COMPASS :- COMpact Phased Array Sensors and Systems

COMPASS aims at developing a new compact, lightweight, energy efficient, reliable, and cost efficient solution for microwave front-end modules up to at least 18 GHz. COMPASS will integrate multiple transceivers in a single module (e.g. 4 by 4 active antenna solution), and embed common building blocks of a communication/sensor system such as amplifiers and filters. The solution enables heterogeneous integration of different semiconductor technologies to maximize performance, allowing cost efficient solutions. Focus will be on embedding GaN MMICs due to the high power and high temperature capability of this relatively new semiconductor technology. Though the main focus is on the microwave front-end, there is a clear path towards integration of CMOS logic for fully digital and compact transceiver solutions. The antennas could either be integrated in the module or surface mounted, and COMPASS will provide an interface to enable this.

Improvements in the developed packaging technology would directly address commercial microwave sensor and communications systems. By starting with the perhaps most complex use-case of high frequency phased arrays, the developed approaches could in the future be adapted to low frequency as well as high-efficient power electronic solutions. The power electronics have the same drivers for solutions optimized for compactness, reliability, and thermal performance, which has been highlighted as a clear requirement for both hybrid and electrical propulsion, clearly a key future direction for aviation.