A Compact Low-Noise Frontend for Rx/Tx-Integrated SatCom Arrays

This contribution reports a frontend architecture in printed circuit board (PCB) technology for phased array antennas at K/Ka-band. It consists of a diplexer with low insertion loss, a low noise amplifier (LNA), and a bandpass filter. Two-tone measurements are carried out to identify the linear operating range of the LNA, which determines the maximum allowable output power of the power amplifier (PA). Simulated and measured results of the individual passive components are presented. The experimental characterization of the frontend yields a noise figure of 2 dB and an isolation of 70 dB. The whole setup is suitable for phased arrays as it complies with the required half-wave spacing at 30 GHz.