Reconfigurable/Reprogrammable Communication Systems

The future of reconfigurable/reprogrammable transceivers with !Y 1 Gbps transmission and reception data rates for future NASA space communications applications will greatly depend on radiation-tolerant, high-speed and precise Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC), Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) and digital processing devices. The present digital state-of-the-art components are limited, especially for ultra high sampling rate ADCs. Most low power ADCs are restricted to rates of about 150 Msps and 12 bits of precision. During Phase I of the program, Hittite will research combining analog front-ends with advanced DACs, ADCs and digital processors for creating Software-Define Radio (SDR) or Cognitive Communication Transceiver (CCT) systems. A study of MMIC low noise amplifiers, power amplifiers and up/down-converters and digital components will lead to selection of devices to be modeled for SDR/CCT design. The Phase I effort will establish a baseline for a cognitive/adaptive transceiver. The final SDR/CCT design shall include a reconfigurable analog front-end and digital signal processor including a programmable frequency synthesizer for LO and digital clock generation. The Phase II program will proceed to miniaturized fully integrated power efficient cognitive/adaptive transceivers with scalable bandwidth and digital bit precision. Advanced SDR/CCT technology will support future DoD/military/NASA requirements and industrial/commercial applications for remotely reprogrammable communication systems.