ADVANCED MONOLITHIC GAAS RECEIVER FRONT END FOR SPACECRAFT TRANSPONDER APPLICATIONS

MICROWAVE MONOLITHICS INCORPORATED (MMINC.) PROPOSES TO DEVELOP AN ADVANCED X-BAND GAAS MMIC RECEIVER FRONT END FOR SPACECRAFT TRANSPONDER APPLICATIONS. THIS COMPONENT WILL CONSIST OF, AT MOST, THREE GAAS MMIC CHIPS - A LOW NOISE AMPLIFIER, A MIXER/IF AMPLIFIER, AND A VOLTAGE CONTROLLED DIELECTRIC STABILIZED OSCILLATOR WITH ON-CHIP MICROWAVE FREQUENCY DIVISION CIRCUITRY. A HYBRID FIRST STAGE, POSSIBLY UTILIZING PSEUDOMORPHIC HEMT DEVICE(S), WOULD BE USED TO SET THE OVERALL RECEIVER NOISE FIGURE. THE PROPOSED PROGRAM DRAWS CONSIDERABLE BENEFITS FROM TECHNOLOGIES PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED INTERNALLY AND UNDER RELATED NASA-SUPPORTED PROGRAMS AT MMINC.. FEASIBILITY WILL BE DEMONSTRATED IN PROGRAM PHASE I VIA THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF ALL THREE MMIC COMPONENTS. FABRICATION, CHARACTERIZATION, OPTIMIZATION, AND DELIVERY OF A BREADBOARD RECEIVER FRONT END WOULD THEN FOLLOW IN A LOW RISK PHASE II PROGRAM.