Summary
IEICE Information and Communication Technology Forum
2015
Session Number:SESSION8
Session:
Number:SESSION8-4
Thermal Characterisation of RF GPS Receivers
Angham Sabagh, Bamidele Adebisi, Sunday Cookey Ekpo,
pp.-
Publication Date:2015-08-31
Online ISSN:2188-5079
DOI:10.34385/proc.22.SESSION8-4
Summary:
Various global positioning system (GPS) receivers have continued to champion location-finding in both the terrestrial and the space environments. In this paper, the effect of temperature surges (and space radiation) on the sensitivity of GPS receivers is investigated. The device–under-test (DUT) was a low noise amplifier (LNA) module with an integrated filter for a GPS application. The LNA device was first investigated over a frequency of 2–20 MHz at room temperature (25 oC) and then impacted with a solar radiation dose until the DUT reached a temperature of 40 oC in 20 minutes. The DUT was then cooled down to 19 oC and its noise figure (NF) and gain measured. The test results and analysis indicate that as the temperature increases, the amplifier loses its sensitivity. The receiver subsystem gain decreases and its NF increases as the temperature of the DUT builds-up. The thermal noise (at 40 oC) increased the receiver NF by approximately 100% from the ambient value of 3.5 dB. After cooling the LNA to 19 oC, the receiver regained its sensitivity by nearly 3 dB. This investigation promises to enhance the design and development of GPS transceivers for terrestrial and space applications.