A 30 GHz MMIC receiver for satellite transponders

The development of 30-GHz-band monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) and multichip MMIC modules (low-noise amplifier and frequency converters) is reported. A 30-GHz-band full-MMIC receiver for satellite transponders was successfully constructed using the MMIC modules and the performance of the full-MMIC receiver is evaluated. Test results verify its successful performance as a satellite receiver system. The design and performance of the MMICs (a two-stage amplifier, an image rejection mixer, and a frequency multiplier), of multichip-type MMIC modules (a 30-GHz-band low-noise amplifier module with 30 dB gain and 8.2 dB noise figure, and an image rejection frequency converter with a 10 dB conversion loss and an 18 dB image rejection ratio) and of the full-MMIC receiver, which weighs 1/6 as much as a conventional hybrid integrated circuit are presented