PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New transmitter design for small satellite constellations improves signal transmission

New transmitter design for small satellite constellations improves signal transmission
2023-02-21
(Press-News.org)

Today, there are many emerging applications for small satellite constellations, ranging from space-borne networks to environmental monitoring. However, small satellites have special needs when it comes to transmitter (TX) technology. For one, they have stringent limitations on power consumption as they draw energy from solar panels and cannot easily dissipate generated heat. Moreover, small satellites need to communicate with fast-moving targets that can be over a thousand kilometers away. Thus, they require efficient and precise beam steering capabilities to direct most of the transmitted power towards the receiver.

On top of this, small satellite TXs have to generate different types of circularly polarized (CP) signals depending on the situation. Put simply, they need to faithfully generate both left-handed and right-handed CP signals to avoid interference with another transmitted signal with the opposite handedness. Additionally, they sometimes need to generate dual CP signals to establish high-speed data links.

Satisfying all these requirements simultaneously has proven to be challenging, especially when TXs are meant to operate with high-speed communication. Fortunately, a research team from Japan led by Associate Professor Atsushi Shirane from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), have been working on a convincing solution. Their latest paper, which will be presented at the 2023 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, describes an innovative TX design that solves all the above-mentioned issues, paving the way for better small satellite-based communications.

The proposed TX operates from 25.5 GHz to 27 GHz in the Ka-band used for next-generation high-speed satellite communications. Its beam steering capabilities are governed by a 256-element active phased-array configuration. Put simply, the TX drives 256 tiny antennas that all emit the same signal but with carefully calculated phase delays between them. This enables precise steering of the output beam power by leveraging constructive and destructive interference between signals.

The signal to be transmitted to each antenna originally comes as two independent linear components, whereupon the proposed TX integrated circuit (IC) converts these two signals into a CP signal with the required phase delay. Since each TX IC has both centralized and distributed paths for the input signals, one can calibrate the signal phase and amplitude to vastly improve the intelligibility between left- and right-handed CP signals independently of beam steering calibrations.

However, the most important feature of this TX design is the use of an active hybrid coupler to select the CP transmission mode. The generation of left, right, and dual CP signals involves various elements on the IC, including amplifiers and phase shifters. The active hybrid coupler can “alter” the layout of the IC in real time, shutting off components that are not required in the desired transmission mode, saving power in the process.

The team tested various performance metrics of the proposed TX, and the results were promising. “Our TX achieved 63.8 dBm of equivalent isotropically radiated power with a power consumption of 26.6 W, which is a 62% reduction compared to the state-of-the-art TX with the same level of equivalent power,” highlights Shirane.

To top it off, this small TX can be developed using standard manufacturing technology. “The proposed phased-array chip is fabricated in a 65 nm bulk CMOS process in a wafer-level chip-scale package with a die size of only 4.4 mm × 2.5 mm,” he remarks.

With any luck, the study will help us reap the benefits of small satellite-based communication sooner!

END


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
New transmitter design for small satellite constellations improves signal transmission New transmitter design for small satellite constellations improves signal transmission 2 New transmitter design for small satellite constellations improves signal transmission 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Improving the performance of satellites in low Earth orbit

Improving the performance of satellites in low Earth orbit
2023-02-21
A database updated in 2022 reported around 4,852 active satellites orbiting the earth. These satellites serve many different purposes in space, from GPS and weather tracking to military reconnaissance and early warning systems. Given the wide array of uses for satellites, especially in low Earth orbit (LEO), researchers are constantly trying to develop better ones. In this regard, small satellites have a lot of potential. They can reduce launch costs and increase the number of satellites in orbit, providing a better network with wider coverage. ...

Researchers uncover how photosynthetic organisms regulate and synthesize ATP

Researchers uncover how photosynthetic organisms regulate and synthesize ATP
2023-02-21
ATP, the compound essential for the functioning of photosynthetic organisms such as plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, is produced by an enzyme called “chloroplast ATP synthase” (CFoCF1). To control ATP production under varying light conditions, the enzyme uses a redox regulatory mechanism that modifies the ATP synthesis activity in response to changes in the redox state of cysteine (Cys) residues, which exist as dithiols under reducing (light) conditions, but forms a disulfide bond under oxidizing (dark) conditions. ...

Sheep can benefit urban lawn landscapes and people

Sheep can benefit urban lawn landscapes and people
2023-02-21
Bicycles whirr by, students rush to class, staff and faculty are grabbing lunch or coffee on the go — and sheep graze the grassy knolls among the traffic, bleating every now and then. The grazing is their job. The 25 wooly sheep who seasonally — for the past two years — leave their University of California, Davis, barns to nibble on lawns at various central campus locations, are doing much more than mowing, fertilizing and improving the ecosystem. The sheep also are improving people’s mental health. The sheep — four breeds of Suffolk, Hampshire, Southdown and Dorset — first took on this role in 2021, when COVID-19 ...

UCLA Health tip sheet: Pesticides & Parkinson’s symptoms; Gender-affirming hormones tied to mental health for transgender youth; Body composition, not BMI, may signal risk for cardiovascular disease

2023-02-21
UCLA Health Tip Sheet Feb. 21, 2023 Below is a brief roundup of news and story ideas from the experts at UCLA Health. For more information on these stories or for help on other stories, please contact us at uclahealthnews@mednet.ucla.edu. Body composition, not BMI, may signal risk for cardiovascular disease  Body mass index has long been a measure of a person’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease, but body composition and its role in the disease have not been well studied. In a new study, ...

Better tools needed to determine ancient life on Mars

2023-02-21
ITHACA, N.Y. – Current state-of-the-art instrumentation being sent to Mars to collect and analyze evidence of life might not be sensitive enough to make accurate assessments, according to a research team co-led by a Cornell University astronomer. In a paper published in Nature Communications, visiting planetary scientist Alberto Fairén, and an international team of researchers, claim that ancient organic material in Martian rocks could be difficult, if not impossible, to detect with current instruments and techniques. Fairén – also a research professor at the Center ...

Rewiring blood cells to give rise to precursors of sperm

Rewiring blood cells to give rise to precursors of sperm
2023-02-21
Different cell types—say, heart, liver, blood, and sperm cells—possess characteristics that help them carry out their unique jobs in the body. In general, those characteristics are hard-wired. Without intervention, a heart cell won’t spontaneously transform into a liver cell. Yet researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, working with collaborators from the University of Texas at San Antonio and Texas Biomedical Research Institute, have prompted marmoset blood cells to acquire the flexibility of stem cells. Then they directed those stem cells to take on the characteristics of sperm ...

Hidden from the Romans: 200 tons of silver on the shores of the river Lahn

Hidden from the Romans: 200 tons of silver on the shores of the river Lahn
2023-02-21
When Prof. Markus Scholz, who teaches archaeology and the history of Roman provinces at Goethe University, returned to Bad Ems toward the end of the excavation work, he was astonished: After all, all the photos sent by his colleague Frederic Auth showed but a few pieces of wood. Not surprisingly, Scholz was ill-prepared for what he saw next: a wooden defense construction consisting of sharpened wooden stakes, designed to prevent the enemy’s approach. The martial-looking structure was intended to deter enemies from attacking the camp. Such installations – ...

Air pollution speeds bone loss from osteoporosis: Large study

2023-02-21
Elevated levels of air pollutants are associated with bone damage among postmenopausal women, according to new research led by scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The effects were most evident on the lumbar spine, with nitrous oxides twice as damaging to the area than seen with normal aging. The research findings appear in the peer-reviewed journal eClinicalMedicine, part of The Lancet Discovery Science suite of open-access journals. Previous studies on ...

Pain management pathway reduces use of opioids after urethral repair surgery

2023-02-21
February 21, 2022 – For men undergoing surgery to repair scarring in the urethra (urethroplasty), a new approach to pain management can reduce the need for strong opioid drugs without compromising pain control, reports a study in Urology Practice®, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer. "Over-prescribing of opioids for postoperative pain control has been a major contributor to the opioid epidemic,” comments senior author ...

CEE team helps DOD develop better analysis and design procedures for rail and roads

CEE team helps DOD develop better analysis and design procedures for rail and roads
2023-02-21
CEE researchers will help the Department of Defense develop better systems to evaluate the structural health of rail lines and modernize pavement design and evaluation procedures in a new project funded by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and led by Applied Research Associates Inc. Within CEE, Professor Erol Tutumluer and Research Associate Professor J. Riley Edwards (MS 06, PhD 19) are leading the work for this multi-year research project called Advancing Power Projection through Lines of Communication (APPLoC). In the first year, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering will receive $2.1 million in grant funding. As a whole, the ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Program takes aim at drinking, unsafe sex, and sexual assault on college campuses

Inability to pay for healthcare reaches record high in U.S.

Science ‘storytelling’ urgently needed amid climate and biodiversity crisis

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy

How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease

A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet

Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice

Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast

Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds

The experts that can outsmart optical illusions

Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk

Scientists uncover novel immune mechanism in wheat tandem kinase

Three University of Virginia Engineering faculty elected as AAAS Fellows

[Press-News.org] New transmitter design for small satellite constellations improves signal transmission