X-band, 17 Watt, solid-state power amplifier for space applications

Author

Boger, William ; Burgess, David ; Honda, Richard ; Nuckolls, Carl

Author_Institution

Gen. Dynamics C4 Syst., Scottsdale, AZ, USA

fYear

2005

fDate

12-17 June 2005

Abstract

A new 17-Watt, 8.4 GHz, solid state power amplifier (SSPA) has been developed for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory´s Mars Exploration Rover mission. The SSPA consists of a power amplifier microwave module and a highly efficient DC-DC power converter module integrated into a compact package that can be installed near the spacecraft antenna to minimize downlink transmission loss. The SSPA output power is 17 Watts nominal with an input DC power of 59 Watts and nominal input signal of +1 dBm. The unit is qualified to operate over a temperature range of -40°C to +70°C in vacuum or Martian atmosphere.

Keywords

DC-DC power convertors; MMIC power amplifiers; space communication links; transponders; -40 to 70 C; 17 W; 59 W; 8.4 GHz; DC-DC power converter module; Jet Propulsion Laboratory; MMIC amplifiers; MOSFET; Mars Exploration Rover mission; X-band solid-state power amplifier; downlink transmission loss; microwave power amplifiers; power amplifier microwave module; space applications; spacecraft antenna; transmitters; transponders; DC-DC power converters; High power amplifiers; Laboratories; Mars; Microwave amplifiers; Packaging; Power amplifiers; Propulsion; Solid state circuits; Space vehicles;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Microwave Symposium Digest, 2005 IEEE MTT-S International

ISSN

01490-645X

Print_ISBN

0-7803-8845-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MWSYM.2005.1516940

Filename

1516940