ESA Open Invitation to Tender AO10209
Open Date: 23/10/2020
Closing Date: 04/02/2021 13:00:00

Status: ISSUED
Reference Nr.: 20.1TT.29
Prog. Ref.: CC-AT 4.0.1
Budget Ref.: E/0534-01G – CC-AT 4.0.1
Special Prov.: BE+DK+FR+DE+IT+NL+ES+SE+CH+GB+IE+AT+NO+FI+PT+GR+LU+CZ+RO+CA+HU+PL
Tender Type: C
Price Range: > 500 KEURO
Products: Satellites & Probes / RF / Microwave Communication (Platform and Payloads) / “Communication – BB (Antennas excluded)” / Analog: Power amplifiers (SSPA, TWTA, ¿)
Technology Domains: RF Systems, Payloads and Technologies / RF Technologies and Equipment / RF Equipment
Establishment: ESTEC
Directorate: Directorate Telecom & Integrated Applica
Department: Telecom Technologies,Product&Systems Dep
Division: Technologies and Products Division
Contract Officer: Piesche, Claudia Ria
Industrial Policy Measure: N/A – Not apply
Last Update Date: 23/10/2020
Update Reason: Tender issue

The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test a breadboard of a modular and flexible power supply forKa/Q/V-band solid state power amplifiers, compatible with baseplate temperatures of at least 85 deg. Celsius. Targeted Improvements:Extended baseplate temperature to 85 deg. C. Enabling modularity and flexible use for various SSPA semiconductor technologies, whilst maintaining a minimum of 94% efficiency in all operating cases. Description: In order to address the emerging market for SolidState Power Amplifiers (SSPA) in Ka-, Q- and V-band, modular and flexible power supplies are needed, which do not currently exist. Inaddition, future applications require the power supplies to be operated at a higher baseplate temperature to be compatible with SSPA environmental operating conditions, which will reduce the mass, size and complexity of the thermal management hardware. Ka- and Q-band SSPAs are being used already while V-band is being targeted for very high throughput satellite telecommunication applications.The various types of payload architecture will require different levels of SSPA RF output power for system optimisation. Depending on the number of SSPAs in a given payload, the level of redundancy required for the power supplies will change. A flexible and modular concept would reduce the number of power supplies, if they could be configured for different SSPA power levels and adapted to different semiconductor technologies (e.g. GaN and GaAs). In addition, flexible power supplies will enable inventory reduction at component and equipment level, efficient high volume production and a reduced time to market. The aim of this activity is to design, manufacture and test a high temperature, flexible and modular power supply breadboard, making use of wide band gap semiconductor components, state-of-the-art digital controllers and improved planar magnetics technology. Output power scalability by a minimum factor offour will be verified experimentally, as well as operation at a minimum baseplate temperature of 85 degrees C, whilst at the same time achieving supply voltage flexibility as required for GaN and GaAs SSPA technology.