Transmitters must dissipate sufficient heat to stay cool enough to operate within specified error margins and avoid damage or shutdown. This is becoming more problematic with modern transmitters that are implementing more advanced features that result in an increase in heat generation. At the same time, there is pressure to reduce the size of devices to ensure equipment can fit into space-constrained platforms, meaning it is more challenging to implement some cooling strategies, such as heat sinks and fans.
One possible solution is to use a lower-power transmitter, but this relies on finding some way of improving link performance so that the signal quality remains good enough to transmit the required data successfully. Using a forward error correction (FEC) algorithm has the potential to do this. This white paper explores the practicality of transmitter thermal management, the benefits and trade-offs of using FEC, and some test results of using FEC as a possible alternate thermal control mechanism.
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Stephen Willis
Product Marketing Manager
Stephen Willis is the aerospace test and measurement Product Marketing Manager at Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions. He has a degree in Electrical Engineering, a Masters in Philosophy for research in mathematical models and their market application for risk assessment, and a PG Dip in marketing and management. His current research interests include data acquisition, recording, and control systems and their applications in enabling a cost-effective route to gather large amounts of data. In particular, applications of interest include flight test, crash-protected recording, and structural/usage monitoring programs. He is the author of several academic papers and magazine articles.
