The diffraction of an H-polarized plane electromagnetic wave by a perfectly conducting rectangular cylinder is rigorously investigated using the Wiener-Hopf technique. Exact and approximate solutions of the Wiener-Hopf equations are obtained. The scattered field is evaluated explicitly using the saddle point method. Representative numerical examples of the radar cross section are presented. Some comparisons with the existing results are also provided.

The diffraction by a semi-infinite parallel-plate waveguide with partial material loading is rigorously analyzed using the Wiener-Hopf technique. In solving the Wiener-Hopf equations, the Modified Residue Calculus Technique (MRCT) is applied to obtain a highly accurate solution. The scattered field inside and outside the waveguide is evaluated explicitly. Representative numerical examples on the radar cross section are presented for various physical parameters and the scattering characteristics of the waveguide are discussed in detail.

This paper presents a broadband high-efficiency power amplifier (PA) based on a series of continuous modes (SCMs). A novel filtering matching network is proposed for realizing the output matching network (OMN) of the PA. The network consists of a branch-loaded cascade-coupled microstrip line structure (BLCCMLS) and a harmonic control network (HCN). The cascaded coupled microstrip line extends the bandwidth of the filter, and this filtering OMN has high bandpass selectivity and high out-of-band rejection, which improves the efficiency of the PA. For demonstration, a 10 W GaN HEMT device is used to design and implement a PA. The measurement results indicate that the designed PA achieved an output power (Pout) of 38.7-42 dBm, a drain efficiency (DE) of 60.5%-74.1%, and a gain of 8.7-12 dB at 2.05-2.7 GHz.

LIDARX, an optical pulse detection integrated circuit (IC), has been developed for LIDAR receivers onboard planetary explorers. JAXA developed the IC, based on the experience of the Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 projects, to reduce the circuit size of the receiver, shorten the development period, and improve sensitivity. This IC has been implemented as the core device for the receiver circuit of the LIDAR installed in the explorer of the Japanese Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission. The explorer will perform close-up remote sensing and in situ observations of both moons and collect a sample from one of the moons to bring back to Earth. LIDARX is not a simple time-to-digital converter circuit but a sophisticated IC with micro-signal amplification, timing detection, wave height measurement, and clock interpolation functions. Furthermore, LIDARX has a wide dynamic range of 60 dB for light intensity to accommodate distance changes of about three orders of magnitude, which is expected when LIDAR is used as a navigation sensor during landing. The CMOS process is a conventional 0.35 μm, which has been well-tested in high-energy physics, to ensure radiation resistance. This report describes the details, functions, and calibration method of LIDARX’s peripheral circuits and the circuits inside the IC, and evaluates its dynamic range and measurement accuracy. In addition, test results are reported for resistance to single-event effects and total ionization dose, which are essential for onboard spacecraft components.