Quasi-optical components and subsystems for communications

Although most wireless communications systems are now digital, they still require analog front ends, since the transmitted signal is a modulated sinusoid. Optimization of the analog transmitter and receiver can improve the digital system performance. In this paper we describe a new approach to what we believe are more reliable, less expensive, and more compact front ends for microwave and millimeter-wave communications, This new approach is based on quasi-optical components, which are printed surfaces loaded with active and/or passive devices. The results presented here describe components which perform all of the functions that a quasi-optical transceiver requires: signal generation, amplification, reception, modulation and beam control