Advances in SATCOM phased arrays using silicon technologies

This paper presents several phased-array efforts at X and Ku-band based on highly integrated silicon core chips. The work shows that it is possible to build advanced phased-arrays using SiGe chips coupled with GaAs LNAs at each antenna element for low noise operation and high G/T, or GaAs PAs for higher radiated power per element (if needed). The phased-array is constructed on a single printed-circuit board which reduces the cost by a factor of 10x. This will revolutionize X, Ku and Ka-band phased arrays by making them the preferred choice for airborne and mobile platforms due to their reduced height, weight and drag.