In announcing the new product range, the company’s CEO, Dr. Rowan Gilmore, said  “GaN FETs offer significant benefits over earlier GaAs based counterparts. Higher efficiency, wider bandwidth, improved reliability and higher output powers are just some of their features. Such devices intrinsically offer more linear power across a wider operating bandwidth and all with a greater efficiency. We are proud to be among the first to release products using these new devices at Ka-band frequencies.”
Capitalising on these characteristics, EM Solutions’ new nanoBUC HUB is a multi-band Ka- frequency BUC that incorporates a pre-distortion linearizer and full M&C functionality. Because previous generation L- to Ka- band BUCs used a direct up-conversion architecture, they were restricted to a fixed 1-GHz wide RF operating frequency. Now, the new nanoBUC HUB incorporates a dual-upconversion architecture that provides spurious free and selectable up-conversion to any frequency across the entire Ka-band spectrum from 28GHz to 31GHz. The nanoBUC HUB is available as a stand-alone BUC replacement for use with any Ka-band power amplifier.

Dr. Gilmore said that “EM Solutions has also integrated the nanoBUC HUB directly into its new range of Ka-band GaN solid state power amplifiers. This now makes it possible to achieve output powers of up to 100W at any frequency in the Ka spectrum, in the smallest form factor and with the highest efficiency on the market. For example, EM Solutions earlier generation Ka Band nanoBUC was able to deliver 16W output power in the smallest form factor; now using GaN devices, we achieve 25W power in the same form factor with the same DC current consumption.  Our top of the range Ka- nanoBUC is able to achieve 50W linear power and draws only 350W DC power. This reduction in DC power compared with its GaAs predecessor means the FETs are running substantially cooler and the whole unit has a higher reliability.”

EM Solutions’ next generation of nanoBUC upconvertor/power amplifier products all incorporate the nanoBUC HUB, and therefore include both a wideband synthesiser with Ethernet control as well as the analogue predistortion network. The linearizer itself can be enabled or disabled allowing direct comparison of signal responses. The newest generation of Ka-BUCs offer more power, better linearity, wider frequency span, enhanced user interface and the smallest form factors available on the market.