[SatNews] The Satcom Products group of Communications & Power Industries LLC (CPI) has introduced a new 80 watt Ku-band, GaN-based, solid state block upconverter (BUC) at the Satellite 2014 Conference and Exhibition, held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

CPI's 80 W and 40 W Ku-band GaN BUCs.

This new BUC augments CPI’s extensive selection of solid state GaN and GaAs products in C-, X-, Ku- and Ka-band. The 80 watt GaN BUC is nearly twice as power efficient as its GaAs counterparts, features a user-selectable LO frequency for improved operating flexibility, and complements our existing 40 watt Ku-band GaN BUC, which was introduced last year.

“CPI’s new 80 watt BUC is ideal for satellite uplinks where compact size and light weight are critical factors in overall system design, such as in maritime, SATCOM-On-The-Move (SOTM), MILSATCOM, offshore energy, emergency response and natural gas extraction applications” said Gary McGovern, director of business development for CPI Satcom Products. “At only 10.6” x 7.2” x 5.6”and 15 lbs, CPI’s 80 watt Ku-band GaN BUC is a great solution for increasingly demanding applications.”

CPI Satcom is a leading supplier of microwave amplifiers and high power BUCs for both commercial and military SATCOM uplink applications. The company’s state-of-the-art design and manufacturing utilizes TWT, klystron and solid state technology. CPI has the world’s largest installed base of SATCOM uplink amplifiers, with over 40,000 supplied since the early 1970s.

The Satcom Product Group at CPI is located at http://www.cpii.com/division.cfm/4