Electronically steered antennas (ESAs), also known as phased arrays, are rapidly becoming the platform of choice for satellite communications (satcom) on Earth and in space. ESAs are low-profile, versatile and fast, allowing for LEO/MEO/GEO deployments across fixed and mobile satellite services. However, system power and IC costs continue to impede their wide-scale adoption; conventional analog beamforming solutions are power hungry and expensive.

Oso Semiconductor is introducing a reimagined microarchitecture for the beamformer IC. Through its ultra-low loss beamforming IP, Oso Semi adopts a sub-array level amplification approach where only one amplifier is needed for a four-element subarray, after the coherent signal is combined (for receive) or before it is split (for transmit).

The reduction in per-channel amplifiers and lossy phase shifters results in a 4x reduction in power per channel for the receive (under 12 mW), a 2x reduction in power per channel for the transmit (under 80 mW) and a shrinking of silicon area to nearly half, which directly reduces the IC cost of the ESA. Oso Semi’s designs also result in improved receiver (Rx) linearity by up to 10 dB and improved transmit noise figure by up to 6 dB, while maintaining Rx noise figure within 20 percent of state-of-the-art designs and delivering an OP1dB of 12 dBm. ESAs designed using Oso Semi’s chips result in a 40 to 50 percent reduction in total system power for transmit and receive, eliminating the need for heavy heat sinks with active cooling and unlocking low-power, portable applications.

With products targeting Ku- and Ka-Bands, Oso Semiconductor is ready to help system designers build the next generation of satcom flat panel terminals.

Oso Semiconductor
Mountain View, Calif.
www.ososemi.com