Digital Synthesizer with Tuning Filter for Advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) Application

There is a critical need for a low power, fast tuning, broad bandwidth digital frequency synthesizer for applications to advanced electronic warfare systems. Current Direct Digital Synthesizers (DDS) consume too much power are too large for space and airborne applications where power and size are critical factors. An integrated DDS is needed that 1) exploits submicron integrated circuit technology to meet power and size constraints, and 2) defines new approaches for the DDS architecture so that goals for tuning range, spur free dynamic range (SFDR), time to switch frequencies (tuning time), and tuning frequency resolution can be achieved. RBS Technologies LLC and its subcontractor Wright State University plan to pursue two innovative DDS architectures which would be implemented in submicron CMOS technology to meet the stringent objectives specified in the SBIR topic description. The proposed DDS architectures eliminate the need for the Phase to Amplitude Converter and Digital to Analog Converter, both of which are standard components in a conventional DDS. Both of these components are bottlenecks to achieving the desired spectral purity (SPDR), tuning range, and frequency switching times. Each of the proposed architectures will be compared for performance and power consumption during the phase I effort. BENEFIT: High performance compact low power Digital Synthesizers are a critically needed item at the present time and the demand will become stronger in the future. The application focus of this research effort is for Air Force advanced electronic warfare systems, but successful demonstration of a low power implementation of a integrated circuit digital synthesizer will also spur future R&D for Army and Navy EW applications. Fast tuning digital synthesizers have a number of commercial applications including avioncs and wireless communications.