The DoD has an ongoing COMINT requirement for a real time spectrum analyser with 15 KHz resolution, 60 MHz bandwidth, 60 dB dynamic range (including sidelobes). Past all SAW and all digital solutions have not met all of these requirements. It is proposed to develop a SAW Chirp Fourier Transformer with digital correction which is a hybrid of the digital and SAW approaches combining the best features of both technologies. The present (Phase I) objective is to study and model the approach, and in addition demonstrate a subsystem with 20 MHz bandwidth, 40 KHz resolution, and 60 dB sidelobes.
Benefits: The DoD COMINT problem is real and on-going, and should provide future applications for this approach. There are other potential applications where SAW has not been successful in the past due to sidelobe problems, including: programmable filtering (eg ICNIA) and cross-correlation.
Keywords: Spectrum Analysis Spectrum Analysis SAW SAW Fourier Transform Fourier Transform
