Microwave Power Modules (MPMs) in space

Microwave and millimeter-wave power modules (MPMs) are complete microwave power amplifiers in a single housing, and usually include a solid-state driver amplifier, a miniature traveling wave tube (TWT), and an electronic power converter (EPC). At the time of their introduction, MPMs were hailed as “the most significant recent advancement in high power microwave amplifiers,” but they have seen relatively little application in space, despite extensive heritage in ground and airborne systems. When combined with a linearizer they can offer the most compact and efficient high-power amplification available for the higher microwave and millimeter-wave bands in the 25-to-200-watt power range. New “nano” technology has further reduced the size and increased the efficiency of MPMs, while the development of more versatile linearizers now allows their characteristics to be adjusted to correct for changes in an amplifier's nonlinearity. These advances allow these amazing devices to be used in space for shaped, multibeam, and phased array applications.