WIDEBAND DIGITAL SPECTROMETER

• US 20140286465A1
• Filed: 08/15/2013
• Published: 09/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hypres, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hypres, Inc.
• Inventors: Gupta, Deepnarayan
• Granted Patent: US 9,020,079 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/350
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0028 wherein the AD/DA conversion occurs at baseband stage
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/109 by improving strong signal performance of the receiver when strong unwanted signals are present at the receiver input
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/123 using adaptive balancing or compensation means adaptive filter circuits and algorithms H03H
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/38 Transceivers, i.e. devices in which transmitter and receiver form a structural unit and in which at least one part is used for functions of transmitting and receiving

Abstract

A processor, comprising a first data input configured to receive a stream of samples of a first signal having a spectral space, the stream having a data rate of at least 4 GHz; a second data input configured to receive a stream of samples of a second signal; a multitap correlator, configured to receive the first stream of samples and the second stream of samples, and producing at least one correlation output for each respective sequential sample of the first signal received; and a programmable control configured to alter a relationship of the stream of samples of the first signal and the stream of samples of the second signal, to thereby select, under program control, an alterable correlation output.

Claims

1. A signal processing system, comprising:

(a) an input, for receiving a time-continuous signal having at least two signal components;

(b) a first signal sampler, receiving the signal, and producing a discrete-time signal in dependence thereon;

(c) a signal processor, receiving the discrete time signal, and transforming the signal to generate therefrom a set of spectral signal characteristics;

(d) an analog signal processor, receiving at least one control signal dependent on the set of spectral signal characteristics, and the time-continuous signal, and producing at least one modified analog output based thereon; and

(e) a signal quantizer, receiving the modified signal, and quantizing it to produce a quantized output, the quantized output being substantially without intermodulation distortion products of the at least two signal components.

2. The signal processing system according to claim 1, wherein the first signal sampler comprises a superconducting analog to digital modulator.

3. The signal processing system according to claim 1, wherein the signal processor comprises a digital cross correlator.

4. The signal processing system according to claim 1, wherein the signal processor comprises a digital cross correlator and a processor for computing a signal transform based on the cross correlation of the discrete time signal.

5. The signal processing system according to claim 4, wherein the signal transform comprises a frequency domain transform, and wherein the analog signal processor receives the control signal in dependence on at least one frequency transform domain characteristic of the time-continuous signal.

6. The signal processing system according to claim 5, wherein the analog signal processor comprises a frequency selective filter, and wherein characteristics of the frequency selective filter are determined based on frequency components of the time-continuous signal.

7. The signal processing system according to claim 1, wherein the first signal sampler, at least a portion of the signal processor, and at least a portion of the analog signal processor comprise superconducting circuits.

8. A spectrometer, comprising:

an input receiving a wideband radio frequency signal;

an analog filter having a controllable transfer function without substantial nonlinearity;

a wideband signal digitizer, having a sampling rate of at least twice a highest frequency of interest of the wideband radio frequency, receiving a representation of the wideband radio frequency signal substantially without nonlinear distortion;

a digital processor, receiving an output of the wideband digitizer, and processing the output to compute spectral characteristics thereof; and

a filter control, controlling the transfer function of the controllable analog filter in dependence on at least the computed spectral characteristics.

9. The spectrometer according to claim 8, wherein the wideband radio frequency signal comprises a frequency of at least 500 MHz.

10. The spectrometer according to claim 8, wherein the digital processor receives data from the wideband signal digitizer at a rate of at least 1 GHz.

11. The spectrometer according to claim 10, wherein the digital processor comprises a digital cross correlator.

12. A spectrometer, comprising:

an input receiving a wideband radio frequency signal having at least one radio frequency component;

a controllable analog filter having a controllable transfer function adapted for attenuating the at least one radio frequency component;

a wideband signal digitizer, receiving a representation of the wideband radio frequency signal substantially without broadening of a spectrum of the at least one radio frequency component, and having a sampling rate of at least twice a maximum frequency of the at least one radio frequency component; and

a digital processor, receiving an output of the wideband digitizer, and processing the output to compute a transfer function of the controllable analog filter to attenuate the at least one radio frequency component.

13. The spectrometer according to claim 12, wherein a signal received by the wideband digitizer is representative of a linearly filtered wideband radio frequency signal, without substantial nonlinear distortion.

14. The spectrometer according to claim 12, wherein the digital processor computes spectral characteristics of the output of the wideband digitizer.

15. The spectrometer according to claim 12, wherein the wideband radio frequency signal comprises a component having a frequency of at least 500 MHz.

16. The spectrometer according to claim 12, wherein the digital processor receives data from the wideband digitizer at a rate of at least 1 GHz.

17. The spectrometer according to claim 16, wherein the digital processor comprises a digital cross correlator.

18. The spectrometer according to claim 12, wherein the controllable analog filter, the wideband signal digitizer, and the digital processor each comprise at least one superconducting circuit component.

19. The spectrometer according to claim 18, wherein the controllable analog filter comprises a high temperature superconductor circuit.