Crane Aerospace & Electronics Develops Beamforming Backplane Products for Space Applications

Crane Aerospace & Electronics, a segment of Crane Company (NYSE: C.R.), has developed a family of beamformer backplane products for space applications utilizing its proprietary Multi-Mix® multi-layer laminate technology. 

“We are integrating arrays of radiating elements with associated feed networks and RFICs into a single module for space applications throughout the Microwave and mmWave frequency range,” said Jim Logothetis, Director of Engineering, Microwave Solutions. “Fusion bonding is used to increase circuit density, minimize layer count, and reduce the required footprint, which results in the smallest footprint and highest R.F. performance for these challenging applications.”

The backplane layers contain a series of N-way power dividers and combiners along with matched impedance feed networks to implement the interconnection of any number of beams to any number of elements. Also contained within the layers are D.C. power planes and radiation shielding. Beamformer backplane/radiator assemblies typically comprise 15 to 30 laminate layers, antenna radiating elements on one surface, and RFICs, digital circuitry, and blind mate connectors on the opposing surface.