Raytheon Company

Ol Security Limited Liability Company

Reza Tayrani

Jar Jar Lee

James R Chow

James A Carr

Theodore J Conrad

Richard C Ross

Kenneth Alan Essenwanger

Stephanie J Lin

Clifford W Meyers

Mary A Teshiba

Walter B Schulte, Jr

Richard D Young

Ron K Nakahira

Mark E Stading

Jonathan D Gordon

Nick J Rosik

David J Drapeau

Shaun L Champion

Tho X Nguyen

Ives H Philip

Larry Dalconzo

Walter B Schulte Jr

An apparatus includes a substrate having a recess and a first insulator submerged in the recess of the substrate. The apparatus also includes a cover having a second insulator that, together with the first insulator, defines an insulated volume. The apparatus further includes one or more components to be cooled located over the first insulator and within the insulated volume. The apparatus could also include one or more electrical conductors located over the first insulator, where at least one of the one or more components is electrically connected to the one or more electrical conductors. The one or more electrical conductors could be submerged in the recess of the substrate. The one or more electrical conductors could be thermally-insulative at cryogenic temperatures and could include carbon nanotubes. The first and second insulators could include foam or aerogel insulation.

Thermal isolation of cryo-cooled components from circuit boards or other structures

An integrated differential high power amplifier-radiator array that overcomes the prior art impedance match issues is described. An impedance matching balun is used to feed a high output impedance, differential HPA, which in turn drives a wide band radiator or array of radiators having a matching input impedance to provide a highly efficient, compact transmit system. In one exemplary embodiment, the HPA may be a high impedance Class-B HPA configured as a push-pull cascode amplifier. A high impedance isolator or circulator may be used between the HPA and the radiator. One of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that a receive implementation, using a properly matched low noise amplifier in place of the HPA, is also possible. Similarly, with the addition of a slotline circulator, transceiver operation is also attainable with the addition of an impedance matched receive chain.

Differential high power amplifier for a low profile, wide band transmit array

A wireless temperature sensor network includes a base station unit which transmits query signals cyclically addressing a plurality of temperature sensor transponder units. The transponder units are passive and derive operating power from the query signal to encode measured temperature data into a reply signal which is received by the base station. In a dual carrier embodiment, the query signal and reply signals are transmitted on separate frequencies. In a backscattering embodiment, the antennas of the transponder units can be switched between an absorption mode in which the query signal is received and a reflection mode in which the query signal is reflected back to the base station. The transponder antennas are switched in such a manner as to encode temperature data in the reflected signal to form a reply signal. The network embodiments are particularly applicable to space based platforms.

Wireless temperature sensor network

A switching circuit. The novel switching circuit includes an active device and a first circuit for providing a reactive inductive load in shunt with the active device. In an illustrative embodiment, the first circuit is implemented using a transmission line coupled between an output of the active device and ground, in parallel with the device, to minimize the parasitic effects of the device drain to source capacitance. In a preferred embodiment, the active device includes a silicon-germanium NFET optimized for operation at high frequencies (e.g. up to 20 GHz). The optimization process includes coupling a compact, low-parasitic polysilicon resistor to a gate of the NFET to provide gate RF isolation, and designing the gate manifold, drain manifold, and drain to source spacing of the NFET for optimal high frequency operation.

High performance microwave switching devices and circuits

A Class-E load circuit topology suitable for switching mode Power Amplifiers (PAs). The inventive load includes a shunt inductive element coupled to an output of said amplifier; a series inductive element coupled to said output of said amplifier; and a series capacitive element coupled to said series inductive element. In the illustrative embodiment, the inventive load is operable at frequencies in the range of 8-10 GHz and the shunt inductive element is an inductive bias line for said amplifier. The invention enables an advantageous Class-E amplifier design comprising an input matching network; an active device coupled to the input matching network and a load coupled to the active device and implemented in accordance with the present teachings. Also disclosed is a method for designing a load for use with a Class-E amplifier including the steps of: providing a lumped equivalent circuit representation of the load; optimizing the lumped equivalent circuit representation of the load to achieve near ideal current and voltage operational characteristics over a predetermined frequency range using a time domain simulation; transforming the optimized lumped equivalent circuit representation of the load to a distributed circuit representation; and optimizing the distributed circuit representation of the load to achieve near ideal current and voltage operational characteristics over a predetermined frequency range using a time domain simulation.

Broadband microwave amplifier

A load circuit for use with a switching mode circuit. The novel load circuit includes a series inductive-capacitive network coupled to an output of the switching mode circuit and a circuit for providing a capacitance coupled to the output of the switching mode circuit. In an illustrative embodiment, the circuit for providing capacitance includes one or more lumped capacitors adapted to compensate for an intrinsic capacitance in the switching mode circuit. The load circuit may also include a shunt inductance coupled to the output of the switching mode circuit. In an illustrative embodiment, the load circuit is adapted to provide a Class-E load to a two-stage Class-E high power amplifier. The amplifier includes a driver stage, a novel Class-E inter-stage matching network (ISMN), and a high power stage using the novel load circuit.

Two stage microwave Class E power amplifier

A miniaturized microwave circuit. The novel circuit includes a first substrate, a first ground plate disposed on a bottom surface of the first substrate, a second substrate attached to a top surface of the first substrate and adapted to cover a portion of the first substrate, a second ground plate disposed on a top surface of the second substrate, a pattern of metallization disposed between the first and second substrates to form a stripline circuit, one or more ground paths disposed on the top surface of the first substrate and including a plurality of vias connected to the first ground plate, and one or more openings cut into the second substrate and second ground plate, wherein each opening follows and is aligned over a portion of a ground path and is filled in with conducting material, such that the second ground plate is connected to the first ground plate.

Miniature broadband switched filter bank

An efficient broadband amplifier. The amplifier includes a mechanism for amplifying an input signal via a high-speed switch and providing an amplified signal in response thereto. Another mechanism filters the amplified signal via common mode rejection and provides an output signal in response thereto. In a specific embodiment, the mechanism for filtering includes a first mechanism for separating an input signal into plural intermediate signals. The mechanism for amplifying includes a second mechanism for amplifying the plural intermediate signals via one or more high-speed switches and providing plural amplified signals in response thereto. The mechanism for filtering further includes a third mechanism for employing common mode rejection to filter the plural amplified signals, yielding a single output signal in response thereto.

Efficient broadband switching-mode amplifier

A compact broadband balun (). The balun () includes a waveguide transition () between one or more input ports () and one or more output ports () of the balun (). A mechanism (), which depends on the tapered transition (), provides a good match, while a resistor () provides isolation between input ports () and the output ports (). In a specific embodiment, the balun () includes a first waveguide (). One end of the first waveguide represents a first port of the balun (). The balun () further includes a second wave guide (). Opposite ends () of the second waveguide () represent second () and third () ports. The waveguide transition () occurs between the first waveguide () and the second waveguide (). The waveguide transition () is designed to provide a frequency-independent anti-phase response in response to an input signal provided at an input port (). In alternative embodiment, microstrip waveguides are employed, and port inversion is achieved via a slotline inverter strategically positioned in the groundplane of the balun.

Compact broadband balun

RF filter circuits are described which include a bottom dielectric substrate fabricated of a high dielectric material having a relative dielectric constant in a range of 30 to 100. A conductor pattern defining a circuit topology is fabricated on a surface of the substrate.

Growing community of inventors

Marina Del Rey, CA, United States of America

Reza Tayrani