GaN doesn’t really change the link budget (it does have different compression characteristics than GaAs, but you just back off a little), the OP said as the size of the terminal gets smaller, so I assume they’re talking about the aperture size. You can compensate somewhat for the lost antenna gain with a higher power PA but depending on the antenna pattern, you might hit the ESD (energy spectral density) limit earlier.
The link budget is still often the same just the terminals are even smaller now for the smallest flyaways and manlpacks (expecting to be used in a very hot ku band spot beam) and the BUC is half the size it used to be. Cuts down in equipment transport bulk and weight.
stephen_g|3 years ago
aDfbrtVt|3 years ago
Why would a change in the antenna radiation pattern limit the power spectral density, is it a regulatory limit?
walrus01|3 years ago