Frequency-agile reception and efficient high-power transmission help pulsed radar systems reduce RF complexity, power consumption, and thermal load.
Qorvo has introduced a C-band radar front-end solution aimed at pulsed electronically scanned array (ESA) systems requiring frequency agility across 5.2–5.9 GHz. The solution combines a switched BAW filter bank with GaN power amplifiers to address two key front-end challenges: frequency-agile reception and efficient high-power transmission.
At the receiver, the QPB1055 integrates bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters with radio frequency (RF) switching, routing, and control functions. It provides seven switched filter channels plus a bypass path across 5.2–5.9 GHz. This integration can replace multiple discrete filters, switches, and routing components traditionally required to achieve frequency agility in C-band radar architectures.
The key features are:
- 7-channel switched BAW filter architecture
- 480ns RF path switching
- 40dBc close-in rejection
- 200W-class two-stage GaN MMIC
- 20dB gain from the high-power PA
The device provides 40dBc close-in rejection and switches between filter paths in 480ns. Its high-Q BAW technology helps maintain low insertion loss while reducing the physical size and RF interconnect complexity of the receive chain. This can simplify front-end design for radar systems that need to rapidly change operating frequencies.
For the transmit chain, the QPA2311 is a 50W GaN power amplifier covering 5.3–5.9 GHz. It delivers more than 55 per cent power-added efficiency (PAE) across the 5–6 GHz range, helping reduce DC power consumption and the resulting thermal load. Its drop-in compatibility with the TGA2307-SM can also support upgrades to existing radar architectures without requiring a major PA footprint redesign.
For higher-power transmit applications, the QPA0018 is a 200W two-stage GaN MMIC operating from 5.2–5.9 GHz. It provides more than 20dB gain and over 50 per cent efficiency across the operating band. Its integrated two-stage architecture can eliminate the need for an external high-power driver, reducing component count and associated DC power requirements.
Together, the devices can support radar architectures where compact RF integration, rapid frequency switching, high transmit power, and thermal efficiency are important. Potential applications include pulsed ESA radar, defence radar, surveillance systems, and other C-band RF sensing platforms.
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