GaN Single Chip Front End

Natanael Ayllon, ESA payload engineer, showing a prototype transmit/receive module on a single Gallium Nitride chip. All past synthetic-aperture radar missions such as Sentinel-1 or TerraSAR-X rely on hybrid multi-chip implementation of the transmit-receive modules.  Recent ESA R&D activity has demonstrated that significant improvements in terms of degree of integration and performance can be achieved thanks to single-chip implementation using the GaN technology, allowing for single-chip integration of a low-noise and high-power amplifiers and a transmit-receive switch.