Transforming Small Satellites with Advanced Wireless Chip for Enhanced Connectivity

Transforming Small Satellites with Advanced Wireless Chip for Enhanced Connectivity
by Riko Seibo
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) May 14, 2025

Small satellites, typically weighing between 10 and 100 kilograms, are playing a crucial role in advancing global connectivity through satellite constellations. However, these compact satellites often face limitations in managing communication beams, which are essential for transmitting and receiving signals across vast distances.

Communication beams are electromagnetic waves that can exhibit either right-hand circular polarization (RHCP) or left-hand circular polarization (LHCP), depending on the rotation direction of their electric fields. While bulkier satellites can handle both polarization types, smaller satellites have traditionally been constrained to single polarization, restricting their communication versatility and overall capacity.

To address this, a research team led by Associate Professor Atsushi Shirane at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, now integrated into the Institute of Science Tokyo, has developed an innovative Ka-band wireless chip capable of independently managing both RHCP and LHCP signals. This breakthrough, achieved in collaboration with Axelspace, Japan, was presented at the 2025 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) held from February 16-20, 2025, at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis in California.

"Conventional satellite communication receivers often struggle to handle both RHCP and LHCP beams independently," explains Dr. Shirane. "To overcome this, we designed a switch-type quadrature-hybrid within a wireless chip that can pick up both left-hand and right-hand circularly polarized signals."

A quadrature-hybrid is a critical component that splits incoming signals into two paths, introducing a slight delay in one path to create a 90-degree phase difference. This capability enables the chip to differentiate between left- and right-spinning signals, significantly enhancing its ability to handle diverse communication requirements.

Moreover, this novel chip doubles the number of controllable beams, boosting overall communication capacity and flexibility-a critical advantage as satellite networks aim to provide broadband connectivity to underserved and remote regions.

An additional benefit is that the chip is manufactured using complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, known for its efficiency, low power consumption, and compact size, making it cost-effective and scalable for large-scale satellite deployments.

"Our receiver chip works in the Ka-band frequency, known for its high-speed data transfer," emphasizes Dr. Shirane. "In fact, it's the very same frequency band harnessed by cutting-edge satellite networks like SpaceX's Starlink!"

Tests conducted with a prototype satellite-mounted communication device confirmed the chip's ability to handle both polarization types effectively, maintaining the necessary performance metrics for modern satellite communication systems.

This technology represents a significant advancement in satellite communication, with the potential to transform the industry by making global connectivity more efficient, affordable, and widely accessible.

Research Report:A 256-Element Ka-Band CMOS Phased-Array Receiver Using Switch-Type Quadrature-Hybrid-First Architecture for Small Satellite Constellations