Ka Band IQ Modulator MMIC With An Integrated Amplifier For SATCOM Application

This article presents a Ka band direct Up-converter (DUC) MMIC with an integrated amplifier realized using 130 nm GaAs/AIGaAs/InGaAs pHEMT process. The Up-converter comprises a IQ modulator as a mixer core and a single stage Ka band amplifier. This module operates with a LO signal within frequency band of 25.5 to 27 GHz and IF signal (I and Q) with a frequency DC to 1 GHz. Modulator chip is assembled in a space ready module for application in satellite datalink. The measured highest conversion gain of DUC is 1.53 dB with gain variation of $0.026 \mathrm{~dB} /{ }^{\circ} \mathrm{C}$ over temperature at LO power of 3 dBm. The measured carrier and harmonic suppression are better than 30 dBc and 17 dBc respectively. An input 1 dB gain compression level of 15 dBm and input IP3 of 21 dBm is achieved by MMIC.