Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

The satellite communication market is rapidly growing. Availability and high potential of higher frequency Ka-band (20/30 GHz) systems in recent years, have led to huge investments in the technology. Currently, the majority of ground terminals are installed in fixed locations. However, several existing and emerging satellite-based network services such as Broadband Satellite Internet, Satellite News Gathering (SNG), Communication Systems for Disaster Recovery, Telemedicine, emergency systems and defence applications require semi-mobile or fully mobile ground terminals (Satcom On-The-Move or ""SOTM"") to reach their full potentials. Despite extensive R&D and commercial activities in this area, the developed SOTM systems are either extremely expensive or do not meet all the needed requirements. The proposed research is aimed at development of low-cost technologies for low-profile high performance two-way land-mobile satellite terminal for Ka-band car-to-communication satellite on-the-move (SOTM). The research proposed here will support and extend the scope of an ongoing OCE IACP collaborative research project, supported by C-Com Satellite Systems Inc., in this area. To realize the target production cost of this system, the active devices must be implemented in an integrated circuit (on-chip) configuration using commercially available low-cost CMOS or SiGe technologies. Furthermore unless the internal calibration procedure, developed in the current OCE IACP project, is not integrated with the transmitter array system, the required performance of the 2-way phased-array system, particularly on transmit side, cannot be achieved. The NSERC-CRD research proposed here is focused on: 1) hardware realization of an internal calibration system based on electromagnetic sensors measuring radiating aperture near-field, and 2) development of phased-array active front-end and beam-forming feed system using low-cost integrated circuit (IC) techniques such as commercially available millimeter-wave CMOS technologies (MMIC). Proof-of-concept prototypes for internal calibration and MMIC's will be developed.