Highly integrated 4×4 active array transmitter frontend for digital beamforming at 30 GHz

In this paper a highly integrated transmitter frontend module with 4×4 (16) antenna elements operating at 30 GHz is presented. The module serves as a building block for a Ka-band antenna system with digital beamforming capability. The frontend electronic circuitry consisting of standard MMIC is outlined. A novel cost-effective module architecture is demonstrated and related electronics integration issues are discussed. First measurement results are shown to prove the functionality of the module. The usable frequency range of the presented module archtitecture can be extended to approx. 40 GHz.