RF modules (Tx-Rx) with multifunctional MMICs

Next generation RF sensor modules for multifunction active electronically steered antenna (AESA) systems will need a combination of different operating modes, such as radar, electronic warfare (EW) functionalities and communications/datalinks within the same antenna frontend. They typically operate in C-Band, X-Band and Ku-Band and imply a bandwidth requirement of more than 10 GHz. For the realisation of modern active electronically steered antennas, the transmit/receive (T/R) modules have to match strict geometry demands. A major challenge for these future multifunction RF sensor modules is dictated by the half-wavelength antenna grid spacing, that limits the physical channel width to <; 12 mm or even less, depending on the highest frequency of operation with accordant beam pointing requirements. A promising solution to overcome these geometry demands is the reduction of the total monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) chip area, achieved by integrating individual RF functionalities, which are commonly achieved through individual integrated circuits (ICs), into new multifunctional (MFC) MMICs. Various concepts, some of them already implemented, towards next generation RF sensor modules will be discussed and explained in this work.