Abstract

Due to the given requirements and the large number of elements, Transmit / Receive (T/R) Modules form the key elements of modern active phased array antennas. General requirements for airborne and space-borne applications are low mass and high efficiency of the modules. Systems with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) need dual polarisation capability to increase the SAR system performance, additionally. The actual design of a T/R Module demonstrator for a future military earth observation satellite with a synthetic aperture radar will be presented. To meet the requirements for miniaturisation highly integrated components have to be used. The RF performance will be met by monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) in Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) technology. Different devices in various technologies will be presented, as well as their performance parameters. Besides the RF components, the digital control electronics have to be miniaturised as well. These circuits are realised in MCM-D technology, i.e. multi chip modules, using bare chips, on AI2O3 substrate in thinfilm technology. Modern assembly technologies like Flip Chip mounting will be applied. Two different T/R Module technology demonstrators, designed and developed by Daimler-Benz Aerospace, SI Sicherungstechnik will be presented