Test automation techniques to characterize multiband transmit receive modules in satellite payload subsystems

• Published in: 2021 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave and RF Conference (IMARC) pp. 1 - 4
• Main Authors: Chippalkatti, Vinod S, Biradar, Rajashekhar C, Shenoy, Venkatesh
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 17-12-2021
• Subjects: Automated Test Equipment (ATE); Automated Test System (ATS); Characterization; Checkout; Device Under Test (DUT); Hardware; Microwave measurement; Pulse measurements; Radar imaging; RF Subsystems; Satellites; Scalability; Test and Evaluation (TampersandE); Time measurement; TR modules
• ISSN: 2377-9152
• DOI: 10.1109/IMaRC49196.2021.9714686

Transmit Receive Modules (TRM) are the essential elements of synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload of Radar Imaging Satellites (RISATs). Every radar imaging satellite will have hundreds of TRMs operating at different frequency bands. Since TRMs generate thousands of test data while testing at multiple test phases of their journey to satellite integlation, there is a need to automate the testing process and reduce testing time. This paper introduces the architecture of hardware and software design of TRM-ATS in which the features that are analyzed are scalability, customization, multipurpose usability.