From the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine war to Earth observation missions to high-speed communications at home, commercial low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites are proving to be transformative. To continue their impact, they must adopt millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies.

mmTron is developing disruptive MMICs offering higher output power, efficiency, and linearity at mmWave frequencies — performance that will enable new system capabilities. This blog article by James Sowers of Maxar Space Infrastructure and an advisor to mmTron explains the opportunity for the coming generation of satellite systems and the need to tap mmWave frequencies to truly realize the vision propelling satellite communications (Satcom).

LEO satellites—first used to track weather and climate, now offering broadband internet access from space—have extended their capabilities to global geopolitical conflicts, with the Russia-Ukraine conflict dubbed the world’s first “commercial space war.”

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, LEOs have captured real-time convoy and radar imagery, helping track Russian troop movements and military tactics, enabling Ukraine to quickly respond to evacuate civilians, even verify war crimes. As well as providing a communications link to coordinate military operations, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation has been a communications lifeline for the citizens of the besieged Eastern European country. Arguably, satellites, many in LEO, have given Ukraine a tactical advantage over a vastly larger enemy, considering Russia’s military has nearly 5x more active troops than its smaller neighbor.

Given the unforeseen demand for satellite bandwidth from this conflict, as well as commercial markets seeking connectivity, can LEO constellations support the demand without tapping higher frequencies offering more bandwidth? Not likely. Like all infrastructure, LEO constellations are subject to society’s demand for greater data rates.

It’s Getting Crowded Up There
As the data demand through each satellite increases, the performance of the LEO constellation — data rate and latency — will degrade. This is reflected in Ookla’s speed test data for the Starlink constellation: the Q2 2022 report shows latency for U.S. customers increased from 43 to 48 ms, as reported by Ars Technica.

Although one solution may be to launch more satellites and grow the size of the constellation, using the same frequency bands, this seems costly and, at some point, impractical. A more feasible alternative is to increase the data capacity of each satellite by using higher frequencies with their attendant bandwidth to increase data rates

While satellites may exist in a vacuum, their ecosystems don’t. Spectrum that has long been the domain of satellites is under contention for mobile use, such as the current argument over allocating Ku-Band spectrum for 5G. 6G applications, as they are defined, will likely add to calls for sharing or taking more satellite spectrum. Moving satellite usage from Ku-Band to bands above 30 GHz would eliminate interference while adding data capacity.

Technical Challenges
The move to higher throughput via higher frequencies isn’t straightforward, however. It requires new technology and component designs, a manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure, and costs that support the business model.

Consider the ongoing challenge faced by 5G, which developed high data rate mmWave links for mobile phones. Adoption has been slow for multiple technical and economic reasons, including component power consumption and the associated heat generated in the handsets: they get too hot to handle according to several device makers. At Mobile World Congress, Jonathan Goldberg, founder of the technology and financial consulting firm D2D, said the “heat budget” for new 5G phones in 2019 was 67 percent higher than current phones. (The heat budget is the total thermal energy generated by the IC when a device is operating.)

This same issue affects satellites, which operate in a vacuum. Heat must be transferred by conduction, and because the payload is enclosed in a small volume, the capacity to remove heat is limited. Moving from Ku-Band to mmWave downlinks adds the challenge of higher signal attenuation through the atmosphere, with rain fading in tropical areas. To compensate, the satellite requires higher gain antennas and higher power transmitters, challenging power amplifier suppliers to develop highly efficient devices that are also highly linear to handle the complex modulation used for high data rates.

Wanted: A Trusted Semiconductor Partner
To realize this vision of LEO satellites with mmWave links, service providers and satellite developers will need a mmWave semiconductor partner with the expertise to work with system designers to partition the link budget, then optimize MMIC performance to balance power, efficiency, and linearity in the transmit chain and noise, gain, and linearity in the receive chain. Because of the space environment, the designs — from semiconductor to module — must meet a new class of commercial space requirements to assure the payload meets the design lifetime of the LEO satellite.

To enable this market, the semiconductor industry needs a new standard for linearity and efficiency. Fortunately, mmTron is targeting this trade space to solve these technical challenges, whether for LEO or terrestrial 5G. The mmTron team has developed MMICs for high-throughput satellites requiring 15-year orbital lifetimes and is extending that expertise to develop a family of power amplifiers that will enable LEOs to rocket to their full potential.

Watch for our product releases this year.

James Sowers is a distinguished engineer at Maxar Space Infrastructure and an mmTron advisor.

mmTron was formed in 2020 to address the need for wide bandwidth, highly efficient and highly linear mmWave power amplifiers. The same performance capabilities required by LEO constellations apply to 5G, instrumentation, and defense systems, markets which mmTron also serves. mmTron’s product roadmap includes the complementary small-signal components used in these same systems.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Feb. 17, 2023 — mmTron is looking for a MMIC product and application engineer with experience bringing mmWave die and packaged products to production while supporting customer questions and evaluation. This role works closely with mmTron’s design engineers to support the characterization and qualification of new products, then provides technical support to help customers successfully evaluate and design in the products.

We’re looking for someone who can work independently and dependably to meet commitments in a fast-paced, startup environment. The role offers significant mentoring from distinguished members of the technical staff, renowned experts in their fields, which will enable an experienced engineer to expand their skills and capabilities in a company founded and led by engineers.

This position is in the engineering organization and reports to the director or vice president.

Responsibilities
1) Manage product release from product validation through qualification and release to production.
2) Work directly with design engineering, test engineering, operations, and engineering management to ensure designs meet specifications and are robust, i.e., with high yields and margins for volume manufacturing.
3) Generate data sheets and develop evaluation boards.
4) Work with the sales team and customers to ensure the successful evaluation of mmTron products, answering technical questions and helping resolve technical issues.

Required Qualifications
1) Experience working with mmWave die and packaged MMICs, such as power amplifiers, low noise amplifiers, gain blocks, variable gain amplifiers, distributed amplifiers, power detectors, mixers, attenuators, phase shifters, multipliers, low additive phase noise amplifiers and VCOs.
2) Experience with GaAs and GaN MMIC products and qualification requirements.
3) Ability to design mmWave PCB layouts and manage fabrication.
4) Knowledge of characterization equipment and measurements to characterize mmWave products, with “hands on” experience characterizing products in the lab.
5) Familiar with MMIC thermal performance, module and PCB thermal design, and methods of thermal analysis.
6) Experience developing test plans and performing — or manage technicians performing — characterization testing.
7) Written and verbal communication skills to summarize technical concepts and work with customers to answer technical questions and solve issues.
8) B.S. or M.S. and at least 5 years of relevant engineering work experience.

Desired Experience
— Communication signal standards and test characterization methods (e.g., 5G FR2)
— Creating package bonding diagrams and managing contract package and evaluation board assembly.
— Managing product or application engineers.
— Working with GaN and GaAs foundries.
— Understanding of and/or experience with SiGe and/or CMOS RFIC characterization and qualification.

About mmTron
mmTron is developing innovative mmWave linear, power-efficient, and broadband products. Our focus is on the growing mmWave markets: 5G, Satcom, instrumentation, and defense.

mmTron’s MMIC products are predominantly designed with GaAs and GaN, fabricated in leading foundries, and include die and packaged power amplifiers, low noise amplifiers, switches, and wideband distributed wideband amplifiers. We collaborate with customers to develop differentiated products. The product and application engineer role will contribute to our goal of providing outstanding technical support and customer service.

mmTron is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Affirmative Action employer. We welcome all qualified applicants. Applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, military or veteran status, physical or mental ability, genetic information, and any status protected by law.

If you’re interested in the role, apply at mmTron’s LinkedIn page.

Semiconductor Industry Veteran and Past Technical Editor of Microwave Journal to Guide mmTron’s Branding and External Positioning

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Feb. 3, 2023 — mmTron, Inc., a fabless designer of millimeter-wave (mmWave) broadband products for the Satcom, 5G, defense, and aerospace markets, has named RF/microwave industry veteran Gary Lerude as Marketing Director, with responsibility for defining and implementing the marketing strategy to communicate mmTron’s unique capabilities and products.

Lerude brings over four decades of marketing, business development and product management expertise at leading semiconductor firms, driving the development and commercialization of pioneering technology, from device to system, across both defense and commercial markets.

Lerude most recently served as technical editor for Microwave Journal (MWJ), the industry’s leading authority on RF and microwave technology. His eight-year tenure at MWJ helped strengthen the Journal’s reputation for in-depth, quality coverage of both technical and business trends.

Lerude began his career at Texas Instruments (TI), where he helped birth the gallium arsenide (GaAs) MMIC industry, ushering in the era of monolithic integrated circuits, which today play a key role in both commercial and military microwave systems because of the technology’s reduced size, low cost, high reproducibility and repeatable performance. During his 19-year tenure at TI, he held a range of roles, from design engineering and program and product management to marketing and business development.

Following TI, Lerude held product management and business development roles at M/A-COM and at TriQuint Semiconductor, prior to its merger with RFMD to create Qorvo. At M/A-COM, Lerude supported two acquisitions during a time of consolidation in the RF/microwave industry, which enabled the company to expand and strengthen its position in defense markets.

“We’re pleased to have someone with Gary’s experience and capabilities to take mmTron’s story to the industry in this pivotal coming-out year for the company,” says Seyed Tabatabaei, founder and CEO of mmTron.

“Joining mmTron echoes the excitement of my early days at TI,” adds Lerude, noting that mmTron is newly emerging in the mmWave market. “mmTron is all about offering differentiated performance using gallium nitride (GaN) and GaAs technologies. The technical team is focused on optimizing output power, efficiency and linearity in products that are the next frontier in mmwave 5G and Satcom infrastructure.”

Lerude is a Life member of IEEE and the Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTT-S).

About mmTron, Inc.
Founded in 2020 by industry veterans and visionaries in mmWave semiconductor design, mmTron is powering the world’s 5G and Satcom future. mmTron aims to lead the industry in mmWave products for wireless, aerospace, and defense markets. The company’s products are designed to provide the highest linearity in the industry. mmTron leverages commercial foundry technology with innovative design to deliver linearity, efficiency, and performance.

Learn more about mmTron’s MMIC designs and high-frequency products in GaAs, GaN, InP and SiGe by visiting mmTron.com.

Former Qorvo Senior Technologist Leading mmTron’s Advanced MMIC Product Development

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Dec. 21, 2022 – mmTron, Inc., a leading fabless designer of millimeter-wave (mmWave) broadband products for the Satcom, 5G/6G, aerospace and defense markets has named Dr. Michael Roberg as Engineering Fellow based at the company’s Redwood City headquarters.

As a senior technical leader, Roberg has developed innovative aerospace and defense microwave products for amplifier, radar, communication and sensing applications.

Most recently, he served as MMIC Design Engineering Fellow for Qorvo, Inc. in the High Performance Analog business unit, where he was responsible for GaN MMIC product development for commercial and military applications.

Prior to Qorvo, Roberg spent six years as a senior member of the engineering staff at Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Maritime Systems and Sensors business unit in Moorestown, New Jersey. In that capacity, he served as a radar system design engineer on the the Advanced Radar Technology Integrated System Testbed (ARTIST) program, a joint UK/U.S. naval radar technology demonstrator program that derisks technlogies for next-generation active electronically scanned surface radar systems.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of the amazing mmTron team as the leader of our millimeter-wave integrated circuit design efforts,” says Roberg. “Our innovations drive world class product development which enable breakthrough communication system performance.”

“Dr. Roberg brings a wealth of semiconductor industry and MMIC design experience to mmTron. With his impressive track record and in-depth knowledge designing mmWave products for the commercial market, he will be instrumental in driving mmTron’s growth and advanced technology leadership in mmWave components,” adds Seyed Tabatabaei, founder and CEO of mmTron.

Roberg also serves as a member of the IEEE Microwave Theory & Technology Society (MTT-S) TC-12 Microwave High-Power Techniques and Technical Committees, and received the organization’s Outstanding Young Engineer Award in 2021.

About mmTron, Inc.
Founded in 2020 by industry veterans and visionaries in semiconductor millimeter-wave design, mmTron is powering the world’s 5G/6G and satcom future. mmTron leads the industry in mmWave broadband and narrowband products for advanced wireless, defense, and aerospace communication markets. The company’s designs offer the highest linearity in the industry. mmTron leverages turnkey commercial foundry technology with innovative design solutions to deliver linearity, efficiency, and performance for the most demanding mobility industries driving tomorrow’s internet.
Learn more about mmTron’s MMIC designs and high-frequency products in GaAs, GaN, InP and SiGe by visiting mmTron.com.

Former Teledyne Microwave Solutions Director to Focus on Expanding mmTron’s Market Outreach

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Nov. 21, 2022 – mmTron, Inc., a leading fabless designer of millimeter-wave (mmWave) broadband products for the Satcom, 5G/6G, aerospace and defense markets announced today the appointment of B. J. Stookey as Sales Manager, reporting to Dave Horton, VP of Sales and Business Development.

A customer-facing business development leader, Stookey brings more than two decades of sales expertise in the RF/Microwave industry working for companies such as Teledyne Microwave Solutions, Loral Microwave Group and Avnet Electronics.

Stookey previously served as director of High Reliability Value Added Services for Teledyne Microwave Solutions, a world-leading supplier of integrated microwave assemblies optimized for the most demanding environments. He also has held multiple domestic and international sales roles for Loral Microwave Group, Dynatech Spectrum, and Meadowlark Consulting Group, in addition to serving as director of Sales and Marketing for Avnet Microwave Technical Solutions.

“B. J. is a great addition to our sales team with significant understanding of the RF and microwave ecosystem and what customers are looking for in semiconductor chip design, especially in the military and aerospace arena,” says Dave Horton, vice president of Business Development and Sales for mmTron.

“mmTron offers greater agility, coupled with disruptive technology, that is very exciting,” said Stookey. “Our ability to serve customers quickly and thoughtfully will be a big factor in our success.”

About mmTron, Inc.
Founded in 2020 by industry veterans and visionaries in semiconductor millimeter-wave design, mmTron is powering the world’s 5G/6G and satcom future. mmTron leads the industry in mmWave broadband and narrowband products for advanced wireless, defense, and aerospace communication markets. The company’s designs offer the highest linearity in the industry. mmTron leverages turnkey commercial foundry technology with innovative design solutions to deliver linearity, efficiency, and performance for the most demanding mobility industries driving tomorrow’s internet.
Learn more about mmTron’s MMIC designs and high-frequency products in GaAs, GaN, InP and SiGe by visiting mmTron.com.

Horton to Lead Industry Outreach for Disruptive mmWave Product Designer in Defense, Aerospace, Satcom, and 5G/6G Markets

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Nov. 16, 2022 – mmTron, Inc. has announced the appointment of David Horton as VP of Sales and Business Development. He oversees the semiconductor MMIC innovator’s revenue pipeline as a leading fabless designer of millimeter-wave (mmWave) broadband products for the Satcom, 5G/6G, aerospace and defense markets.

Horton brings more than two decades of experience in global strategy, sales and equipment manufacturing in the aerospace and satellite industries, working for industry leaders such as Panasonic, TECOM Industries, ORBIT Communication Systems and for microwave / RF firm, EMS Technologies, now part of Honeywell.

“As a connectivity hardware veteran, Dave will drive our company’s sales strategy as we introduce our mmWave products to address data capacity at higher frequencies in key mobility markets,” says Seyed Tabatabaei, CEO of mmTron. “Dave’s responsiveness and industry connections, coupled with his experience in electronically steerable antennas and RFIC MMIC capabilities, will support the company’s near and long-term growth.”

During his career, Horton has held senior leadership roles at TECOM Industries, which manufactured antennas for Global Eagle Entertainment, and Orbit Communication Systems, a leading provider of airborne communications solutions. While at EMS Technologies, he oversaw antenna sales for LIVETV and Panasonic Avionics, including Panasonic’s $150M investment in the first-ever IFC broadband antenna for commercial aero use.

“I’m excited to join mmTron at such an exciting time in the semiconductor industry, where growing data demands require mmWave frequency solutions. We’re already seeing a lot of early interest in our mmWave products, which offer linear power efficiency unmatched in the market today and will support a new class of high-bandwidth communications.”

About mmTron, Inc.
Founded in 2020 by industry veterans and visionaries in semiconductor millimeter-wave design, mmTron is powering the world’s 5G/6G and satcom future. mmTron leads the industry in mmWave broadband and narrowband products for advanced wireless, defense, and aerospace communication markets. The company’s designs offer the highest linearity in the industry. mmTron leverages turnkey commercial foundry technology with innovative design solutions to deliver linearity, efficiency, and performance for the most demanding mobility industries driving tomorrow’s internet.
Learn more about mmTron’s MMIC designs and high-frequency products in GaAs, GaN, InP and SiGe by visiting mmTron.com.

August 10, 2022

New TMC774 mmWave Amplifier Enables 6G, Satellite, Defense, and Instrumentation Applications to Deliver Industry Leading High Performance

mmTron, a leading innovator and provider of high linearity mmWave semiconductor solutions, today announced the TMC774, a new ground breaking wideband mmWave amplifier for 6G, Satellite, Aerospace, Defense, and Instrumentation applications.

mmTron’s TMC774 6G broadband amplifier, which is in fabrication now, operates at frequencies from DC to 150 GHz (D Band) and offers superior wideband linear power output, phase noise and gain in an industry leading small footprint. The TMC774 features industry leading performance optimized for wide bandwidth multi-carrier high data throughput applications such as the emerging 6G cellular standard. This new mmWave amplifier will enable designers to offer much higher system performance at lower power as compared to competing multi-band solutions.

Seyed Tabatabaei, CEO, Founder, and President of mmTron, said, “mmTron is a pioneer in developing innovative high performance millimeter wave solutions for 5G, 6G, satellite communication, defense, and instrumentation systems. The TMC774 is a truly a breakthrough device for both commercial and defense applications. With its impressive 150GHz bandwidth, cutting-edge phase noise and highly linear performance, the TMC774 will enable many new next generation communication systems to offer significantly higher levels of performance than they could in the past.”

The TMC774 is available for pre-order now (under NDA) and is lead-free, and RoHS compliant. Measured data is expected by mid -January 2023, samples by early February 2023.

For more information, visit our announcement.

July 1, 2022

mmTron Inc., a leading provider of mmwave Custom MMICs and integrated transceiver modules, has developed TMC201, a distributed linear amplifier (PA) for commercial, industrial, space and military applications from 2 to 20 GHz.

Based on mmTron linear GaAs technology, the monolithic-microwave integrated-circuit (MMIC) distributed amplifier has 18dB of gain, delivers +26 dBm typical output power at 1-dB compression (P1dB), 2 dB of Noise Figure and 39 dBm OIP3 through 12 GHz and typically +23 dBm through 20 GHz. The TMC201 MMIC features impressive gain and gain flatness over its broad bandwidth across temperature -55 to +85°C, with typical temperature-dependent gain variation of less than 0.03 dB/°C.

The TMC201 is designed for excellent OIP2 making it ideal for applications in Electronic Warfare, Broadband Commercial Wireless and Optical Communications Systems as well as in Military Systems.

The TMC201 distributed amplifier is internally matched to 50 ohms and is unconditionally stable. It has typical input and output return loss of 15dB. It operates with typical drain voltages of +5 VDC and typical supply current of 180 mA.

TMC201 is supplied as a RoHS-compliant die measuring 2 x 1.5 x 0.1 mm. The MMIC amplifier is rated for storage temperatures from -65 to +150°C. It is 100% DC and RF tested and visually inspected to MIL-STD-883, Method 2010 requirements.

For more information on the mmwave packages, along with mmTron’s complete portfolio of products, visit Our Products.