RF in ATC Market (S-band,
<1Ghz, L-band, Broadband)
Tiefeng Shi | Applications Engineer RFPP
APRIL.2015
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External Use
Freescale RF: 2 product lines serving 8 markets
RF Cellular
Cellular Power Amplifiers Small Signal RF
• Base Stations • Picocells
• Repeaters • Pre-drivers
• From GSM to LTE • Novel PA components
RF Industrial
ISM (Industrial, Scientific, Medical) Broadcast
• CO2 lasers
• FM
• Plasma generation
• VHF TV
• MRI
• UHF TV
• And a lot more
Commercial Aerospace Land Mobile Radio
• Distance Measuring • Handheld
• Transponders • Vehicle
• L- and S-band Radars • Base stations
Heating Military & Defense – US only
• Microwave Ovens, • Radar
commercial & consumer • Communications
• Industrial heating • Electronic Warfare
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Agenda
• Avionics
− Transponder/Secondary radar
− L-band and S-band radars
− DME
− VOR
• Avionics devices coming soon
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Avionics
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TAM
• Worldwide Avionics RF TAM, $M
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TRANSPONDER –
SECONDARY RADAR (“IFF”)
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Transponder / Secondary Radar
What is this?
• The secondary radar sends an interrogation signal to an
1030 MHz
aircraft. The transponder (transmitter-responder) replies
back.
• Used to identify aircraft, vehicle or forces, and determine their 1090 MHz
bearing and range from the interrogator.
• This is part of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems
• Also called IFF in military (Identification, Friend or Foe) Secondary Airborne
radar transponder
Variants:
• Mode A : identification
• Mode C : idem + altitude BLOCK DIAGRAM OVERVIEW
• Mode S : idem + additional data like collision
avoidance. Mandatory in controlled commercial
airspace in many parts of the world Receiver 109
Pulse
Modulation
• Systems based on Mode S : 103
• ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance- (2) Duplexer
broadcast), periodic transmission of aircraft position, (1)
Power
reception of traffic data Amplifier
RF
• TCAS (Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System), Source
aircraft to aircraft system. Mode C and Mode-S
transponders are used for aircraft to aircraft (1) : Input Pulse Control Mode simple, largely used
(2) : Gate Control Mode better shaping control
communication for negotiating avoidance maneuver. (1)+(2) : Dual Control Mode
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Transponder / Secondary Radar: Freescale proposal
Recommended part numbers
Key Parameters
•Frequency 1030 and 1090MHz narrowband Final Stage :
MRF6VP121KH 50V 20dB 1000W $427
•Power several 100 Watts. S-Mode adds dissipation MRF6V12500H 50V 20dB 500W $325
due to long pulses and 50% duty cycle. Very MRF6V12250H 50V 20dB 275W $200
high power not required because or
Transponder use Driver :
MRFE6VS25N 50V 22dB 25W $17
•Pulse Rise and fall time must be short, controlled MRF6V3090N 50V 22dB 90W $40
and equal. Reduced droop of pulse amplitude MRF6V10010N 50V 24dB 10W $40
Problems we help solve Predriver :
• Lighter systems thanks to higher power density. MMG3014N 5V 18dB 316mW $1
• We are about to bring high ruggedness => better reliability
Competition
•Bipolars from Microsemi (47% market share), Available Reference Circuits
M/A-COM, Integra. Quite often these are very old designs.
•GaN is hype but not proven yet, and expensive. GaN’s •10W at 1030MHz with MRF6V10010N
main advantage, wideband, is not useful here for •25W at 1030MHz with MRFE6VS25N
narrowband. Some customers report instability. •90W at 960-1215MHz with MRF6V3090N
EXAMPLE OF LINE-UP •250W at 1030MHz with MRF6V12250H
500W transponder (total BOM $366) •250W at 960-1215 with MRF6V12250H
•500W at 1030MHz with MRF6V12500H
0.3mW 20mW 5W 500W •500W at 960-1215 with MRF6V12500H
(-5dBm) (13dBm) (37dBm) (57dBm)
•1kW at 1030 or 1090MHz with MRF6VP121KH
+18dB +24dB +20dB
www.freescale.com/rfboards
Pre-driver: Driver: Final stage:
MMG3014N MRF6V10010N MRF6V12500H
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PRIMARY RADAR
L-BAND & S-BAND
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Primary Radar
How does it work?
•High power RF pulses are transmitted and reflected on a target.
•Phase array radar is becoming more and more deployed (replace
mechanics by an antenna array to scan 360°). Require more amplifier (10
to few hundreds in military applications) with less power (10-100W)
Applications
•L-Band radar (1.2-1.4GHz): long range air traffic (400km)
•S-Band radar (2.7-3.5GHz):
- Short range Terminal Air traffic (100km)
- Weather
- Marine
•Power : 500W (PA output) to several kW BLOCK DIAGRAM OVERVIEW
Receiver
Pulse
Modulation
Echo from plane
(2) Duplexer
(1)
Power
Amplifier
RF
Source
(1) : Input Pulse Control Mode simple, largely used
(2) : Gate Control Mode better shaping control
(1)+(2) : Dual Control Mode
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L-band Radar: Freescale proposal
Key Parameters
•Frequency 1.2 to 1.4 GHz Recommended part numbers
•Power Several kW required (high path loss compared to Final Stage :
MRF6V14300H 50V 18dB 330W $300
transponder operation)
•Pulse Rise and fall time must be short, controlled and equal. Driver :
MRFE6VS25N 50V 25dB 25W $17
Reduced droop of pulse amplitude
MRF6V10010N 50V 25dB 10W $40
Problems we help solve Predriver :
•Lighter systems thanks to higher power density. MMG3H21N 5V 19dB 112mW $0.7
•We are about to bring high ruggedness => better reliability MMG3014N 5V 18dB 316mW $1
Competition
•Bipolars from Microsemi, M/A-COM.
•GaN from M/A-COM and Cree, but the only advantage of Available Reference Circuit
GaN in this (low) frequency is the power density.
•300W at 1200-1400MHz with MRF6V14300H
EXAMPLE OF LINE-UP •112mW at 300-3600MHz with MMG3H21N
1,300W radar (BOM $1241)
1mW 75mW 20W 1,200W
(0dBm) (18.8dBm) (43dBm) (61dBm)
www.freescale.com/rfboards
+18dB +24dB +18dB
Pre-driver: Driver: Final stage:
MMG3014N 2xMRFE6V10010N 4xMRF6V14300H
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S-band Radar: Freescale proposal
Key Parameters
•Frequency 2.7 to 2.9 GHz (civil), 2.9 to 3.5 GHz (military) Recommended part numbers
•Power Several kW required (high path loss compared to Final Stage :
transponder operation) MRF8P29300H 30V 13dB 320W $263
•Pulse Rise and fall time must be short, controlled and equal. Driver :
Reduced droop of pulse amplitude MRFG35010A 12.5V 10dB 10W $18
Predriver :
MMG3H21N 5V 19dB 112mW $0.7
Competition MMG3014N 5V 9.5dB 316mW $1
•GaN is dominant in S-band thanks to
(from M/A-COM, Sumitomo, Integra)
•Our roadmap for S-band is mainnly GaN
Available Reference Circuit
•300W 2700-2900 with MRF8P29300H
EXAMPLE OF LINE-UP
1,300W radar (BOM >$1,000)
10mW 20mW 65W 1,200W
(10dBm) (28dBm) (48dBm) (61dBm)
www.freescale.com/rfboards
+18dB +13dB
Pre-driver: Driver: Final stage:
MMG3014N under development 4xMRF8P29300H
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DISTANCE MEASURING
EQUIPMENT (DME)
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Distance Measuring Equipment (DME)
Ground-based DME DME Receiver
How does it work?
transponder
• DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) is a
transponder based radio navigation technology that
measures the range by timing the propagation delay 1025 to
of RF signals. 1150 MHz
• The plane transmits some RF pulses.
• The ground station has a transponder that will reply
to the plane on a different frequency. 962 to
• The DME receiver in the plane will measure the time 1213 MHz
difference and compute the distance.
• The measured distance is the slant range. Signal from plane
• TACAN is the military version of the DME system. It Signal from station
operates in the same band : 960-1215MHz. 1 nautical mile
Accuracy is better than DME due to use of more =
complex signals (two modulations). 12.36µs
• TACAN distance measurement specification is
common to civil DME. Thus TACAN station are often
co-located with VOR facilities resulting in the
VORTAC system.
• GPS navigation is more an more an alternative to
Height
DME.
Ground distance
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Distance Measuring Equipment: Freescale proposal
Key Parameters
•Frequency 960-1215MHz. Unlike IFF, this needs to be wideband.
Recommended part numbers
•Power Around 1 kW required
Final Stage :
MRF6VP12500H 50V 20dB 500W $325
•Pulse Rise and fall time must be short, controlled and equal. $200
MRF6VP12250H 50V 20dB 275W
Reduced droop of pulse amplitude
Driver :
MRF6V10010N 50V 24dB 10W $40
Problems we help solve
• Same as IFF (lighter and more reliable systems) Predriver :
MMG3014N 5V 18dB 316mW $1
Competition
•Bipolars from Microsemi, M/A-COM, Integra, but the
only advantage of GaN in this (low) frequency is the
power density. Available Reference Circuits
EXAMPLE OF LINE-UP •90W at 960-1215MHz with MRF6V3090N
250W solution (BOM $241)
•250W at 960-1215 with MRF6V12250H
0.2mW 10mW 2.5W 250W
•500W at 960-1215 with MRF6V12500H
(-8dBm) (10dBm) (34dBm) (54dBm)
+18dB +24dB +20dB
Pre-driver: Driver: Final stage: www.freescale.com/rfboards
MMG3014N MRF6V10010N MRF6V12250H
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VHF OMNI DIRECTIONAL
RANGE (VOR)
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VOR
How does it work?
VOR (VHF Omni Directional Radio Range) is a radio
navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft to
determine the bearing (angle) to a transmitting station.
(1) Pilot tunes the VOR receiver (2) The VOR signal
Ground radio beacon transmit two signals : according to its flight plan transmitted from ground station
• A master signal is received by the plane
• A directional signal with a varying phase
Receiver will calculate the phase difference and provide
a radial from the station to the pilot on the aircraft.
VOR can be associated with : (3) VOR receiver computes the radial and
• DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) in VOR-DME provides indication on the VOR indicator
• TACAN (Tactical Air Navigation System) in VORTAC
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VOR: Freescale proposal
Key Parameters
•Frequency 108 to 118MHz Recommended part numbers
(with <1ku prices)
•Power 50W to 200W (require higher power devices for linearity)
Final Stage (50V):
•Class Class AB for linearity (Amplitude Modulated signal) MRFE6VP5600H 50V 25dB 600W $126
MRFE6VP6300H 50V 25dB 300W $60
MRFE6VP5300N 50V 25dB 300W $44
MRFE6VP5150N 50V 25dB 150W Sampling
Driver:
MRF6V2010N 50V 24dB 10W $12
AFT05MS004N 7.5V 20dB 4W $1
EXAMPLE OF LINE-UP Available Reference Circuits
200W solution (BOM $127) (check also FM solutions)
6.3mW 0.6W 200W •100W at 2-200 MHz with MRFE6VP100H
(8dBm) (28dBm) (53dBm)
•25W at 30-520 MHz with MRFE6VS25N
+20dB +25dB
Driver: Final stage:
AFT05MS004N MRFE6VP5600H
www.freescale.com/rfboards
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Coming devices for Commercial Aerospace
• L Band AFT101K3H : KW narrow band product. 1.3kW band
solutions, high dynamic range,
• L Band AFT121KH: 1KW wide band, single transistor finals with
high gain, high dynamic range and long pulse
• Competitive Advantages and performance
− Performance & Breadth of portfolio
Power density
Broadband
Secure supply / longevity
Industry Leading Packages: Surface mount option
Broadband 1kW (960 – 1215MHz) – investment into the portfolio
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L-band Amplifier Reference Designs
AFT101K3H – 1030-1090MHz AFT121KH – 960-1215MHz
• Freq operation 1030 to 1090 MHz • Freq. 960 to 1215 MHz
• > 18dB Gain , 56% typical efficiency • >17dB Gain , 56% typical Efficiency
• > 1300W pulsed P1 dB Output • > 1000W pulsed Output (128us,
(128uS,10%) 10%)
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L-band Amplifier Reference Designs
AFT101K3H – 1030-1090MHz AFT121KH – 960-1215MHz
• Freq operation 1030 to 1090 MHz • Freq. 960 to 1215 MHz
• > 18dB Gain , 56% typical efficiency • >17dB Gain , 56% typical Efficiency
• > 1300W pulsed P1 dB Output • > 1000W pulsed Output (128us,
(128uS,10%) 10%)
AFV101KHGain and Efficiency 1600 70
20 Vs Pout 60
1400 60
19 50 50
1200
18 40 40
Gain (dB)
Eff (%) 1000 30 Power(W)
17 Vdd: 50V 30
Idq: 100mA 800 20 Gain(dB)
16 20
Pulse: 128us, 10 IRL(dB)
600
15 10% 10 Eff(%)
0
400
14 0 -10
0 500 1000 1500 2000 200 -20
Pout (Watts)
1030 Gain 1030 Eff 0 -30
900 1000 1100 1200 1300
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