Description
The objective of this activity is to develop a compact Ku-band input multiplexer for broadband applications applying state of the art circuit design techniques. An engineering model of a four channel multiplexer shall be manufactured and tested to fully validate the novel concepts developed.
Targeted Improvements: 50% mass and footprint reduction of the channel filters of broadband input multiplexers.
Description:
Different configurations of input multiplexers are employed in multibeam payloads where the signals coming from the gateway pass through different frequency conversions before high power amplification. In most of the payload configurations, a multiplexer or demultiplexer is placed before and after the down/up conversion. This leads to a large number of wideband multiplexers that are required and hence mass and volume are critical design drivers for the multiplexer channel filters. Significant size and mass reduction potential, while keeping the required RF performance (inband flatness, group delay, rejection, etc.), has been demonstrated thanks to new circuit theories developed in recent years. This allows the use of low Q, small size resonators at the expense of increased insertion loss. The increase of insertion loss in the order of a few decibels does not affect the systemdesign and can be compensated in the different amplification stages within the RF chain.
In this activity an engineering model of avery compact four channel multiplexer shall be designed, developed, manufactured and experimentally verified to fully validate the novel concepts developed.