S-Band Transceiver System For Experiments On Irradiation Effects

With the rapid development of Aeronautics and Astronautics,irradiation(referred to ionizing radiation in this article)effects on electronic devices have recently been a hot scientific research topic.Current researches that attempt to investigate RF communication system’s specific response to ionizing radiation are usually focused on a single module rather than the whole system.Intended to satisfy such an urgent need for a complete RF system to be applied in relevant experiments,this S-band transceiver system is developed for experiments on irradiation effects.It has plenty of testing ports and features low cost,the ability of monitoring currents,most devices can be easily replaced,and that system’s work state can be instantly controlled and exhibited.Main work done in this article includes four parts below:1)Requirements and specifications of this RF system for irradiation tests are defined.After analyzing the background of researches on irradiation effects,particular characteristics and functions of this S-band transceiver system are pointed out based on recent development of RF system test platforms for researches of irradiation effects,and then specifications of this system are determined according to application requirements.Every single DUT(Device Under Test)of the system has its own SMA connecters,with which the DUT can be plugged to measuring instruments for tests.These modules are also able to be cascaded together and even cascaded to compose an entire RF system for experiments.Besides,the system is also equipped with independent current consumption sensing modules and data sampling interfaces for testing needs of irradiation experiments.2)The design scheme of this S-band transceiver system is presented.The transmitter and receiver in the system are both designed in a heterodyning architecture and isolated physically.Either of them is working at the frequency of 2018.2MHz in S-band with a channel bandwidth of 10MHz,while central frequency of peripheral IF system is 70MHz.The transmitter,having 20 SMA con-nectors,5 current monitors,and a 70dBc spur suppression ratio,is designed in the framework of twice up-conversion and able to vary transmission power in a 60dB range.Besides,the receiver is planned to have a noise figure less than 8dB and an 80dB dynamic range along with 20 SMA connectors and 7 current monitors.3)The S-band transceiver system is eventually materialized.Schematic simulations and related verification work are conducted and then the real transceiver system is made based on schematics and PCB layouts after assembling and soldering.Moreover,software codes are written and debugged to make sure the system is correctly controlled and monitored by the upper computer.4)Tuning,debugging and measuring of the entire transceiver system are implemented.Test results indicate this system truely reaches expected performance and experimental functions of the design scheme and meets demands of irradiation experiments.This transceiver system is simple and practical,efficient and economical,well-prepared as a synthetical test platform used for experiments of irradiation effects on RF systems.The design methods and specific scheme in the article can be applied to researches of irradiation effects on RF systems at different frequency bands.It can be also integrated with a digital baseband system to constitute a full set of wireless communication system as a comprehensive test platform for the study of irradiation effects.