Exploiting low complex digital predistortion to improve wideband nonlinear satellite downlinks

Abstract

SummaryWith the increasing demand for higher data rate, increasing throughput requires wider bandwidth. Due to the nonlinear effect of power amplifier, severe nonlinear distortion effects will appear onboard satellite. Digital predistortion (DPD) scheme is usually employed to compensate for the distortions and memory effects introduced by traveling wave tube amplifier (TWTA) and output multiplexing filter (OMUX). In conventional predistorter, the signal loss of band‐limited feedback signal output through OMUX is usually ignored. Actually, it will affect the linear effect of TWTA. In order to solve the problem as to improve wideband nonlinear satellite downlink, this paper introduces a novel spectral extrapolation method based on deep neural network to recover the band‐limited feedback signal. On this basis, an advanced orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm is adopted in the nonlinear TWTA model construction to further reduce the DPD complexity. The proposed setup effectively compensates the distortions and is well suited for systems that generate data bits on satellites.