The design of a thermally efficient 1:256 KU-band feed network for a MMIC phased array

A thin, thermally transparent, 1:256 corporate feed network for use in a GaAs MMIC Ku-Band phased array antenna was designed. The network will be realized using RF transmission medium, CHANNELINE. The CHANNELINE consists of a core of TFE coated copper wire placed in a channel routed through a heat exchanging metal structure which composes the backside of the array. This unique packaging arrangement conserves both volume and weight while simultaneously allowing the rapid transfer of internally generated heat. This network is expected to realize better than 15 dB of return loss with less than 1.3 dB of return loss with less than 1.3 dB insertion loss over an 8% bandwidth. The current status of array hardware is presented.