Detailed Characterisation of Tetrivis Ku-Band Phased Array Tx and Rx RFICs for Low Earth Orbit Satellite (LEOSAT)

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Vision:Between 2020 and 2021, Tetrivis self-funded the design, verification and limited silicon prototyping/fabrication of two Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) - the TRV003, a Ku-Band (10.7GHz to 12.75GHz) Phased-Array Receiver (Rx) RFIC integrating four dual-beam and dual-polarised (X+Y) receiver paths on the same die, and the TRV004, a Ku-Band (14GHz to 14.5GHz) Phased-Array Transmitter (Tx) RFIC also integrating four dual-beam and dual-polarised (X+Y) transmitter paths on the same die.Both chips were Wafer-Scale-Packaged with die ball pitch being 171um, a dimension that was extremely challenging for UK PCB vendors to work at. PCB die-attach issues and funding limitations thus prevented us from achieving the next milestone in the project, which was the detailed laboratory characterisation of the two RFIC chips.This project will enable Tetrivis address the die-attach PCB issues, revise RFIC PCB mounting strategy and carry out detailed RF laboratory characterisation of the two RFICs. The RFICs were designed to meet the emerging and ever increasing demand by UK, EU, Asian and American satellite companies for Tx and Rx RFICs for use in their Low-Earth-Orbit Satellite (LEOSAT) Earth-Station Phased-Array Smart Antennas.Key Objectives:- To work with sub-contractor to address PCB die-attach issues and achieve consistent connectivity between RFIC balls and PCB- To work with sub-contractor to machine Heat-Sink for RFICs- To work with sub-contractor to make custom RFIC sockets for multiple RFIC characterisation using the same PCB- To develop the Graphical User Interface software for programming the RFIC internal registers- To procure second-hand RF Equipment to aid RFIC characterisation process- To develop software to aid Automated characterisation of RFICs- To carry out detailed RF characterisation of RFICsInnovation:The capability to simultaneously support Ku-Band and Ka-Band spectra with an agile, low-power, low-area and low-cost RFIC solution is one of the design innovations. Limited Ka-Band support was implemented due to time constraints and will be tested.In addition, the ability of the Rx path of the RFIC design to tolerate a coupled Tx signal of M orders of magnitude higher than the Rx signal being received whilst still delivering unprecedented Carrier-to-Noise-and-Interference-Ratio (C/N+I) is the significant architectural, systematic and circuital design challenge that the RFIC design addresses.Finally, the TRV003 and TRV004 RFIC silicon were implemented in an optimal process technology node which enables high-yielding silicon devices with moderate cost overhead, thus strategically positioning the RFIC devices for future mass production ramp-up and commercialisation.