IF predistortion in the block upconversion path for modern satcom applications in the Ku-Band

In this paper the RF-Predistortion technique is proven for its application in the satcom field. Therefore, a block upconverter (BUC) equipped with a 9W GaAs PA was used to convert a L-Band baseband signal to the Ku-Band frequency range. The RF-Predistortion technique is implemented in the IF-range of the BUC and applied with various modulation schemes. The technique is able to improve the adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) of the output spectrum within 10 dBc as well as the error vector magnitude (EVM) within 3% for a 8PSK DVB-S2 Signal with 10 to 30 MSym/s.