20 GSPS ADC For Spectrometer Backends In Microwave Radiometers

NASA Science Mission Directorate’s (SMD) programs demand an innovative single-chip 6-bit 20GSPS analog to digital converter (ADC) capable of surviving and maintaining performance in extreme environments for use in next generation low-power, rad-tolerant broad band spectrometer back ends for microwave radiometers. Broadband spectrometers in Earth observing, planetary, and astrophysics missions have a critical need for greater sensitivity detector arrays for imaging, spectroscopy, and polarimetric capabilities, which can be demonstrated on ground, airborne, balloon, suborbital rocket instruments, or uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms. Future cloud, water and precipitation missions like Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) require higher frequency electronics, with small form factors and high power added efficiencies (PAE). Alphacore proposes a competitively disruptive ADC, based on its similar solutions, to meet NASA’s request for development of advance science instruments, observatories & sensor systems. The rad hard ADC, with Size Weight and Power (SWaP) efficiencies, will start with existing Alphacore validated silicon to exceed a sampling rate of 20GSPS with an effective number of bits >6 and a straightforward FPGA interface. The ADC consists of a high-performance, low-power design that can be developed as a stand-alone chip or licensed as an IP block for use in advanced system-on-chip (SOC) architectures. The ADC employs a silicon proven radiation hardened flash architecture using a common FD-SOI wafer process node

CubeSats on radiometer microwave sensors for Earth observing, Moon to Mars exploration. LEO sats: weather, droughts, floods, crop productivity, detailing water, energy cycles. Scanning L-band Active/Passive instrument for SMAP. Sensors & RF communications. Euclid telescope, Radar in a CubeSat & Lunar Flashlight. Advanced Microwave Radiometer - Climate Quality (AMR-C) Instrument Jason Continuity of Service on Sentinel-6. Solar system exploration: Mars, lunar orbiters & landers missions. Jupiter: Europa Clipper & Io Volcano Observer missions.

Govt space industry, including sat. prgms of Army, AF, NRO, MDA. Programs are AEHF, GPS, MDA's PTSS, AF's TacSat, ORS, & SMDC nanosat. Strategic missile system: CubeSats, NRO's Colony, AF SENSE. Telecom sats: Intelsat, Direct TV, Orbcomm & Iridium. SpaceX, Boeing, Orbital Sciences, Sierra Nevada, XCOR Aerospace, Ad Astra Rocket, Planetary Resources, and Airbus need to reduce space missions loads.

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