Hybrid Phased Array Systems

IN PHASE I OF THE PROPOSED EFFORT, A HYBRID SUPERCONDUCTING/ SEMICONDUCTING COMMUNICATION SUBSYSTEM FOR K AND V BAND APPLICATIONS WILL BE ANALYZED AND DESIGNED. THE SYSTEM WILL CONSIST OF HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTING (HTS) FEED NETWORKS, HTS PHASE SHIFTERS, AND A CONVENTIONAL AMPLIFIER IN A PHASED ARRAY FRAMEWORK. DIGITAL POST PROCESSING (ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERSION COUPLED WITH A FAST MEMORY) MAY BE BASED ON SUPERCONDUCTING FLUX FLOW TRANSISTORS: HIGH SPEED, THREE TERMINAL DEVICES THAT HAVE BEEB SHOWN TO OPERATE UP TO 100 GHz. THE AMPLIFIERS WOULD PROBABLY BE MADE FROM COOLED HEMT TECHNOLOGY FOR SUPERRIOR NOISE PERFORMANCE. THE FINAL STAGES OF SYSTEM DESIGN WILL ALSO CHOOSE BETWEEN RECEIVE-ONLY AND TRANSMIT/RECEIVE FORMATS BASED ON EXPECTED POWER HANDLING CAPABILITIES. IN PHASE I, THIS SYSTEM WOULD BE DESIGNED DOWN TO A REASONABLY LOW LEVEL. IN A PHASE II PROJECT, THE FINAL DETAILED DESIGN WOULD BE COMPLETED AND THE SUBSYSTEM BUILT AND TESTED. THE SUBSYSTEM WOULD BE DESIGNED TO FUNCTION WITH AT LEAST A 4x4 ELEMENT PATCH RADIATOR ARRAY AND BOTH K & V BAND DEMONSTRATIONS WOULD BE BUILT.