Simplify Complex Antenna Designs With Qorvo's New 5G And SATCOM Array Calculators

Designing high-performance antenna arrays for 5G and SATCOM applications demands expertise, precision, and careful trade-off management. To support engineers, interactive design tools are available through the Qorvo Design Hub, offering calculators that simplify complex RF and antenna system challenges.

The SATCOM Array Calculator helps engineers quickly determine array size, specifications, and trade-offs based on real beamforming IC parameters. It estimates link budgets, evaluates gain-to-noise ratios, and calculates effective isotropic radiated power, all while accounting for antenna size, polarization, feed loss, and physical dimensions. This provides an early-stage system snapshot that ensures compliance with both mechanical and RF performance needs. By automating calculations, the tool accelerates design decisions, reduces guesswork, and shortens development cycles compared to manual spreadsheets.

The 5G Array Calculator supports active antenna design for small cells, CPE, and base stations. Leveraging insights from nearly 2,000 use cases, it guides engineers on frequency bands, array sizing, and scan volumes. It also allows customizable parameters like element spacing, feed loss, and system noise constants. The tool outputs preliminary layouts while estimating critical metrics such as beamwidth, effective isotropic sensitivity, and grating lobe–free scan volumes.

Both tools are available online, require no installation, and provide engineers with a faster, more reliable way to optimize antenna performance. By streamlining early design phases and incorporating real-world IC specifications, they enable confident, efficient system development. These calculators help RF designers innovate more effectively and bring advanced 5G and SATCOM systems to market faster.