K/Ka-Band Very High Data-Rate Receivers: A Viable Solution for Future Moon Exploration Missions

Abstract

This paper presents a feasibility study for a very high data rate receiver operating in the K/Ka-band suitable to future Moon exploration missions. The receiver specifications are outlined starting from the mission scenario and from a careful system analysis. The designed architecture uses a low noise front-end to down-convert the incoming K/Ka-band signal into a 3.7 GHz intermediate frequency (IF). For maximum flexibility, a software defined radio (SDR) is adopted for the I/Q demodulation and for the analog to digital conversion (ADC). The decoding operations and the data interface are carried out by a processor based on field programmable gate array (FPGA) circuits. To experimentally verify the above concepts, a preliminary front-end breadboard is implemented, operating between 27.5 and 30 GHz. The breadboard, which uses components off the shelf (COTS) and evaluation boards (EVBs), is characterized by a 46 dB gain, a 3.4 dB noise figure and a − 37 dBm input-referred 1 dB compression point. Finally, a 40 Msym / s quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signal is demodulated by means of a commercially available SDR, demonstrating the above concept. The importance of these results is that they have been obtained exploiting a class of miniaturized and low cost microwave integrated circuits currently available on the market, opening the way to a dense communication infrastructure on cislunar space.

A Highly-Integrated Reconfigurable Ka-Band Receiver Supporting Active and Passive Detections in a 90-nm CMOS Technology

“…A wireless receiver is a key component of the satellite communication systems. Many Ka-band receivers have been reported in literatures using SiGe BiCMOS, GaN, and CMOS technologies [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. Yet these receivers are only for the communication purpose, not supporting a radiometric function capable of dynamically measuring the atmospheric conditions.…”

A Critical Review of Baseband Architectures for CubeSats’ Communication Systems

“…Alimenti et al proposed a K/ Ka-band receiver that is suitable for deep space exploration missions, such as Moon exploration, based on off-the-shelf components [52]. The receiver is designed to be compatible with CubeSats or constellations of CubeSats that receive transmitted signals from the ground or from each other.…”

“…The receiver is designed to be compatible with CubeSats or constellations of CubeSats that receive transmitted signals from the ground or from each other. The ground station is assumed to have a 10 m parabolic antenna and transmits a signal of 100 W power in the K-band at a frequency of 22.85 GHz [52]. It is further assumed that the transmitted signal is QPSK modulated and that the ground transmitter has a data rate of 100 Mbps, thus resulting in a signal of about 50 MHz bandwidth [52].…”

“…The ground station is assumed to have a 10 m parabolic antenna and transmits a signal of 100 W power in the K-band at a frequency of 22.85 GHz [52]. It is further assumed that the transmitted signal is QPSK modulated and that the ground transmitter has a data rate of 100 Mbps, thus resulting in a signal of about 50 MHz bandwidth [52]. For the proposed receiver, a 50 cm diameter parabolic antenna is used [52].…”

“…It is further assumed that the transmitted signal is QPSK modulated and that the ground transmitter has a data rate of 100 Mbps, thus resulting in a signal of about 50 MHz bandwidth [52]. For the proposed receiver, a 50 cm diameter parabolic antenna is used [52]. It should be noted for some exploration mission scenarios, such as the one described in [52], more than one ground station with the above specifications may be needed for uninterrupted communication.…”