Enabling High-Performance, Cost-Effective SATCOM Connectivity

Assured supply chain for volume production of Anokiwave’s beamformer ICs for active antennas supports OEMs around the globe.

The future has never looked brighter for satellite operators, given the record-setting number of satellite launches in recent years, the growing number of satellite-based applications, and the huge capital investments being made in a host of planned space ventures.

For the SATCOM vision to become a reality, unprecedented numbers of user terminals will be needed, and most of them will need to incorporate active phased-array antennas to communicate when the satellite or the terminal is in motion.

SATCOM LEO and MEO systems require electronically steerable antennas for both fixed and mobile users, and GEO systems require them for mobile users and for auto-pointing applications where the antenna beam can self-point at a GEO satellite for highest throughput. User terminals supporting these systems require technology that brings the right balance of performance, cost, and availability to the table today.

Silicon technology has many advantages over the compound semiconductor technologies historically used in SATCOM, because silicon ICs for phased-array antenna designs offer higher performance, greater application flexibility and ease of integration, higher energy efficiency, and much more compelling economics.

Anokiwave is the market leader and most experienced provider of silicon-based Ku and K/Ka-band beamformer ICs for flat-panel electronically steered antennas for LEO/MEO/GEO SATCOM systems. Unlike other suppliers which have only recently begun to gravitate to silicon, Anokiwave has multiple generations of its technology in volume production, enabling the company to offer both Tier 1 and Tier 2 OEMs unparalleled application expertise, leading to better array designs and faster time-to-market.

Anokiwave’s SATCOM ICs – AWMF-0197/AWMF-0198 and AWMF-0146/AWMF-0147 quad-channel, dual-polarization beamformer ICs – enable K/Ka and Ku-band flat-panel phased-array active antennas for SATCOM ground terminals and aero equipment for LEO/MEO/GEO and SATCOM-on-the-move (SOTM) applications.

The ICs are used in multiple live satellite links globally, and their performance, cost-effectiveness, and availability in volume enables customers to design, build, and deploy SATCOM systems with confidence in their choice of ICs for commercial success.

Flexible Technology for a Range of Designs

Anokiwave’s SATCOM ICs are designed for FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) operation in phased-array terminals covering global SATCOM Ku, K, and Ka bands. Each IC in the family supports four dual-polarization radiating elements with full polarization flexibility, and each channel has its own individual control of phase and gain for maximum flexibility. A gain-control-per-element capability also enables users to adjust the gain per element to achieve a desired side-lobe level.

These ICs operate from a single 1.2V supply and offer high gain/low noise performance along with excellent DC efficiency. Additional features include gain compensation over temperature, temperature reporting, Kinetic Green™ 3D beam steering for power management, and Zero-Cal® to eliminate or reduce array calibration. All these features come in a small (4.4mm x 3.6mm) wafer-level chip-scale package for easy installation in planar phased-array antennas.

The Gen-2 SATCOM IC family builds on our prior generations improving performance, reducing cost, and providing a host of digital functionality that simplifies active antenna design.

The Sky’s the Limit

The SATCOM market utilizing mmW phased array active antennas is rapidly growing, and Anokiwave is the only company that is truly commercially enabling it. Anokiwave enables SATCOM OEMs to realize their potential with high-performance, cost-effective solutions for active antennas that are available in high volume now.

For additional information on our SATCOM products, tools, and resources, please visit our SATCOM page or schedule a meeting with us at IMS2022 to learn more.