X-Band, 15-W-Class, Highly Efficient Deep-Space GaN SSPA for PROCYON Mission

An X-band, 15-W-class gallium nitride (GaN) solid-state power amplifier (SSPA) for the 50-kg-class ultrasmall deep-space probe PROCYON has been demonstrated in deep space for the first time. PROCYON was launched on December 3, 2014, as a subpayload of the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft. The GaN SSPA consists of three-stage, single-end amplifiers. The final-stage GaN high-power amplifier, which dominates the characteristics of the SSPA, achieves a maximum drain efficiency of 55.8% at 8.4 GHz. The fabricated SSPA using this GaN high-power amplifier has dimensions of 150 x 120 x 62 mm and weighs 1.5 kg, and its space applicability was confirmed through space environmental tests. For more than 2450 h of continuous operation in deep space, the GaN SSPA has achieved an average output power of 41.7 dBm (14.8 W), with standard deviation of 0.12 dB, maximum overall efficiency of 35.7%, and average efficiency of 33.8%. To the authors' knowledge, this is the highest efficiency of all proven X-band onboard SSPAs.