Rockwell Collins seeks to revolutionize A/D converter technology for DARPA RADER program
Posted by John Keller
ARLINGTON, Va., 17 April 2010. Scientists at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., are looking to military radio communications experts at Rockwell Collins Inc. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to develop power-efficient and remotable high-speed analog to digital converters (A/D converters) with high resolution.
DARPA awarded a $14.2 million research contract to Rockwell Collins Wednesday for the Remoted Analog-to-Digital Converters with De-serialization and Reconstruction (RADER) program, which seeks to create a unique new capability beyond the range of existing A/D converters.
Rockwell Collins researchers will try to enable A/D converters to operate in continuous time over a 10 GHz input instantaneous bandwidth (IBW) with a resolution of 10 effective number of bits (ENOB) -- all within a dense input signal environment while limiting the amount of DC power consumption to less than 50 Watts.
Rockwell Collins experts also are trying to sense analog waveforms at a point remoted from the components or subsystems that require significant portions of the power budget.
DARPA wants Rockwell Collins to place the 10 GHz IBW so that input signals with frequency content of up to 18 GHz are captured yet, RADER technology demonstrations will focus on 10 GHz IBW at baseband in addition to 6 GHz IBW centered at 15 GHz.
For more information contact DARPA online at www.darpa.mil.
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