20 GHz active aperture for communication satellites

Some of the advantages of a solid-state active phased array are discussed, among them spatial power combining, graceful degradation, and inertialess steering. Amplitude quantization and phase randomization are employed to realize these advantages in a cost-effective manner. The efficiency of converting from dc to RF is increased by distributing the gain throughout the RF manifold. Further investigation is necessary to assess the effects on graceful degradation and the design tolerances of the amplifiers. The array is designed for 35 dB of gain and -30 dB sidelobes. Attention is given to quantized amplitude tapering, gain distribution, phase shifter quantization, prime power requirements, and array and element trade-offs. The effect of multiple beam operation for frequency reuse is also addressed.