Energy Efficient, Non-Silicon Digital Signal Processing (DSP)

Superconductor digital circuits, operating at very high clock speed, can directly process wideband digitized radio frequency (RF) signals. By integrating such digital processing circuitry together with superconductor analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), we propose to develop the next generation digital-RF receivers. Leveraging the recent development of multiple superconductor ADCs on the same chip and supported by fast digital data links to room-temperature processors, we propose new digital circuitry enabling digital true-time-delay beamforming. In Phase I, we propose to design these new digital signal processing (DSP) circuitry, combine with multiple ADCs on a new integrated circuit (IC), and release it for fabrication. Testing of the new IC, as well as more advanced designs, are planned during the Phase I option. Additionally, we propose to develop a scalable architecture for implementing digital-RF beamforming receivers of increasing complexity, in terms of both the number of ADCs and the number of simultaneous beams, in the future.