Digitally Reconfigurable Wideband Transmitter for Telemetry, Radar, and 5G Applications

The future of wireless technology is 5G, and the United States needs domestically designed and fabricated 5G components to advance the capabilities of the warfighter and protect national security. Specifically, the U.S. needs components that are flexible and adaptable enough to perform efficiently across the different bands of the 5G spectrum. We propose to design a broadband power amplifier (PA) module that offers improved cost, size, weight, and power (C-SWaP) while also performing across the 5G spectrum. We will leverage an existing wideband GaN PA and CMOS modulator, developed in collaboration between SenseICs and The Ohio State University (OSU), to evaluate and inform the design of an unparalleled low C-SWaP transmitter capable of operation across the entire L, S, and C radio frequency bands. Because the GaN PA and CMOS modulator have already been designed, we will pursue an aggressive goal of demonstrating a complete 1 GHz to 8 GHz transmitter in Phase II. This design has tremendous potential for commercialization within the Department of Defense as well as within the private sector, with an estimated $20 million in revenue from direct sales and licensing within the first ten years.