A fresh new approach to Amplifiers for Satcom Transmitters

?This is my latest submission for the December issue of Satellite Evolution Magazine (less the zinger that's hidden in plain sight).

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Q: Advantech has been producing solid state amplifiers for the better part of three decades, so what prompted the decision to launch Genesis?

A: It’s true that Advantech has amassed a substantial product portfolio over the years, and as a result, our install base is massive. We have over 300 products in our library, products that are present in a large portion of the satellite ground stations around the world. While that’s great from a marketer’s perspective, modifying product platforms that have been in service for many years and still working fine can be problematic, especially when they’re part of an existing network or being used in a certified terminal that required an enormous investment to complete the certification process.

But the natural evolution of technology, both in and around the satcom domain, has prompted the need to accommodate this evolution by incorporating new features and capabilities if one is to remain relevant. We felt that the best way to achieve this without interfering with our legacy lines was to launch an entirely new platform that’s based on the latest technologies – to take our offerings to a whole new level.

Q: What does the Genesis product line look like?

A: Our initial Genesis offering consisted of 200W and 250W SSPA/SSPBs that operate in the Ku-band. They’ve been in production for almost a year and have seen deployments in environments that are pretty hard on electronics of any kind. The power supply is field-removable, and the I/O section has every conceivable interface.

The 200/250W platform has been expanded into a 400W/500W variant that is based on the same architecture.

All of the key components will be common across the entire product line. The next release will be a C-band 500W GaAs amplifier to address multi-carrier applications. This will allow an 8 or 16-module Summit system to reach transmit power levels well into the thousands of watts.

Q: What is unique about Genesis that sets it apart from Advantech’s legacy product lines?

A: Since Genesis was a ‘start-from-scratch’ endeavor, the recipe includes all of the features operators are looking for in a high-end amplifier, together with special features and capabilities that raise the value-proposition bar even higher. Genesis operates on a CANBus platform that was years in the making, resulting in fast communication and the ability to conduct monitoring and diagnostics routines down to the device level. Our Summit soft-fail redundancy logic is also integral to every Genesis amplifier shipped, so stacking them up to generate much higher levels of RF output power is as simple as adding an interconnecting cable and some waveguide.

Q: I’ve seen numerous articles describing Advantech’s Summit amplifier systems. How does Genesis fit into the family of Summit packages?

A: The idea behind Summit is to provide customers with high levels of RF transmit power using a bank of smaller amplifiers (modules) that are phase-combined, with interconnected comms such that the operator sees a single functioning amplifier over the M&C. But for Summit II and Summit III, a few mouse clicks will take him down to the device-level of any amplifier in the bank.

The original Summit was introduced back in 2012 and is based on our legacy SaphireBlu amplifier. Summit II came along in 2020 and is built around our Taurus amplifier that was upgraded with a new CANBus operating system. Genesis enabled the launch of Summit III. With its compact size, powerful processing and SNMP V3 security, Summit III is an excellent choice for 8-module and 16-module configurations – where the loss of a single amplifier has a negligible impact on overall system output. Individual modules are easier to handle and less expensive to spare.

Q: For years, the satcom industry has looked for ways to make products smaller and lighter, particularly high-power amplifiers. What was Advantech’s approach with regards to the packaging of the Genesis amplifier product line considering this market trend?

A: Our team spent a considerable amount of time with thermal modeling during the prototyping phase for Genesis, resulting in one of the most compact designs in its class – one that can be produced in less than half the time of similar products. In addition, a lot of attention was given to the tradeoff between package size and performance across the thermal spectrum. When it comes to solid state power amplifiers, getting heat out of the transistors is of paramount importance, because high-heat and long-life are inversely proportional.

Amplifiers that are extremely light in weight are excellent for mobile terminals, like Flyaways and Manpacks – systems that are rarely up and running 24x7. But for applications where amplifiers are subjected to high ambient conditions, driven hard and run constantly, you have to be careful not to under spec the amplifier’s ability to extract heat. It’s up to the manufacturer to balance the product’s size and weight with materials, heatsink design, FET placement and biasing schemes to achieve the highest longevity in any climate.

Q: Do you expect Genesis to eventually replace the legacy Advantech amplifier product lines?

A: While Genesis gives us the opportunity to retire some of our oldest designs, the bulk of our portfolio is, and will continue to be produced in our Canada factory. Our design and manufacturing capabilities in Montreal are both strong and vast. With 60,000 square feet of production, a dedicated machine shop with a dozen CnC machines and over a dozen temperature chambers for burn-in, we’re able to handle a sizeable production flow at any amplifier band or power level.

Our US operation is heavily focused on producing the latest digital controls that include our soft-fail and CANBus operating platforms first introduced in Summit II. Upgrades and refinements to the digital sections of our products produced in Canada are done in collaboration with the US engineering team.

Genesis M&C represents our highest tier of controls sophistication with features that are being migrated into our Canada-produced amplifiers. The diagnostics capabilities of the Genesis M&C are the best in our industry.

Our embedded M&C controller contains, not only the Summit Soft-Fail logic, but redundancy switch control logic as well. This added benefit means that external controllers are not required for a redundant system to function. The result is a reduction in the single points of failure because every amplifier in the system has ‘Point-of-Control’ capability, which can be handed off automatically in the event of a failure.?

SNMP V3 and Web interface is standard in all Genesis products – empowering the user to interact both at the single amplifier level and system point of view via a common MIB file or webpage.

Genesis, as the name implies, is a fresh, new approach to satcom power amplification. From a feature-rich standalone amplifier to a sophisticated, modular, soft fail redundant system capable of generating thousands of watts of transmit RF power with an availability approaching a million hours.