A K/Ka-Band Satellite Terminal Beamforming Front-End-Module Utilizing Dual-Band Self-Diplexing Antennas

A beamforming front-end-module (FEM) utilizing dual-band, self-diplexing antennas is presented for possible Satellite Communication (SATCOM) applications. The FEM includes an LNA, a PA and phase shifters. The RX achieves 4.5 dB of NF at 29 GHz and the TX achieves maximum PAE of 16% and PSAT of 9.6 dBm at 20 GHz. To reduce size and weight, dual-band and self-diplexing antennas are designed, which achieves −24.8 dB TX/RX isolation at 20 GHz. Using a 2×2 array, beamforming from −30°to 30° at both 20 and 29 GHz is achieved. In over the air measurements (OTA), the linearity performances using a 256-APSK 400 MBaud signal are measured, which shows that the TX is able to achieve EIRP of 14.4 dBm with EVM of −27 dB. With the same signal, the RX achieves EVM of −27.2 dB.