SBIR-STTR Award

The objective of this program will be to develop circuit level impattdiode combiners at ehf which have the bandwidth and stability properties available from conventional hybrid arrays while providing the size and combining efficiency attributes associated with n-way kurokawa-type resonant cavities. Concepts for unique, broadband two-and four-diode circuit level combiners which make optimum use of symmetry for mode stabilization and reduced loss are expected to halve both the size and weight of existing designs, permitting higher power per unit volume, reducing manufacturing costs with fewer high tolerance parts and enhancing reliability through increased combining efficiency. These improvements will provide low cost, high performance, reliable millimeter-wave communications for current and planned commercial and military systems. The phase i effort would build on our current ehf combining technology which has provided high power stable amplification from hybrid-combined, efficient impatt circuits over a 5 percent bandwidth around 44 ghz.

A phase II development effort will extend and utilize the phase I technology to demonstrate compact, lightweight, low-cost and reliable solid-state power generator for ehf applications. The improvements are expected to halve the cost of producing multiwatt power levels at mm-wave frequencies while enhancing reliability and cutting size and weight of present systems by a factor of three or more. The phase ii effort will demonstrate these technological improvements in a compact design and realization of a 20 to 25 watt ehf power amplifier for milstar applications. In addition, the eighteen month program will extend the phase I impatt combiner technology to higher levels and to planar designs for further size reduction, develop and implement associated low-cost manufacturing techniques, and investigate improvements in system reliability through diode redundancy. The result of phase ii will be improved technology to meet the demands of modern mm-wave solid-state power generating systems.