FLATPANELELECTRONICALLYSCANNED ANTENNAADVANTAGES

Transcription

1 FLATPANELELECTRONICALLYSCANNED ANTENNAADVANTAGES March 1, 2016 Kenneth Kirchoff Principal Engineer - Aero Mirwais Zeweri Principal Systems Engineer 1

2 KYMETAOVERVIEW Intellectual Ventures spin-out August, 2012 Headquarters in Redmond, WA. USA 110 employees Key investors include Bill Gates, Lux Capital, Liberty Global 2

3 KYMETAHISTORY 3

4 RECENTPROGRESS #KyTrek 4

5 GX PARTNERSHIP Kymeta/Inmarsat technology development for commercial aviation Prototype Ka ASM in 2016 Honeywell MOU for 3 rd party integration Working with Honeywell to integrate Antenna Subsystem Module 5

6 AVAILABLESPECTRUM, UNAVAILABLETECHNOLOGY Problem Less than 10% of earth covered by 4G/LTE The spectrum used by 4G/LTE is limited and expensive Coverage expansion entails new infrastructure, requiring $ billions and years to implement Satellite communication provides orders of magnitude more spectrum with global coverage, but most of that spectrum is used for fixed services Solution Replace the parabolic dish technology with flat panel electronically steered antennas capable of tracking moving satellites from moving platforms Kymeta Corporation 6

7 METAMATERIALTECHNOLOGY Feed wave Thin structure with tunable metamaterial elements Elements scatter RF energy when activated Software activates a pattern of tunable elements to generate a beam Changing the pattern of activated elements changes the beam direction Software controlled, switchable polarization (linear at any angle, circular, elliptical) 7

8 KYMETAANTENNASUBSYSTEMMODULE(ASM) 8

9 LIGHTWEIGHT, LOWPROFILE Gimbaled Maritime Antenna Weight > 275 lbs (125 kg) Height > 55 (140 cm) mtenna Technology Weight < 20 lbs (9 kg) Height < 3 (8 cm) 9

10 LOWPOWER Gimbaled antenna Peak Power > 300 W Complex, power hungry positioner systems Phased Array antenna Peak Power > 1000 s W High cost mtenna Technology < 1 W of power for beam forming < 30 W for ASM Key-Tests-of-New-Aircraft-Satellite-Antenna#assets_117 10

11 FLEXIBLE Combined Tx/Rx in one Independently controlled SW controlled antenna Dynamic, switchable polarization OTA updates No moving parts Higher MTBR/MTBF Compact form factor Auto acquisition Pointing & tracking Self provisioning 11

12 SCALABLE TFT Manufacturing Production capabilities Quality Cost Cost effectiveness Combining Higher performance Global coverage 12

13 ENHANCEEXISTINGMARKETS, ENABLENEWMARKETS 13

14 KYMETAASM ATTRIBUTES Electronically steered flat panel antenna (FPA). Tx and Rx functionalities in a single aperture. Software driven antenna Internal orientation sensors providing pointing and tracking capability. Inherently low antenna sidelobe pattern performance for FCC compliance Low cost owing to highly established flat panel LCD manufacturing processes Light weight Low profile Low power consumption Scalable 2016 Kymeta Corporation 14

15 MTENNA MATERIALSOVERVIEW 15

16 ELECTRONICSCANNINGAPPROACHES 16

17 MTENNATECHNOLOGYIMPLEMENTATION PCB-based sub-wave length spaced elements. Inter-element phase relationships are established by selecting (ON) and deselecting elements (OFF) via software. As RF energy propagates in the feed, it couples to the selected elements. The beam is formed in the desired direction based on the inter-element phase relationships. Both beamforming and polarization control are accomplished electronically. 17

18 HOLOGRAPHIC DIFFRACTION 1. Wave through the waveguide (, )= 2. Desired wave off the antenna (, )= 3. Interaction of the waves!" =# 18

19 LIQUIDCRYSTALS FORANTENNAS LC molecules change polarity in response to a change in voltage LC molecule polarity determines whether RF passes through the elements 19

20 SINGLETX/RXAPERTURE Highly integrated architecture Single aperture accommodating Tx and Rx functionalities. 2x smaller footprint Approximately 2x lower weight Simplified feed contributing to low profile Lower cost Independent control of Tx and Rx antennas Significant pointing and tracking advantages Proprietary design features used to optimize antenna gain while minimizing interaction between Tx and Rx antenna elements 2016 Kymeta Corporation 20

21 SOFTWAREDRIVENRECONFIGURABLEANTENNA Software-driven beamforming, beam-steering and beamshaping. No phase shifters and attenuators No moving parts Weighted illumination required for FCC compliance achieved dynamically via software Software driven polarization control RHCP, LHCP, Linear (any slant) dynamically reconfigurable No mechanically removable polarizers No switches and couplers behind antenna elements No moving parts 2016 Kymeta Corporation 21

22 LOWPROFILE ANDWEIGHT ArticleID=905 ASM less than 3 thick Accommodates low profile radomes Leading to significant fuel cost savings Suitable for higher levels of integration BUC, LNB, Modem integrated in the proximity of the antenna Eliminates need for long cables and high-power BUCs ASM weighs less than 20 lbs Provides ease of installation Highly desired for maritime applications 22

23 LOWCOST ANDPOWER Consider a 50cmx50cm aperture at 20 GHz Large angle scanning requires 67x67= 4,489 elements Each element requires a phase shifter TGP1439 datasheet: Current cost: $35 (volume of 100k)- Year Power budget: 100mW Total cost for phase shifters: $157,115 Total power required: 450W In addition to the phase shifter an amplifier is needed TGA2513 -Year-2013 Typical cost: $20 Typical quiescent power draw: 200mW Total cost for amplifiers: $90,000 Total power required: 900W Totals: $247,115, 1.35 kw In addition to component cost, active cooling generally needed for sizable arrays Can phased arrays provide the same functionality with lower cost phase shifters and SiGe technologies? Orders of Magnitude Lower Power and Cost Than Phased Arrays and Gimbaled solutions 23

24 AUTO ACQUISITION AND TRACKING CAPABILITY Cost-effective sensors coupled with efficient pointing and tracking algorithms provide a selfsufficient smart antenna Independent Tx and Rx antenna control Designed to accommodate fast scan rates associated with fast-moving mobile platforms Aircraft, ships, cars, trains 2016 Kymeta Corporation 24

25 LOW SIDELOBE ANTENNA PATTERN PERFORMANCE COMPARISON TO FCC Broadside Scan Angle = 60 o Scan Angle = 80 o Gain (dbi) Minor Overage Overage over less than 10% of angular region- Compliant Initial co-pol gain measurements for Ku ASM showing excellent performance out to 80 degrees of scan (10 degrees elevation) Antenna pattern with uniform illumination Antenna scan performance corresponding to scan in the plane of GEO arc 2016 Kymeta Corporation 25

26 TECHNOLOGYSCALABILITY Varying aperture sizes to accommodate a variety of requirements Small apertures for car applications Medium to large apertures for business and passenger jets Medium size apertures for maritime applications 26

27 COMBININGTECHNOLOGY Kymeta technology allows for combining and arbitrating multiple ASMs for greater coverage and enhanced throughput Downlink spectral efficiency enhancements ranging from about 30% to 250% depending on satellite power density Increased throughput at constant spectral efficiency Use of multiple ASMs in a multiantenna configuration feasible due to low unit cost, low power consumption and profile Initial combining measurements show expected gain enhancements Combining Measurement Setup 27

28 QUESTIONS? 28