Many wideband communications, radar, and EN receivers could benefit from a simple means of narrow-band (i.e., an order of magnitude less than the desired signal's spectral bandwidth) interference suppression. Surface acoustic waves (SAW) offer such a capability because they can sort frequencies into multiple spatial channels and independently saturate any channel in the presence of a large signal. The device is monolithic, simple, small, passive, two-port, and potentially low cost. The company will build a SAW spectral limiter on lithium-niobate using low-loss transducers with 300 MHz center frequency, 75 MHz bandwidth, at least ten effective limiting sub-channels, and at least 10 dB of interference suppression. Since suppression can be multiplied by cascading devices, ways to maximize suppression will be determined through analysis and experiments. Two prototypes will be delivered.
Potential Commercial Applications: A SAW spectral limiter would be applicable to any wideband system receiver susceptible to narrow-band interference.STATUS: Phase I Only
