Tunable RF Filters Based on Liquid Crystal for Space Applications
On board of communication satellites, there are numerous RF filters in the payload used for guiding wanted signals as desired and for rejecting unwanted signals such as not to interfere with wanted signals. At present, satellites have a long lifetime (15 years at least for a typical geostationary co...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-05-01
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| Series: | Crystals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/10/6/455 |
| _version_ | 1797566479773728768 |
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| author | Tobias Kaesser Carsten Fritzsch Michael Franz |
| author_facet | Tobias Kaesser Carsten Fritzsch Michael Franz |
| author_sort | Tobias Kaesser |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | On board of communication satellites, there are numerous RF filters in the payload used for guiding wanted signals as desired and for rejecting unwanted signals such as not to interfere with wanted signals. At present, satellites have a long lifetime (15 years at least for a typical geostationary communication satellite) and there is also time elapsing between its design and the start of in-orbit service (2 years at least). On the other hand, conventional RF filters for satellite applications are fixed frequency. Therefore, there is a growing demand for in-orbit tunable filters to be able to cope with changes in the market situation during that long time. Also, there are communication systems evolving that rely on tunable devices used for adaptive filtering or steering. This article reports on in-orbit tunable bandpass filters employing liquid crystal material and operating at 20 GHz, and especially on design aspects dealing with the harsh space environment, on the operating principles for commanding the filters on board the satellite, and on a qualification campaign passed successfully. A demonstrator unit is in manufacturing for in-orbit verification. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:27:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-18fc4f0a1ce242909ac0b5284b4ebd82 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4352 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:27:24Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Crystals |
| spelling | doaj.art-18fc4f0a1ce242909ac0b5284b4ebd822023-11-20T02:24:00ZengMDPI AGCrystals2073-43522020-05-0110645510.3390/cryst10060455Tunable RF Filters Based on Liquid Crystal for Space ApplicationsTobias Kaesser0Carsten Fritzsch1Michael Franz2Tesat-Spacecom GmbH & Co.KG, Gerberstr. 49, 71522 Backnang, GermanyMerck KGaA, Frankfurter Str. 250, 64293 Darmstadt, GermanyTesat-Spacecom GmbH & Co.KG, Gerberstr. 49, 71522 Backnang, GermanyOn board of communication satellites, there are numerous RF filters in the payload used for guiding wanted signals as desired and for rejecting unwanted signals such as not to interfere with wanted signals. At present, satellites have a long lifetime (15 years at least for a typical geostationary communication satellite) and there is also time elapsing between its design and the start of in-orbit service (2 years at least). On the other hand, conventional RF filters for satellite applications are fixed frequency. Therefore, there is a growing demand for in-orbit tunable filters to be able to cope with changes in the market situation during that long time. Also, there are communication systems evolving that rely on tunable devices used for adaptive filtering or steering. This article reports on in-orbit tunable bandpass filters employing liquid crystal material and operating at 20 GHz, and especially on design aspects dealing with the harsh space environment, on the operating principles for commanding the filters on board the satellite, and on a qualification campaign passed successfully. A demonstrator unit is in manufacturing for in-orbit verification.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/10/6/455liquid crystalRF bandpass filtercontainer for liquid crystalbiasing circuit configurationspace applicationharsh environment |
| spellingShingle | Tobias Kaesser Carsten Fritzsch Michael Franz Tunable RF Filters Based on Liquid Crystal for Space Applications Crystals liquid crystal RF bandpass filter container for liquid crystal biasing circuit configuration space application harsh environment |
| title | Tunable RF Filters Based on Liquid Crystal for Space Applications |
| title_full | Tunable RF Filters Based on Liquid Crystal for Space Applications |
| title_fullStr | Tunable RF Filters Based on Liquid Crystal for Space Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tunable RF Filters Based on Liquid Crystal for Space Applications |
| title_short | Tunable RF Filters Based on Liquid Crystal for Space Applications |
| title_sort | tunable rf filters based on liquid crystal for space applications |
| topic | liquid crystal RF bandpass filter container for liquid crystal biasing circuit configuration space application harsh environment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/10/6/455 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tobiaskaesser tunablerffiltersbasedonliquidcrystalforspaceapplications AT carstenfritzsch tunablerffiltersbasedonliquidcrystalforspaceapplications AT michaelfranz tunablerffiltersbasedonliquidcrystalforspaceapplications |