Solid State Power Amplifiers

Incorporated into many communications applications, Teledyne Microwave has become the benchmark in RF SSPA design

A strong recent development within Teledyne Microwave has been the strengthening of our Solid State Power Amplifier (SSPA) portfolio. Over recent years we’ve had the opportunity to work with most of the large OEM system manufacturers to develop custom SSPA’s for both pulsed and CW needs. These amplifier developments have a frequency of operation as low as L-Band (1 KW) and as high as Ka-Band (15W) with plans to move into Q-Band. Our units have worked in a number of applications including; common data link (CDL), Space qualified CDL, Airborne, Ship & Ground EW, IED Jammer, Radar and Missile (CDL). Many of our SSPA designs are only 0.6” high making them ideally suited for airframe or mobile applications. With reduced size comes reduced weight. At only 0.6lbs our 15W, Ku-Band amplifier is the smallest and lightest on the market. A graphic example of our RF power capabilities for both peak & CW is shown below.

 Ku-Band 15W SSPA
SSPA Power Capabilities
MH-60R

SSPA Design Considerations

Similar to our converter technology, Teledyne Microwave has developed an number of power and function modules that are used on a number of different top level amplifier assemblies. These modules enable Teledyne Microwave to respond to the ever shortening delivery requirements needed for both new and existing designs.

Historically our modules are based on market available GaAs die, but more recently we have been working with the premier GaN die suppliers to develop a range of high power wide band amplifiers, ideally suited for ground and air jamming applications. As the reliability of the devices over the next few years improves, Teledyne Microwave plans to push the advantages of GaN technology up in frequency to satisfy the need for improved efficiency in the X, Ku & K-Band communications market.
Teledyne Microwave has also developed a unique linerizer circuit which can be used in any SSPA application to improve spectral regrowth when the SSPA is used for more demanding modulation characteristics. Testing the SSPA in both development and production, with a waveform specified by the customer, is also common if the customer does not want to specify linearity by 1dB compression point alone.
Prime power conditioning is often a key area which can often dictate both mechanical and electrical design. It’s usual for us to incorporate DC/DC converters in our units in addition to supply line filtering to ensure supply line spurious is not passed onto the RF output.

Thermal and mechanical considerations have become even more critical over recent years with customers needing to place smaller, higher power amplifiers in increasingly more compact and obscure configurations. All of our SSPA’s go through a thermal analysis to confirm device junction temperatures are not exceeded and also to confirm the unit remains reliable in the most demanding of environments.

It’s also very common to add additional functionality to the amplifier design. Some of these functions are more demanding than the design of the RF circuit itself. Such as; Noise floor blanking in 1µS or Low power modes, where some of the power devices are turned off, dynamically, to improve low output power efficiency for thermal effects. Other more standard functions include VSWR detection, both log and linear power detectors, gain control, battle short, current and temperature monitoring, interface bus control etc. All these functions can be monitored over any standard interface bus or via separate logic lines.
For pdf catalog: Teledyne Microwave Amplifier Products
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Frequency Range (GHz) 4.4 - 5.0 7.0 - 8.0 13.75 - 14.5 13.75 - 14.5 13.75 - 14.5 13.75 - 14.5 13.75 - 14.5 13.75 - 14.5 29.0 - 31.0
Power (P1dB) 25W 25W 5W 10W 15W 15W 20W 25W 20W
Small Signal Gain (dB) 4 4 35 47 47 43 43 43 42
Spurious (dBc) -60 -60 -60 -60 -60 -60 -60 -60 -50
Low Power Mode incl N N N Y Y Y Optional Optional N
Temperature Monitor Incl N N N Y Y Y Y Y Y
Detect and Disable Incl Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Blanking 30mS 30mS 1.5µS 30mS 30mS 30mS 30mS 30mS 30mS
DC Power @P1dB 100W 100W 31W 75W 150W 100W 175W 200W 250W
Lineraizer Available N N N Y Y Y Y Y N
Weight (lbs) 0.8 0.8 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.8 0.8 1.2
Operating Temperature Range (°C) -45 to +85 -45 to +85 -45 to +85 -45 to +85 -45 to +85 -45 to +85 -45 to +85 -45 to +85 -45 to +85
Hermetic Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Other related products include:
Amplifiers
Synthesizers
SSPA's
Switch Assy's
Attenuator Assy's
VCO Assy's
YIG Assy's

 
Teledyne Microwave
1274 Terra Bella Avenue, Mountain View, California 94043
 Main Number : 650-691-9800  Sales: 650-962-6944
email: microwave@teledyne.com
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