The European Space Agency Tender

Rf Switches Are Essential Components In Satellite Payloads, Serving Critical Routing And Protection Functions. Solutions Employing Waveguide/coaxial Mechanical Or Ferrite Switches Traditionally Dominate Applications Demanding Exceptional Insertion Loss Performance. However, For Designs Prioritizing Compactness And High Integration, Gaas Fets, Phemts, And Rfsoi Cmos-based Solutions Are Increasingly Favoured.the Latter, Especially Rfsoi Cmos, Offer A Compelling Advantage: Lower Cost For Large-scale Production. This Cost Reduction Stems From The Inherent Economies Of Scale Associated With Manufacturing Processes, Which Can Be Substantial In The Electronics Industry.beyond Cost, Other Key Parameters Influence The Selection Of Switch Technology: Switching Speed, Power Consumption, Reliability, Temperature Stability, Frequency Of Operation, Isolation And Actuation Mechanisms Are All Factors To Consider. By Carefully Evaluating These Parameters, Engineers Can Choose The Most Suitable Rf Switch Solution For Their Specific Satellite Payload Application.in Multichannel Synthetic Aperture Radar (sar) Systems, Particularly Those With Dual-polarization Capabilities, The Number Of Receive (rx) Channels Can Be Exceedingly High. These Channels Must Be Efficiently Routed To The Rf Back-end For Tasks Such As Polarization Selection And Redundancy Management. To Minimize Redundant Channels While Maintaining High Reliability, Maximizing Connectivity Between Input And Output Channels Is Paramount, Ideally Achieving Full Connectivity. This Ensures That Any Potential Failures Can Be Mitigated Without Significant Performance Degradation.previous Efforts To Develop Miniaturized Switching Concepts Have Faced Challenges In Achieving The Desired Performance. However, Recent Advancements In Phase Change Materials (pcms) Have Yielded Promising Results For Low-loss Broadband Switches. These Pcm-based Switches Offer A Compact Footprint, Making Them A Viable Solution For Creating Miniature Rf Switch Networks Operating From Very Low Frequencies Up To The K-band.the Objective Of This Activity Is To Investigate Technologies And Topologies For Complex Switching Networks With N Input To M Output Full Connectivity. These Features Are To Be Achieved While Providing Compact Size, High Isolation And Broadband Response.