Investigation of a Low-Cost Ratioing Receiver for Illumination Testing of Aircraft

Electromagnetic illumination testing of aircraft has been used for many years to identify vulnerabilities to electromagnetic sources. Recently, a new hardware concept was developed which promises to greatly increase the dynamic range of the measurements made during illumination. This new system also promises a reduction in noise, size and costs. This concept, named the dual channel down converter (DCDC), has been successfully demonstrated in a preliminary test. This SBIR effort proposed to investigate several modifications to the hardware. These modifications have three objectives. first, some of the modification swill serve to remedy shortcomings identified during the preliminary use of the DCDC. Second, some will serve to increase the performance of the hardware. Third, some will reduce the cost of a measurement system based on the DCDC concept. An industrial partner has been identified for this project, Wiltron Company in Morgan Hill, California. The potential commercial products form this effort include a network analyzer on a computer card and versatile, low cost RF measurement systems. Wiltron's experience in the design, manufacture and sales of RF and microwave equipment will greatly enhance the possibility of a commercial product resulting from this effort.