The Athena Group, Inc. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: ABSTRACT: The Air Force is charged with the daunting task of providing satellite communic

Description

ABSTRACT: The Air Force is charged with the daunting task of providing satellite communication (SATCOM) support over a wide range of applications. The AF112-062 call is designed to address the problem of providing analog-to-digital converters (ADC) suitable for use in SATCOM applications. The Athena Group, Inc. (Athena) responds to this challenge with Peregrine, an advanced ADC concept that is capable of operating at high speeds in space. Peregrine"s major differentiating feature is the innovative use of the residue number system (RNS), an area of Athena expertise that includes developing and marketing RNS-enabled products. A 2GSa/s with 16-bit Peregrine RNS-enabled ADC is proposed to operate within a collection of small independent channels. As such, Peregrine can enhance SATCOM performance, including jamming suppression. Athena"s Peregrine technology will be developed and evaluated in Phase I and prototyped and tested in Phase II. The outcome will be a new class of high performance, low power, radiation-tolerant ADC that meets or exceeds all Air Force SATCOM requirements. BENEFIT: Partnering relationships developed during Phase I will be formalized in Phase II, leading to a commercially viable ADC technology with broad military and civilian applications. The outcome of the SBIR study will be high-valued semiconductor intellectual property (IP) that will complement a family of products currently marketed by Athena.