A Broadband Analog Linearizer for Ka-Band Satellite Communication Utilizing IMD Self-Alignment Based on Radiation Hard SiGe-HBT

A fully integrated Ka-Band <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(17-21 \text{GHz})$</tex> analog predistortion linearizer circuit with intermodulation distortion built-in self-test (IMD-BIST) alignment capability for satellite communication applications is presented. The linearizer has been realized using a radiation hard <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$0.13 \mu \mathrm{m}$</tex> silicon-germanium (SiGe) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) BiCMOS technology. The topology of the linearizer is given. First measured results for the predistortion section and its operation in conjunction with a 15 W Ka-band solid-state power amplifier (SSPA) based on noise power ration (NPR) measurements are presented. The results demonstrate the broadband functionality of the predistortion section. In addition radiation hardness results for single event effects (SEE) are summarized.