SatixFy Electronically Steered Array Antennas. Photo: PRNewsfoto/SatixFy

SatixFy made two new Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) available, in accordance with the U.K. Space Agency-backed, Prime and Beat activities implemented under the Core Competitiveness element of the European Space Agency‘s (ESA’s) Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES). The company made available functional samples of the Prime – digital-beam-former and Beat – Ku-band Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) ASICs. In addition to the ASICs, SatixFy also made available its Prime and Beat Evaluation Boards (EVBs) and a Micro Antenna Test Range (AMTR), used to demonstrate system capabilities and design products based on those chips. Together, these new chips aim to create a new generation of flat electronically steered antennas, with multiple beams and no moving parts.

SatixFy will be launching a series of products based on Prime and Beat chips starting Q1 2019: antenna for short messaging mobility applications which can handle Internet Protocol (IP); in-flight connectivity; and COTM (Communications On The Move) terminals capable of multi-beam and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites applications.

According to the release, Prime is the first commercial digital beam former ASIC implementing true time delay for satellite communications. Prime beam former is at the heart of electronically steered antennas and can point, track and manage multiple beams at multiple polarizations simultaneously. Beat is a Ku-band RFIC supporting 4 antenna elements. Inside the Beat, SatixFy implements four independents transmit and receive channels at any polarization. The chip realizes eight Power Amplifiers (PAs) and 8 Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs). It interfaces to the Prime on one side and directly to the antenna radiating elements on the other side.