Filtronic SSPA lands LEO contract win

22nd September 2023

Filtronic

Mick Elliott

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Filtronic has announced a new contract win with a leading global provider of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications equipment.

The contract, valued at $4.25m (£3.4m), with revenue expected to be recognised in FY 2024, is for the supply of Filtronic’s Cerus 32 solid-state power amplifier (SSPA) module combined with a customised control board.

The SSPA modules will be installed in selected ground station locations for the second phase of the customer’s earth station antenna deployment which is designed to provide full E-band connectivity to recently launched E-band enabled LEO satellites.

This programme is the first time that high bandwidth E-band frequencies have been successfully utilised, in volume, in a commercial global LEO space application.

The Cerus Power Module incorporates Filtronic’s unique MMIC chip design and proprietary power combining techniques to provide a small form factor amplifier module with scalable output powers ranging from 4W to >10W at E-band frequencies.

Working closely with the customer’s design team, Filtronic have been able to build on the success of the initial Cerus16 SSPA supplied earlier this year to provide a Cerus32 SSPA module that is optimised for ease of field deployment and future performance upgrade.

The Cerus family of SSPA module products are available with a variety of power levels and can support the multiple frequency bands that are required in the growing number of LEO space applications.

Richard Gibbs, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Having successfully delivered phase one of their E-band earth station antenna installation earlier this year, we are delighted to continue our collaboration with one of the leading global providers of LEO space solutions in the second phase of their E-band deployment programme. We are also pleased that the customer has selected the Cerus32 module from our technology roadmap for this next phase of their roll-out. The Cerus32 product provides higher performance, in a smaller and scalable form factor, and the option to further enhance output powers as next generation compound semiconductor technology becomes available later this year”.