WMC: Low-Noise Receiver Systems for Space Missions

Presentation Abstract
Low-noise receivers are crucial system components for Earth observation and satellite communication. The complexity of such systems is growing, where today’s spacecraft range from large satellite missions such as MetOp-SG, to smaller systems such as the Arctic Weather Satellite, to CubeSats such as TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats). One of the most important building blocks are low-noise amplifiers. Over the years, corresponding technologies have improved substantially and provided excellent noise temperatures. Furthermore, the linearity and robustness of receivers is also an important characteristic, which adds another level of complexity. This requires new technologies, such as GaN HEMTs, with the necessity of different system architectures. This workshop gives an overview of the design of low-noise amplifiers and corresponding technologies. Furthermore, several aspects of the design and performance of receiver architectures will be discussed. Rarely discussed topics, such as in-system calibration targets or the reliability testing of critical components, will also be presented. The workshop starts with aspects of low-noise receiver systems and gives examples of several satellite missions and a background to the topic. Subsequently, best practices for the design of low-noise amplifiers and receivers are presented. An overview of recent advances in low-noise transistor technologies and the reliability testing is included as well. The remaining talks focus on different possibilities of low-noise calibration approaches for satellite systems.