Wiki

Analog Devices Wiki

English
English
简体中文
简体中文
日本語
日本語
Руccкий
Руccкий
The most recent version of this page is a draft.DiffThis version (06 Feb 2024 21:52) was approved by Connor Bryant, Helen Imperial.The Previously approved version (06 Feb 2024 20:54) is available.Diff

This is an old revision of the document!

Table of Contents

Satcom Phased Array Reference Design for Space

At Analog Devices, the Aerospace and Defense (ADEF) team provides a plethora of enablement solutions in different levels of development. The Satcom Phased Array Reference Design for Space is a virtual reference design that contains a full signal chain solution for the desired specifications including a combination of RF front end design, digitizer integration, and power optimization. This design includes both Analog Devices and third-party hardware and is supported by multiple simulations and models for each design aspect. Customers can utilize this Wiki along with supporting technical articles to design this system and modify it to their specifications. The descriptions below show what type of solutions ADI provides, and where Satcom Phased Array Reference Design for Space falls among them.

Types of ADEF Reference Designs

General Overview

For satellite systems that require in-mission frequency band reconfiguration, a multi-path design can be used to implement a single hardware design that can operate from L band to Ka band. This reference design shows an approach to developing a hybrid beamforming RX and TX system with up/down converter that covers X, Ku and Ka band for space-based satellite communication. However, the up/down converter can be bypassed to enable operation in the UHF, L, S, and C bands.

The reference design includes all aspects of the system including:

  • Analog Beamforming
  • RF Down/Up Conversion
  • LO and Clock Generation and Distribution
  • ADC and DAC Digitization
  • Digital Signal Processing
  • FPGA recommendation
  • Recommended Power Management

The highlighted performance for this reference design is the following:

  • 16 Receive and 16 Transmit Elements (scalable)
  • Wide Frequency Coverage - Ka-band focused analog beamformer paired with wideband RF channel + Digitizer (L through Ka band)
  • Wide instantaneous BW
  • High NPR
  • Low noise figure
  • Quick reconfiguration
  • Synchronization across elements

Specifications and Array Level Beamforming

Click below to see the specifications for each subarray and full system level architecture along with beamforming

1. Subarray Architecture and Specifications

1. Subarray Architecture and Specifications

Sub Array
The Satcom Phased Array Reference Design is a hybrid beamforming array that is modeled with 512 elements. The signal chain system is designed in a tiled fashion of 32 sub arrays. Shown below is a sub array. Each sub array has 16 channels for RX and 16 channels for TX, making up the entire 512 element hybrid array 16×32.




Ka Band Variant

Parameter Typ Comments
Number of Analog Beams 4T/4REasily scalable up to 8 analog beams
Number of Elements 16R Single Polarization
16T Single Polarization 		Scale up to higher element counts
with large 1:N combiner between array
and digital channels
Scalability Able to be scaled up to arbitrary
number of elements and beams
Frequency Coverage Ka-band
(27 to 30 GHz for Rx, 17 to 21 GHz for Tx) 		Using ADAR3000/ADAR3001 BFIC Front Ends
Ku-band
(13 to 14 GHz for Rx, 11 to 12 GHz for Tx) 		Using ADAR1000/ADAR3007 BFIC Front Ends
X-band
(8 to 9 GHz for Rx, 7 to 8 GHz for Tx) 		Using ADAR1000 BFIC Front End
L, S, and C band using mixer bypass and direct sampling
Instantaneous Bandwidth 1 GHz Max up to 2.4 GHz
Receive
Rx Noise Figure < 2 dB typ.
Rx Gain 78 dB 16 Element Coherent Gain
Rx Noise Power Ratio >40 dB typ.
IP1dB -80 dBm
IIP3 -60 dBm
Estimated DC Power per Element 1 W typ. Can be reduced by increasing analog-to-digital ratio
Transmit
Tx Output Power 18 dBm typ. With 6 dB backoff
Target OP1dB 24 dBm
OIP3 35 dBm
Tx Noise Power Ratio >30 dB typ.
DC Power per Element 3.1 W typ. Can be reduced by increasing analog:digital ratio



2. Full 512-Element Hybrid Array Architecture and Specifications

2. Full 512-Element Hybrid Array Architecture and Specifications

Full 512-Element Hybrid Array

Shown below is the entire 512 element hybrid beamforming array. The system is capable of beamforming up to four independent analog beams. Each sub array steers four analog beams using 16 elements for a 16:1 analog combing ratio. The entire array combines 32 channels of each beam in the digital domain for a 32:1 digital combining ratio.



System Level Specifications (Ka Band Variant)

Parameter Value Comments/Conditions
Transmit 19.5 GHz - Taylor Taper: 30 dB SL rejection
Frequency Range Ka-band (Tx: 17 GHz to 21 GHz) Using ADAR3001 BFIC Front End
Instantaneous Bandwidth 1 GHz Max up to 2.4 GHz
Number of Elements 512 (32×16) Single Polarization
Number of Beams 4 Scalable up to 8 beams
HPBW Azimuth ±3.76 deg
Elevation ±8 deg		Assuming 1 Beam
FNBW Azimuth ±10 deg
Elevation ±20 deg		Assuming 1 Beam
Beam Steering Range Azimuth ±60 deg
Elevation +/- 60deg
EIRP 41 dBW Per Beam at Boresight
Antenna Directivity 31 dBi At Boresight
Output Power Control Range >30 dB Using ADAR3000 DSA
Beam Setting Accuracy <6 deg Using ADAR3000 Phase Delay
Sidelobes 30 dB
DC Power per Element 3.1 W typ.
Parameter Value Comments/Conditions
Receive 29 GHz - Taylor Taper: 30 dB SL rejection
Frequency Range Ka-band (Rx: 27 GHz to 30 GHz) Using ADAR3000 BFIC Front End
Instantaneous Bandwidth 1 GHz Max up to 2.4 GHz
Number of Elements 512 (32×16) Single Polarization
Number of Beams 4 Scalable up to 8 beams
Beam Steering Range Azimuth ±60 deg
Elevation ±60 deg
HPBW Azimuth ±3.76 deg
Elevation ±8 deg		Assuming 1 Beam
FNBW Azimuth ±10 deg
Elevation ±20 deg		Assuming 1 Beam
G/T 4.7 dB/K Assuming Antenna Pointed at Earth
Antenna Directivity 31.2 dBi at Boresight
Beam Setting Accuracy <6 deg Using ADAR3001 Phase Delay
Input Sensitivity >-120 dBm
Rx Noise Figure 2 dB
Sidelobes 30 dB
DC Power per Element 1.7 W typ.

3. Beamforming Patterns and Block Diagrams

3. Beamforming Patterns and Block Diagrams


Ka-band Beam Pattern Directivity
The following images were generated with the MATLAB Sensor Array Toolbox. Array geometry assumes 512 elements in 16×32 fashion with Taylor tapering in both row and column with 30dB sidelobe rejection.

512 Element TX Beam Pattern Directivity at Ka Band (19.5GHz)

512 Element RX Beam Pattern Directivity at Ka Band (29GHz)



Ka-band RX Beamforming Implementation

Each of the four analog beams are steered using the variable amplitude and phase (VAP) blocks inside the ADAR3000 and ADAR3001 analog beamforming IC’s. Each subarray has 4 transmit and 4 receive channels for a total of 128 channels that are digitally combined 32:1 in a dedicated FPGA or digital ASIC. Shown below are 4 large analog beams for RX; Each with a digital beam inside, which is controlled by weights withing the FPGA or ASIC.

To increase the number of digital beams inside each analog beam, one can make copies of all phased array time domain data in the digital domain. Looking at the image below, there is a condensed diagram of the system to emphasize the delineation between analog and digital beamforming. Channels are color coded to show which beam they belong to. In the case of 4 digital beams, there are 32 instances of each analog beam that are combined in the digital domain. All of the channels from analog beam 1 are combined: Ch1, Ch5, Ch9, … , Ch125. All the channels from analog beam 2 are combined: Ch2, Ch6, Ch10, … , Ch126. So on and so fourth for beams 3 and 4.


512 Element RX Hybrid Beamforming (4Beams)



For 8 digital beams, ADC data is copied in the digital domain as shown in the picture below. Once the data is copied, it can be manipulated produce twice as many digital beams inside the analog beams. Theoretically, an infinite amount of digital beams inside each analog beam is realizable, but the caveat is FPGA processing power. After a certain number of beams, the task will be too computationally intensive to produce more. Further, each of the digital beams also have a finite beamwidth. At some point the beamwidths of digital beam inside each of the four analog beams will overlap and will be redundant.



512 Element RX Hybrid Beamforming (8Beams)

Bill of Materials


The table below lists the part numbers for the components used in the design. Where space qualified parts are not available, the commercial part number is listed. Some of the part numbers listed below are space specials which do not appear on analog.com. Please contact ADI sales or an authorized distributor for more information and to receive orderable part numbers.

Click HERE to view the list.


The table below lists the part numbers for the components used in the design. Where space qualified parts are not available, the commercial part number is listed. Some of the part numbers listed below are space specials which do not appear on analog.com. Please contact ADI sales or an authorized distributor for more information and to receive orderable part numbers.

Click HERE to view the list.

Circuit QTY Device Description Package Process Qualification Level Production Status
RxxADRF5730-CSH 0.1 GHz to 40 GHz Digital Step Attenuator 24-Terminal LGA Advanced SiliconCSHRecommended for New Designs
Rx4ADRF5022-CSH 0.1 GHz to 45 GHz Silicon SPDT Reflective Switch12-Lead LGA Advanced SiliconCSH Recommended for New Designs
Rx8ADRF5144 1 GHz to 20 GHz Silicon SPDT Reflective Switch 20-Terminal LGA Silicon TBDRecommended for New Designs
Rx8ADRF5040 9 kHz to 12 GHz Silicon SP4T Nonreflective Switch Surface-Mount LFCSP SiliconTBDRecommended for New Designs
Rx4HMC8413-CSL Low Noise Amplifier, 0.01 GHz to 9 GHz 6-Lead LFCSPGaAs pHEMPTCSLRecommended for New Designs
Rx16ADL8142S-CSL Low Noise Amplifier, 23 GHz to 31 GHz 8-Lead LFCSPGaAs pHEMPTCSLRecommended for New Designs
Rx2AD9082-CSH MxFE Quad, 16-Bit, 12 GSPS RF DAC and Dual, 12-Bit, 6 GSPS RF ADC 324-Ball BGA-TBD Recommended for New Designs
Rx4ADAR3001S-CSL 27.5 GHz to 31 GHz, 4-Beam and 4-Element, Ka-Band Beamformer 311-Pin BGA-CSL Recommended for New Designs
Rx4ADAR5000 4-Way RF Splitter Combiner, 17 GHz to 32 GHz WLCSP-TBD Recommended for New Designs
Rx2ADMFM2000 0.5 GHz to 32 GHz Microwave Down Converter SIP179-Pin BGA-TBDPre-Release
RxxHFCN-3100+ Mini Circuits LTCC High Pass Filter, 3400 to 9900 MHzpackage GaAs Integrated Passive Component Contact Mini CircuitsRecommended for New Designs
RxxLFCW-5000+ Mini Circuits LTCC Low Pass Filter, DC to 5000 MHz package GaAs Integrated Passive Component Contact Mini CircuitsRecommended for New Designs
RxxLFCG-2600+ Mini Circuits LTCC Low Pass Filter, DC to 2600 MHz package GaAs Integrated Passive Component Contact Mini CircuitsRecommended for New Designs
RxxBFHK-6751+ Mini Circuits LTCC Band Pass Filter, 5900 to 6900 MHz package GaAs Integrated Passive Component Contact Mini CircuitsRecommended for New Designs
RxxBFCQ-2702+ Mini Circuits LTCC Band Pass Filter, 22000 to 31000 MHz package GaAs Integrated Passive Component Contact Mini CircuitsRecommended for New Designs
RxxB291MB0S Knowles DLI 29.1 GHz Surface Mount Band Pass Filter package GaAs Integrated Passive ComponentContact Knowles DLIRecommended for New Designs
TXxADRF5730-CSH 0.1 to 40 GHz Digital Step Attenuator 24-Terminal LGA Advanced SiliconCSHRecommended for New Designs
TXxADRF5022-CSH 0.1 GHz to 45 GHz Silicon SPDT Reflective Switch12-Lead LGA Advanced SiliconCSH Recommended for New Designs
TXxADRF5144 1 GHz to 20 GHz Silicon SPDT Reflective Switch 20-Terminal LGA Silicon TBDRecommended for New Designs
TXxHMC8413-CSL Low Noise Amplifier, 0.01 GHz to 9 GHz 6-Lead LFCSPGaAs pHEMPTCSLRecommended for New Designs
TXxHMC7950 Low Noise Amplifier, 2 GHz to 28 GHz 16-Lead LCCGaAs pHEMPTTBDRecommended for New Designs
TXxADAR3000S-CSL 17 GHz to 22 GHz, 4-Beam and 4-Element, Ka-Band Beamformer SIP 311-ball CSPBGA -CSLRecommended for New Designs
TXxADAR5000 4-Way RF Splitter Combiner, 17 GHz to 32 GHz WLCSP-TBD Recommended for New Designs
TXxADMFM2001 7 GHz to 31 GHz Microwave Up Converter SIP179-Pin BGA-TBDPre-Release
TXxLFCG-4400+ Mini Circuits LTCC Low Pass Filter, DC to 4400 MHzpackage GaAs Integrated Passive Component Contact Mini CircuitsRecommended for New Designs
TXxL204XF4S Knowles DLI 20.4 GHz Surface Mount Low Pass Filter package GaAs Integrated Passive ComponentContact Knowles DLIRecommended for New Designs
TXxB192NB2S Knowles DLI 19.2 GHz Surface Mount Band Pass Filter package GaAs Integrated Passive ComponentContact Knowles DLIRecommended for New Designs
TXxBFHK-1982+ Mini Circuits LTCC Band Pass Filter, 17500 to 22200 MHzpackage GaAs Integrated Passive Component Contact Mini CircuitsRecommended for New Designs
LO1ADF4371 S 62.5 MHz to 32 GHz Synthesizer with Integrated VCO 7×7 LGA Silicon CSHIn Development
LO2ADMV8416 6.3 GHz to 18 GHz, Tunable Band-Pass Filter 6×6 LFCSP GaAsCommercialRecommended for New Designs
LO2ADMV8432 15.1 GHz to 32 GHz, Tunable Band-Pass Filter 6×6 LFCSP GaAsCommericalRecommended for New Designs
LO7ADH1126S (HMC1126)Low Noise Amplifier, 400 MHz to 52 GHz 5×5 LGA GaAs pHEMPTK Recommended for New Designs
LO2ADRF5022-CSH Silicon Non-Reflective SPDT Switch, 100 MHz to 45 GHz3×3 LGA SiliconCSHIn Development
LO2KAT-3+ Mini Circuits DC to 43.5 GHz Absorptive 3 dB Fixed Attenuator2×2 MCLP GaAs Integrated Passive Component Contact Mini CircuitsRecommended for New Designs
LO2ADRF5730-CSH 0.1 to 40 GHz Digital Step Attenuator 4×4 LGA SiliconCSHIn Development
LO4EP2KA+ Mini Circuits 10 to 43.5 GHz 2 Way-0° Power Splitter 3.5×2.5 QFN GaAs Integrated Passive Component Contact Mini CircuitsRecommended for New Designs
DIGI2AD9082-CSH MxFE Quad, 16-Bit, 12 GSPS RF DAC and Dual, 12-Bit, 6 GSPS RF ADC 324-Ball BGA-TBD Recommended for New Designs
DIGI1LTC6953Ultralow Jitter, 4.5 GHz, 11 Output Clock Distributor 52-Lead QFN-TBD Production
DIGI2ADF4371SMicrowave Wideband Synthesizer with Integrated VCO48-Terminal LGA-TBD Recommended for New Designs

Signal Chain Resources

  1. Receiver Signal Chain Overview and Theory of Operation
  2. Transmitter Signal Chain Overview and Theory of Operation
  3. LO Generation Overview and Theory of Operation

Power Supply Design


The power solution for the Wideband Satcom Front End provides regulation for the four major functional blocks in the system:

  • Wideband Signal Conditioning TX/RX Chain
  • Band Specific Analog Beamforming TX/RX Chain
  • LO Generation and Conditioning Chain
  • AD9082 MxFE and Digitization Chain

Click HERE to read more


The power solution for the Wideband Satcom Front End provides regulation for the four major functional blocks in the system:

  • Wideband Signal Conditioning TX/RX Chain
  • Band Specific Analog Beamforming TX/RX Chain
  • LO Generation and Conditioning Chain
  • AD9082 MxFE and Digitization Chain

Click HERE to read more


TX/RX Beamforming Network Power Supply Design

The power solution for both the transmit and receive analog beamforming front ends (shown below) feature two types of switching regulators. One is the LTM8063, which features Silent Switcher® technology and offers a wide selectable switching frequency from 200 kHz to 2.2 MHz. The other is the ADP5600, which again, integrates a low ripple interleaved inverting charge pump with a high performance LDO to easily produce clean negative voltages. The sensitive signal chain power domains are regulated by low noise, high performance linear regulators. LDOs such as the LT3041 follow LTM8063. The LT3041 features industry leading performance with 80 dB PSRR at 1 MHz.



TX/RX LO Generation Power Supply Design

The power solution for both the transmit and receive LO chains (shown below) feature two types of switching regulators. One is the ultra-small MAXM17632, which delivers 1 A at high efficiency from up to 36 Vin in a tiny 3×3 mm uSLICTM package. The other is the ADP5600, which integrates a low ripple interleaved inverting charge pump with a high performance LDO to easily produce clean negative voltages. The sensitive signal chain power domains are regulated by low noise, high performance linear regulators.



TX / RX Down-converter Power Supply Design

The power solution for both the transmit chain and receive chain (shown below) follow a similar design philosophy as the LO. They feature two types of switching regulators. One is the LTM8063, which features Silent Switcher® technology and offers a wide selectable switching frequency from 200 kHz to 2.2 MHz. The other is the ADP5600, which again, integrates a low ripple interleaved inverting charge pump with a high performance LDO to easily produce clean negative voltages. The sensitive signal chain power domains are regulated by low noise, high performance linear regulators.


Digitizer and Clock Power Supply Design

The power solution for the MxFE and its clock (shown below) features Silent Switcher® technology. These high efficiency regulators, LTM8051 and LTM4702, feature low EMI and output noise. Some power domains of the MxFE chip can be driven directly from a Silent Switcher® output, while the more sensitive ICs such as the ADF4377 clock chip are further regulated by LDOs like the LT3041. The LT3041 LDO features industry leading performance with 80 dB PSRR at 1 MHz.

Radiation Susceptibility

Click to display ⇲

Click to hide ⇱

RF Components


Digitizer


Power Supply Network


Size and Scalability

Click to display ⇲

Click to hide ⇱

Size Estimates


RX Beamforming Network + PSN


RX Down-converter + PSN


TX Beamforming Network + PSN


TX Up-converter + PSN


Digitizer + PSN


Scalability [

  • describe how design can scale to higher element counts;
  • how many data converters can interface w/ one FPGA?
  • How does the circuitry fit into half wavelength element spacing?
  • Blade vs flat panel approach?

]

Software and Simulation Downloads

Download the simulation models and device drivers below:

Download the simulation models and device drivers below:


Simulation Downloads

This section contains the simulation models generated using Keysight Genesys.

TX Downloads

Keysight Genesys TX RF Signal Chain: full_tx_signal_chain.zip
MATLAB TX 512-element phased array model: sensorarray_19.5ghz_tx.zip

RX Downloads

Keysight Genesys RX RF Signal Chain: Coming Soon
MATLAB RX 512-element phased array model: sensorarray_29ghz_rx.zip



Supported Device Drivers


Supported Evaluation Boards

Additional Information

Publications and Media

Reference Designs

Help and Support

For support on this reference design, please contact us through our technical support portal: en/support/technical-support.html



End of Document

/srv/wiki.analog.com/data/pages/resources/eval/developer-kits/space-based-satcom-ref-design.txt · Last modified: 13 Feb 2024 21:01 by Eamon Nash

Page Tools