MINIATURISED DIPLEXERS FOR L-BAND MOBILE MISSIONS (ARTES AT 5C.270) RE-ISSUE OF ITT 1-8393
16, September 2016

ESA Open Invitation To Tender AO8740
Open Date: 16/09/2016
Closing Date: 15/02/2017 13:00:00

Status: ISSUED
Reference Nr.: 16.1TT.66
Prog. Ref.: ARTES 5 Sub-El. 5.1
Budget Ref.: E/0505-01B – ARTES 5 Sub-El. 5.1
Special Prov.: BE+DK+FR+DE+IT+NL+ES+SE+CH+GB+IE+AT+NO+FI+PT+LU+CZ+RO+CA
Tender Type: C
Price Range: > 500 KEURO
Products: Satellites & Probes / RF / Microwave Communication (Platform and Payloads) / “Communication – BB (Antennas excluded)” / Other
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 Department
Division: Technologies and Product Division
Contract Officer: Rinaudo, Nicole
Industrial Policy Measure: C1 – Activities in open competition limited to the non-Larg
Last Update Date: 16/09/2016
Update Reason: Tender issue

Objective: To design, manufacture and test one EM of a Tx-Rx diplexer for L-Band applications. Targeted Improvements:- 30% mass and size reduction – 100% RF power handling increase. Description: Coaxial resonators are currently the standard technologies for L-band filters and multiplexers, however this technology is inherently bulky and often leads to significant size and mass overruns. Moreover, current solutions are only suited for low and medium power operation up to 50 Watt. One important application that benefits from both miniaturisation and/or power handling increase, is that of Mobile missions where a large number of Tx-Rx diplexers (typically more than 100 units) are integrated on-board of large GEO multi-beam satellites. In this activity a new class of compact diplexers for 100 W RF power operation shall be developed based on dielectric technology, used either as a main resonator concept or as a filling feature for the filter critical gaps. Preliminary work at filter level has shown that a footprint reduction up to 30% can be achieved compared with coaxial technology, whilst maintaining similar in-band and out-of-band performance. However, this results needs to be extended at diplexer level, with a detailed trade-off between in-line and cross-coupled filters for complex transfer functions. Other major challenges exist in terms of increased temperature range and higher RF power handling (average, multipactor and PIM) which shall be addressed simultaneously. The first step of the proposed activity shall be the review of current state of the art addressing both single-mode and dual-mode operation, including detailed evaluation of dielectric resonators properties, miniaturization and mounting techniques for high power L-Band applications. In the second step, two different design concepts based on dielectric technology shall be studied and developed into two diplexer BB units. One concept shall be selected for the design of one EM. The final step shall be the manufacturing, assembling and high power testing of the EM unit. Procurement Policy: C(1) = Activity restricted to non-prime contractors (incl. SMEs). For additional information please go to EMITS news “Industrial Policy measures for non-primes, SMEs and RD entities in ESA programmes”.

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