Abstract
This paper provides the details of a study on the effects of electron irradiation on two Low Noise Amplifiers (LNA), the Gallium-Arsenide (GaAs) pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (pHEMT) based and the Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (HBT)-based. Previous studies have shown that the properties of GaAs and SiGe HBT's are very tolerant of gamma, neutron, and proton irradiation without additional radiation hardening. Nowadays, commercials on the shelves (COTS) LNAs have been used in CubeSat space communication systems which may be connected to other communication networks for the implementation of the space-aerial- terrestrial integrated 5G network (SATIN) systems projects, for satellites, launched into Low and Medium Earth Orbits. Previous studies suggest that the electron radiation in space may degrade the LNAs' performance and might even lead to its failure. Located at the front end of the communication receiver system, this paper conducted such investigation to evaluate the performance under the radiation of the GaAs and SiGe LNAs considering the physics of the technology of each LNA, respectively. The results indicate that both SiGe and GaAs technologies are affected after electron irradiation. As a result, this degradation of the LNAs' performance affected the communications system performance of the inter-satellite radio link. After the assessment of the quality performance of the communication link at the system level, it has been found that the inter-satellite space link will be at risk under high space radiation dose and the link BER degrades proportionally to the radiation dose level.
Highlights
To improve performance and reduce the cost of the communication systems, academia and industry are active in the discovery of adequate solutions
The proposition comes to develop a nonterrestrial integrated 5G system [2]. Both satellite industry and communication start to work on this new paradigm to integrate the space, aerial and terrestrial networks to form the three-dimensional of 5G [3], [4]
Previous research works have been investigated different electronics components deployed in space in general and the Low Noise Amplifiers (LNA) in particular, and show that major components of satellite communication systems are affected by the characteristics of the radiation environment, [10], [14]–[23]
Summary
To improve performance and reduce the cost of the communication systems, academia and industry are active in the discovery of adequate solutions. The GEO system has been the most popular approach in terms of providing commercial satellite communication services, the propagation delay, attenuation, and higher launching cost makes LEO systems a better choice. Previous research works have been investigated different electronics components deployed in space in general and the LNA in particular, and show that major components of satellite communication systems are affected by the characteristics of the radiation environment, [10], [14]–[23]. It is of considerable importance to conduct such an investigation on the effect of radiation on both GaAs and SiGe based transistors implemented in LNAs used in LEO space missions. The NOMA is very helpful for the 5G system to fulfill challenging requirements such as extremely high spectrum efficiency and massive connectivity [1]
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