A Low-Power 14GHz Spectrometer ASIC

NASA uses spectrometer instruments for a wide range of applications, including remote exploration of climate and environmental changes, planetary and astrophysics missions, and searching for habitable exoplanets. Future NASA spectrometers require high-speed operation while maintaining low size, weight, and power (SWaP). However, conventional solutions – using off-the-shelf analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) coupled with field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) – often fail to meet these stringent SWaP requirements. Integrating ADC and digital signal processing (DSP) units on a single die offers a promising approach to overcoming these limitations. Pacific Microchip Corp. (PMCC) proposes developing a spectrometer ASIC capable of digitizing up to 14 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth and splitting the signal into 8,192 frequency bins, all while consuming less than 0.5 W/GHz. Drawing on the PMCC’s extensive experience in commercializing spectrometer ASICs, this solution will use an overlapped polyphase filter bank to reduce common DSP artifacts such as scalloping loss. The ASIC will be built to endure 3Mrad of total ionizing dose (TID) and to tolerate single event effects (SEEs). To ensure the assembly reliability, the chip will be packaged on a BGA chip carrier previously used for another space-proven ASIC. The Phase I project will focus on establishing feasibility through simulation-based proof of concept. Phase II will involve the ASIC fabrication and comprehensive performance testing.

NASA employs spectrometer instruments for a wide range of applications, including remote exploration of climate and environmental changes, planetary and astrophysics missions, and the search for planets that could support terrestrial life. The proposed spectrometer ASIC is capable of digitizing up to 14 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth and splitting the signal into 8,192 frequency bins, all while consuming less than 0.5 W/GHz. The SWaP ASIC is essential for NASA’s future spectrometer instruments. Examples of NASA missions that will benefit from the proposed ASIC include SBG (Surface Biology and Geology), GLIMR (Geostationary Littoral Imaging and Monitoring Radiometer), Dragonfly (Titan Explorer) and DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging). In addition to its application in NASA’s missions, the proposed spectrometer ASIC will find applications in similar missions of space agencies of other countries: the European Union (ESA), Japan (JAXA), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), and Canada (CSA). For example, the ESA is preparing the CHIME (Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment), FLEX (Fluorescence Explorer) and EnVision (Venus Orbiter), while the JAXA is working on Martian Moons eXploration (MMX). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) employ high precision spectrometers for space, airborne and ground based remote sensing instruments to explore temperature, water vapor, pollutant, ozone layers, etc. Other commercial and science applications include spectrometers employed on satellites, aircraft, and high-altitude balloons used for remote sensing and surveillance. Spectrometers used for thermal imaging in security systems is yet another area for application of the proposed ASIC.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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