Interconnection


A new space switch for satellite applications

26 April 2023 Interconnection

Based on highly capacitive digital processors and active antennas, new telecom payloads have been proposed by those in the space industry. This new technology leads to important changes for the architecture of microwave units to handle the demands for cost, mass, integration, DC consumption, thermal dissipation, and redundancy/connectivity challenges.

With the new Quartz-S from Radiall, satellite manufacturers can now secure a robust architecture with redundancy rings, while saving weight, having more compact systems, and reducing the final BoM.

Based on the Quartz design, Radiall’s new Quartz-S is a unique SMT electromechanical relay qualified up to 32 GHz. As a partner in the Selector project (funded by the European commission with three partners), Radiall designed, evaluated and qualified this new SMT relay.

This SMT switch is perfectly suited for HTS or VHTS satellite payloads with redundant systems. The micro-miniature solution is cost effective, making integration into existing constellation applications easy. As a small, lightweight solution that offers reliability, the Quartz-S is easy to use and fully compatible with automatic soldering processes.

With reliability up to 100 000 actuations hot switching, this small and lightweight switch weighs just 10 g. Featuring RF performance up to 32 GHz, it covers high KA band applications.


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