The European Space Agency's Planck satellite, launched on 14 May 2009, is the third-generation space experiment in the field of cosmic microwave background (CMB) research. It will image the anisotropies of the CMB over the whole sky, with unprecedented sensitivity ( ~ 2 × 10-6) and angular resolution (~5 arcmin). Planck will provide a major source of information relevant to many fundamental cosmological problems and will test current theories of the early evolution of the Universe and the origin of structure. It will also address a wide range of areas of astrophysical research related to the Milky Way as well as external galaxies and clusters of galaxies. The ability of Planck to measure polarization across a wide frequency range (30-350 GHz), with high precision and accuracy, and over the whole sky, will provide unique insight, not only into specific cosmological questions, but also into the properties of the interstellar medium. This paper is part of a series which describes the technical capabilities of the Planck scientific payload. It is based on the knowledge gathered during the on-ground calibration campaigns of the major subsystems, principally its telescope and its two scientific instruments, and of tests at fully integrated satellite level. It represents the best estimate before launch of the technical performance that the satellite and its payload will achieve in flight. In this paper, we summarise the main elements of the payload performance, which is described in detail in the accompanying papers. In addition, we describe the satellite performance elements which are most relevant for science, and provide an overview of the plans for scientific operations and data analysis.

This paper reviews the latest developments in microwave acoustic wave devices. After an introduction and brief history of bulk acoustic wave (BAW) and surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, a review is given for guided SAWs and XBARs - two new technologies, which are promising for future 5G applications. Following this, we discuss recent simulation techniques, such as 3D finite element method (3D FEM) and simulation of nonlinearities, as well as filter synthesis. Next, a review on tunable and reconfigurable acoustics is given. Finally, we present the latest developments in microwave acoustics for millimeter-wave (mm-wave) operation as well as BAW oscillators.

In a scenario where the segment of wireless communication systems are allocated in an ever more crowded frequency spectrum, the design of filtering structures, stand-alone, duplexers, or multiplexers, become a challenging task. Moreover, filters based on acoustic wave resonators are the more suitable technology in this context due to the small size and the exhibited outstanding performance. However, to accommodate the technological requirements to the mask fulfillment is not straightforward unless a systematic synthesis methodology is used. Taking advantage on the nodal approach, the general synthesis methodology for ladder-type filters based on acoustic wave resonators is presented in this paper. This is a very fast procedure, which allow a better understanding of the interaction between technological constraints and filter performance. An experimental validation is proposed for a B28Rx band filter.

In this article, we demonstrate a method for codesign of filtering matching networks for power amplifiers (PAs) with the desired frequency response, improved efficiency, and reduced footprint. The microwave transistor operates with high efficiency with a specific complex-impedance load, and this requires the development of a theory for filter matching network design with arbitrary complex-impedance ports. The formulation is first developed and then applied to a simple second-order filter and a fourth-order filter with cross couplings and transmission zeros and verified in the experiment. A single-stage high-efficiency 4.7-GHz, 4-W hybrid GaN filter-PA (FPA) within a sub-6-GHz 5G band is designed, built, and characterized. The port impedances are determined by load- and source-pull for an efficiency-power tradeoff. The measured performance shows a gain of 15 dB, PAE = 55% with 9% fractional bandwidth, and 10-dB rejection at 4.5 and 5 GHz. Comparison with a cascaded PA-filter circuit shows a 25% lower loss with the same rejection and a reduced footprint with the same rejection. A GaAs monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) FPA at 28 GHz (millimeter-wave 5G FR2 band) is also designed and measured with a second-order output matching filter, demonstrating 8-dB gain, 200 mW of output power, and PAE = 30% with a rejection of 8 dB at 26.5 and 29.6 GHz.

The PLANCK mission of the European Space Agency is devoted to produce sky maps of the cosmic microwave background radiation. The low-frequency instrument is a wide-band cryogenic microwave radiometer array operating at 30, 44, and 70 GHz. The design, test techniques, and performance of the complete differential radiometer at 30 GHz are presented. This elegant breadboard 30-GHz radiometer is composed of a front-end module (FEM) assembled at the Jodrell Bank Observatory, Cheshire, U.K., and a back-end module assembled at the Universidad de Cantabria, Cantabria, Spain, and Telecomunicacio/spl acute/, Universitat Polite/spl acute/cnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. The system noise temperature was excellent, mainly due to the very low noise performance of the FEM amplifiers, which achieved an average noise temperature of 9.4 K.