Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2023 - 30

RF & Microwave Technology
creates a plug-n-play RF solution. There
are three main benefits realized with the
new design approach include on-time
delivery, repeatable RF performance and
faster modifications. RF designs are notorious
for being delayed. Plug-n-play RF
solutions solve this dilemma so that timelines
are much more frequently met. The
creation of the digital gateway results in
RF solutions that are functionality similar,
so every system is more efficiently developed.
The DoD initiative for shorter timelines
and development cycles is met. Military/aerospace
systems can be modified
much faster using this approach because
all that is necessary is software enhancements.
Traditional RF systems also had a
hardware upgrade requirement, which
resulted in longer turnaround times.
What had traditionally taken months or
a year can now be done in days or weeks.
Adaptability such as this is critical in the
21st century battlefield.
A New Generation of Modules
Efficient integration of RF and digital
technologies are cornerstones to a
new generation of digitally enabled RF/
microwave solutions that support producibility,
maintainability, and builtin
test (BIT) and align with SOSA. They
can help engineers design solutions
to meet stringent size, weight, power,
and cost (SWaP-C) constraints from the
DoD, as well.
Two other foundational pieces to
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support the military's stated goals that
cannot be overlooked are filtering and
packaging. Advanced filtering is an
enabling technology for an open-ready,
hierarchical, secure digital control architecture.
It allows for the design of RF systems-in-package
(RF SiPs) that meet SOSA
and SWaP-C requirements. One example
of such a solution is the RF SiP shown in
figure 2. It combines the RF, power, and
digital circuitry of a traditional IMA for
one-third the cost and occupies less than
one-quarter of the space. 3D packaging
technology can provide significantly
higher densities with full RF isolation to
meet SWaP-C requirements. 3D glass acts
as a superior insulator compared to traditional
semiconductor technology and
is more economical. It also leads to faster
development cycles.
Modern military/aerospace systems
are being designed in smaller packages
on open architectures and with greater
complexity. A digital gateway into the RF
domain creates plug-n-play RF solutions
that meet the design requirements, while
also addressing the cost reductions and
development cycles sought by the DoD.
This article was written by Ian Dunn,
Chief Technology Officer, Spectrum
Control. For more information, visit
www.spectrumcontrol.com.
30
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Aerospace & Defense Technology, June 2023
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Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2023

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