Reconfigurable/Reprogrammable Communication Systems, Phase I

The future of reconfigurable/reprogrammable transceivers with !Y 1 Gbps transmission and reception data rates for future NASA space communications applications will greatly depend on radiation-tolerant, high-speed and precise Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC), Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) and digital processing devices. The present digital state-of-the-art components are limited, especially for ultra high sampling rate ADCs. Most low power ADCs are restricted to rates of about 150 Msps and 12 bits of precision. During Phase I of the program, Hittite will research combining analog front-ends with advanced DACs, ADCs and digital processors for creating Software-Define Radio (SDR) or Cognitive Communication Transceiver (CCT) systems. A study of MMIC low noise amplifiers, power amplifiers and up/down-converters and digital components will lead to selection of devices to be modeled for SDR/CCT design. The Phase I effort will establish a baseline for a cognitive/adaptive transceiver. The final SDR/CCT design shall include a reconfigurable analog front-end and digital signal processor including a programmable frequency synthesizer for LO and digital clock generation. The Phase II program will proceed to miniaturized fully integrated power efficient cognitive/adaptive transceivers with scalable bandwidth and digital bit precision. Advanced SDR/CCT technology will support future DoD/military/NASA requirements and industrial/commercial applications for remotely reprogrammable communication systems.

Potential NASA Commercial Applications: The outcome to be derived from the proposed SBIR Phase I R&D program will enable cognitive/adaptive transceivers to be developed at various frequency bands including the millimeter wave band, and encourage conversion of transceiver designs to the software programmable digital format. The industrial/commercial applications of fully integrated software-defined transceivers will provide many uses such as telecommunication base stations, satellite ground terminals (e.g., VSAT/USAT), point-to-point microwave radio links and various high performance wireless data communications products.

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.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.