The control of passive intermodulation products in spacecraft antennas

Considers those aspects of design which affect passive intermodulation products (PIMP) control. The feed and reflector design aspects concentrate on antennas having combined transmit/receive feed chains whose operation is particularly sensitive to PIMP generation. Suitable reflector construction techniques are also considered in order to achieve acceptable PIMP performance at antenna subsystem level. System integration considerations include the thermal control of the high power feed chain and its dissipative components (diplexer) as well as the positioning of thermal blankets for controlling temperature of the antenna subsystem in the space environment. Measured test results at L- and Ku-band are included with PIMP orders ranging from 9th to 21st at L-band and 21st to 27th at Ku band