A K/Ka/EHF feed chain for dual-use telecom

A novel triple-band, self-diplexing feed system operating in K/Ka/EHF bands is presented. The feed system is particularly suitable in space telecom reflector antennas for dual-use applications. Two different RF chain architectures have been traded-off, designed and optimized through full wave modelling, in order to support the optimal choice solution. An EQM of the selected configuration has been realized and subjected to a full qualification test campaign. Very good correlation of the RF performance to the theoretical design has been achieved.