Patent ID: 8139674

Claim:
A Ka-band transmitter comprising: a self-contained module; a radio frequency (RF) channel contained within said module; an RF signal path in said RF channel; a phase lock oscillator at one end of said RF channel, said phase lock oscillator having a fundamental frequency; an In-phase data (I-data) signal segment; a Quadrature data (Q-data) signal segment; a pair of low pass filters, each connected to an output of one of said I-data signal segment and said Q-data signal segment; a Quadriphase Shift Keying (QPSK) vector modulator having a first input connected to an output of said phase lock oscillator and a pair of inputs connected to said pair of low pass filters, said pair of low pass filters being between said I-data signal segment and Q-data signal segment and said QPSK vector modulator; and a driver connected to an output of said QPSK vector modulator, wherein said phase lock oscillator, said I-data signal segment, said Q-data signal segment, said QPSK vector modulator and said driver are contained within said self-contained module; wherein said RF signal path comprises a printed RF microstrip and defines said QPSK vector modulator and said driver; said RF microstrip comprises a collection of alumina printed circuit boards bonded to the floor of said RF channel; and said driver is a distributed Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) amplifier subassembly bonded to a copper molybdenum (CuMo) carrier and wirebonded to alumina substrates in the RF channel.