ranging)

DTP (Digital Telecom

Processor)

Gen3 Gen4 Gen5

Pre

P

roce

ssor

(R

ecei

ve S

igna

l Fr

eque

ncy

Adj

ustm

ent)

Pos

t P

roce

ssor

(T

rans

mit

Sig

nal

Freq

uenc

y A

djus

tmen

t)

MLO (Master Local

Oscillator)

MRO (Master Reference

Oscillator)

Crypto (Cryptographic

Processing)

LNA

(L

ow N

oise

Am

plifi

ers)

SS

PA

(S

olid

Sta

te P

ower

A

mpl

ifier

s)

Oscillators (Frequency Generation)

Flexible RF (GFP +)

(Analogue Signal Processing)

PCS (Processor

Control System)

Beacons (Signal

Beacons)

Digital Products Transparent processors for telecommunications missions Regenerative processors for telecommunications missions Advanced on-board cryptographic processors Specialist spin-off processors for military and science missions Processor

Amplifier Products Solid State Power Amplifiers for Telecommunications

State-of-the-Art amplitude and phase tracking Solid State Power Amplifiers for Navigation Solid State Power Amplifiers for Inter Satellite Links Solid State Power Amplifiers for Remote Sensing

Advanced RF Products Agile / Flexible Frequency Converters

Analogue Signal Processing Pre/Post processor for Telecommunications Analog Beam Former Networks

Frequency Products Beacons S, C, X, Ku & Ka Bands Master Reference Oscillators for Telecom, Radar & Navigation Master Clocks for Digital Processor Applications

Quartz Products High Purity Quartz Ultra Stable Oscillators

12 1st November 2018


Communication Products Portfolio

Digital Products Amplifier Products Advanced RF Products Frequency Products Quartz Products

Digital Transparent and Bea\mforming processors

Option with integrated RF section for MSS processing

MSS, FSS, Security, Navigation and Radar

Pre/Post Processor Master Unit

Single Frequency Beacon

OCXO Dual Frequency Beacon

Ultra Stable Oscillator Master Reference

Oscillator

High Purity Quartz

4 x Single Channel Agile Converter Equipment

Analog Beam Former Networks Navigation

Inter-Satellite Links

MSS / FSS Communications

13 1st November 2018


What are the basic building blocks of a Microwave Payload 1 Input Filter

Low Noise Amplifier

Mixer and LO Filter Channel Amplifier

High Power Amplifier

Output Filter

Receiver (all systems) Transmitter (Comms & RADAR)

14

Antenna Antenna

1st November 2018


What are the basic building blocks of a Microwave Payload 2 Input Filter

Low Noise Amplifier

Channel Amplifier

High Power Amplifier

Output Filter

Receiver (all systems) Transmitter (Comms & RADAR)

15

Antenna Antenna Pre Processor / ADC

Post Processor / DAC

Digital Signal Processing

DSP

1st November 2018

Frequency Conversion - Pre/Post Processors


(Size 260mm x 220mm x 120mm)

1st November 2018

C Band Post Processor Block diagram • 0.875 GHz to 1.375 GHz to 3.4 GHz to 4.2 GHz • High Side LO • Gain of ~20dB


Airbus Telecommunications Processors: Evolution Roadmap

17

• Public

2013 Alphasat

Gen 3 Processor

180 nm ASIC Technology

1999 EU ACTS project WISDOM

1997 Reconfigurable Regenerative Digital Payload Demonstrator 100k-gate FPGAs

1988 2000 2005 2020

2005 Inmarsat 4

Gen 1 Processor

2016 Gen 4 Processor

2007 SkyNet 5

Gen 2 Processor



2013

2005-2008 Inmarsat 4 F1,2,3

2007- 2012 SkyNet 5 F1,2,3,4

2013 Alphasat I-XL

1988 Beginning of Digital Signal Processor Developments


Digital Signal Processor R&D Activity

2019 Inmarsat 6 F1, F2

2021 Gen 5 Processor

2025


Long heritage, continuous product line development for more modular, more capacitive and lower cost/GHz solutions

? 3.5 nm COTS or nano wire Technology

1st November 2018

Use of GaN Technology

18

Employed in Microwave Power Amplifiers from MHz to GHz Enhanced Remote Sensing (Radar)

Active Array Antennas (Communications) DC DC Power Regulation

NovaSAR-S, SSTL / Airbus Defence and Space

Airbus Active Array Antenna

Multi Beam Coverage


http://www.sstl.co.uk/Missions/NovaSAR-S/NovaSAR-S/NovaSAR-S-Small-satellite-Synthetic-Aperture-Rada

Why is GaN an improvement on other semiconductors for Space?


PA 500x 10W

DC-DC

RF in RF out

Satellite Power Available

Dissipated heat

0

5

10

15

20

25

25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100

Pow

er (K

W)

PA RF Efficiency (%)

Satellite Power Available - High

Satellite Power Available - Low

Dissipated heat

DC Power Required from Satellite

Minimum PA Efficiency Needed !

95%

5KW

The use of GaN enables more than a factor of two improvement to output power, and improvements in :

• Power Amplifier Efficiency 35% typically obtained with GaAs, • Power Amplifier Efficiency 50% with GaN • 50% less Mass per Watt Allowing increased payload capability • Improved DC Power Regulation Efficiency Less Heat Dissipation

1st November 2018

Active Tx Array 500 x 10W

GaN Technology Challenges for Design

20

There are several challenges associated with the use of GaN in Space

Design challenges • Thermal Management • Peak and Average heat flux density • Multipaction • Memory Effects

Manufacturing challenges

• Avoidance of human exposure to non-ionising radiation • Use of high power RF terminations, RF loads, RF Screening

• Electrical Safety - Higher Voltages • Insulation and Interlocked covers for Power Supplies

Commercial Challenges

• Price, Supply Assurance, Export Controls

Critical Connection


GaN Benefits - More Radiation Tolerant

21

Compared to similar AlGaAs/GaAs HEMTs, GaN-based HEMTs are ten times more tolerant of radiation-induced displacement damage this is because of its internal structure*. The robustness of GaN to radiation and the reliability of these devices has been established through testing. Radiation Single Event Effect (SEE) burn out performance has been measured under two conditions • with RF drive at a normally biased condition • without RF, biased to high voltage pinch-off conditions. . The Safe Operating Area has been established to be below VDS = 195V 175V with margin • ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology, • 'On the Radiation Tolerance of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs' • http://jss.ecsdl.org/content/5/7/Q208.full


http://jss.ecsdl.org/content/5/7/Q208.full

GaN Cost and Reliability

22

Cost and Reliability continue to be vital factors when producing products for space applications Typical Reliability Life Testing on GaN Devices is summarised in the table below Mean Time To Failure (MTTF) is 1.84x109 hours under High Temperature Operation with RF signals with a corresponding channel temperature Tch = 160ºC (Significantly higher than GaAs)

£ MTTF


L-band GaN SSPA produced by Airbus

February 2018 Interlligent RF & Microwave Design Seminar 23

ALCOMSAT 1 • Launched in December 2017 • Located at the 24.8°W orbital position for Algeria Manufacturer • China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT)

GLONASS-K2 • Expected launch debut in 2020 Manufacturer • Developed by ISS Reshetnev (Reshetnev Information

Satellite Systems)

EUTELSAT 5 West B • Under Construction Manufacturer • Airbus Defence and Space will build the satellite’s

payload while the platform will be manufactured by Orbital ATK.

INMARSAT 6 • Under Construction Manufacturer • Airbus Defence and Space

L-Band GaN SSPA is shown measures 112.5mm x 290mm x 60.7mm and has a mass of 1.6 Kg 65W 45% Efficiency

4 Power Amplifiers per Satellite L-Band GaN SSPA 110W 50% Efficiency

4 Power Amplifiers per Satellite L-Band GaN SSPA 65 W Efficiency 45%

126 Power Amplifiers per Satellite L-Band GaN SSPA 26W 42% Efficiency (Multicarrier)

1st November 2018

L-band GaN SSPA Example Performance


Measured primary RF performance characteristics for a complete GaN L-band SSPA, including the EPC

1st November 2018

Summary


This presentation has featured some of the Microwave Technology used by Airbus for Broadband Satellite Communications such as on Very High Capacity Telecommunications Satellites (vHTS). An overview of some of the challenges associated with producing communication payload products for today’s Satellite Communications markets has been outlined including examples of the technology choices, performance and cost. These Microwave Technologies are being used on Large Geostationary Platforms down to Smaller Sized Medium and Low Earth Orbit Satellite constellations. Space presents many unique challenges for microwave products such as: • Launch Survival, • Operating Efficiency & Heat removal, • Radiation Effects, • Reliability • Reducing Cost and Time to Market

1st November 2018

Thank you

© 2018 Airbus

Airbus Anchorage Road Portsmouth Hampshire PO3 5PU

Microwave Technology for Broadband Satellite Communications�Interlligent RF & Microwave Design Seminar, Møller Centre, Cambridge�Topic Areas Satellites in Earth Orbit Status of the Communication Satellite MarketLEOMEO GEOWhy Space is ChallengingSatellite Payloads and Microwave TechnologyAnatomy of a Telecommunication SatelliteAirbus Telecommunication Satellite in Assembly Integration and Test AreaSatellite Communications FrequenciesTypical Link budgetCommunication ProductsCommunication Products PortfolioWhat are the basic building blocks of a Microwave Payload 1What are the basic building blocks of a Microwave Payload 2Frequency Conversion - Pre/Post ProcessorsAirbus Telecommunications Processors: Evolution RoadmapUse of GaN TechnologyWhy is GaN an improvement on other semiconductors for Space?GaN Technology Challenges for DesignGaN Benefits - More Radiation TolerantGaN Cost and ReliabilityL-band GaN SSPA produced by AirbusL-band GaN SSPA Example PerformanceSummary Slide Number 26

Microwave Technology for Broadband Satellite Communications · Service Satellite and MSS stands for...

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