Optically Assisted Analog-to-Digital Converter for Next Generation "Software Defined" Radios

Next generation commercial and DoD communication systems must meet the demand for higher data rates and the growing number of users in an increasingly over-taxed spectrum. Reconfigurable digital phased arrays that implement high speed ADCs promise to help provide a solution; however, creating broadband high speed high ENOB DACs remains a challenging bottleneck of the system. MaXentric's solution will be to create a Universal ADC capable of interfacing with purely electrical systems for moderate speed applications or optically assisted systems for high speed applications requiring precision timing with order of magnitude improvement in timing jitter. With the Universal ADC using optical assistance, it is anticipated that performance can approach 100 Gs/sec with greater than 8 bits ENOB allowing for truly multi-standard high performance "software defined" receivers such as applications of digital phased arrays.