Design of Ka-Band Down Converter for Telemetry

Ka band is widely used in satellite communication. Up-converter and down-converter modules, for Ka band, are plaintively availabel in market for commercial use. These modules works for specific band like 29.25-30.20GHz to 950-2000MHz, 17.7-21.2GHz to 140/70 MHz, vice versa, and combination of these. They are availabel in standard form factor, and may not suite specific requirements. The 30 GHz to 70 MHz down converter (DC) in a small form factor is specific requirement for re-entry ground telemetry station. This Paper describes the design and simulation results of this DC module. The 30 GHz to 70 MHz down conversion is achieved in three stages. The module is designed to operate for dynamic range of −90 dBm to −10 dBm. The simulated design with vendor components have cascaded gain of 67 dB for input power of −90 dBm and return loss of −17 dB at 30GHz.