A Digital Correlation Spectrometer Chip with 1 GHz Bandwidth, 4096 Spectral Channels, and 4 W Power Consumption for Passive Microwave Remote Sensing Instruments

The scope of this project is to provide a digital auto-correlation spectrometer fabricated on a single integrated circuit for NASA's future Earth-Sun System missions in order to enable the rapid development of small, ultra low-power, low-cost microwave remote sensing instruments for the analysis of chemical and physical properties of planetary atmospheres. The technical risk associated with the proposed Phase II project is low because all Phase I technical objectives were achieved using an innovative approach that consists of a synergistic combination of parallel architecture and differential circuits; based on the results obtained in Phase I, it is anticipated that the power consumption of a 4096-lag, 1 GHz bandwidth, 2-bit/4-level digital auto-correlation spectrometer chip fabricated with IBM's 90 nm will be less than 4 W. The overall benefits of the proposed project, if successful, consist of the availability of a new class of high-bandwidth and ultra-low power digital auto-correlation spectrometer chip that will facilitate the construction of NASA's spaceborne microwave remote sensing instruments with substantially lower life-cycle costs, power consumption, and mass relative to that of existing filter-bank and acousto-optical spectrometers.