An antenna having at least one main element and a plurality of parasitic elements. At least some of the elements have coupling elements or devices associated with them, the coupling elements or devices being tunable to thereby control the degree of coupling between adjacent elements. Controlling the degree of coupling allows a lobe associated with the antenna to be steered.

Meta-element antenna and array

A digital radio receiver is described. The digital receiver of the present invention contemplates a digital radio receiver which operates on a received analog signal which has been converted to a digital form after preselection at the output of the antenna. The digital receiver of the present invention comprises a preselector, a high-speed analog-to-digital (A/D) converter, a digitally implemented intermediate-frequency (IF) selectivity section having an output signal at substantially baseband frequencies, and digital signal processor (DSP) circuit performing demodulation and audio filtering. The radio architecture of the present invention is programmably adaptable to virtually every known modulation scheme and is particularly suitable for implementation on integrated circuits.

Digital radio frequency receiver

A switch arrangement comprises a plurality of MEMS switches arranged on a substrate about a central point, each MEMS switch being disposed on a common imaginary circle centered on the central point. Additionally, and each MEMS switch is preferably spaced equidistantly along the circumference of the imaginary circle. Connections are provided for connecting a RF port of each one of the MEMS switches with the central point.

Single-pole multi-throw switch having low parasitic reactance, and an antenna incorporating the same

Leaky wave antenna beam steering that is capable of steering in a backward direction, as well as further down toward the horizon in the forward direction than was previously possible, and also directly toward zenith. The disclosed antenna and method involve applying a non-uniform impedance function across a tunable impedance surface in order to obtain such leaky wave beam steering.

Steerable leaky wave antenna capable of both forward and backward radiation

This disclosure describes a capacitive interface circuit for a low power system. The capacitive interface circuit is configured to achieve very low noise sensing of capacitance-based transducers, such as a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)-based sensor, with high resolution and low power. The capacitive interface circuit uses a differential amplifier and correlated triple sampling (CTS) to substantially eliminate, or at least reduce, kT/C noise, as well as amplifier offset and flicker (1/f) noise, from the output of the amplifier. The capacitive interface circuit may further include an output stage that reduces glitching, i.e., clock transients, in the output signal by allowing transients in the amplifier output to settle. In this manner, the circuit can be used in a low power system to produce a stable, low-noise output.

Capacitive interface circuit for low power sensor system

An adaptive antenna system which enhances the desired signal in the output of the system while reducing the interference from signals arriving from directions other than that of the desired signal The antenna system operates in conjunction with a modulation/demodulation system for spreading and despreading the spectrum of the desired signal By a series of deterministic perturbations of phase shifters or other signal varying devices attached to the antenna elements, the system measures the effects of these perturbations: (1) on the wide-band energy in the output of the antenna, prior to spectrum despreading, and (2) on the narrow-band energy following despreading, and then adjusts the phase shifters or other signal varying devices so as to enhance the desired signal while reducing the interfering signals

Adaptive electronically steerable phased array

A digital system for demodulating coherent phase shift keyed signals. Maximum likelihood estimates of the unmodulated phase and rate of change of the unmodulated phase of the received signal relative to a local oscillator signal are used to improve the demodulation process. The maximum likelihood estimates are obtained from measurements of the phase of the received signal relative to the local oscillator signal over a predetermined set of keying intervals. The digital demodulation process permits rapid "lock-on" at low signal-to-noise ratios.

Digital coherent phase demodulator

A system of modulation and demodulation for the transmission of binary data in the presence of multipath. The binary data modulates the phase of the carrier and the same binary data, after a delay of "δ" bits, also modulates the frequency of the carrier. Following reception, the binary data is obtained either by frequency demodulation or by a method of coherent phase shift demodulation wherein the mark or the space frequency is selected for detection of each bit in accord with the bit received "n" bits previously. The system selects between the demodulation methods to obtain one which operates satisfactorily in the instant electromagnetic environment.

Combined coherent frequency and phase shift keying modulation system

A system for demodulating a coherent, phase-shift-keyed signal that is modulated by a set of orthogonal or biorthogonal code words. The system does not require a local phase reference that is phase locked with the received signal. The system is made up of two demodulators and a microprocessor. One demodulator utilizes a local sinusoidal signal in the demodulation process, and the second uses a local cosinusoidal signal in the demodulation process. Because the phases of the local signals do not change significantly with respect to the unmodulated phase of the received signal during the period of time occupied by a single code word, the output of one or the other of the two demodulators resembles the code word which was transmitted. The set or orthogonal code words is compared with the outputs of the two demodulators to determine which code word was transmitted, and the data which corresponds to that code word is output by the system.

In-phase quadrature demodulator for CPSK signals

A plurality of binary related anti-coincident pulse trains which are precisely related in frequency and phase to a reference frequency are generated in a binary rate multiplier. The rate multiplier includes gating and control circuitry whereby predetermined combinations of these pulse trains are selectively summed together to provide various output frequencies. The output of the binary rate multiplier, which comprises square wave signals having a predetermined frequency relative to the reference signal frequency, are divided to minimize the effects of irregularities in the frequency of the multiplier output and to provide square waves having substantially uniform periods. These square waves are then appropriately gated and filtered to produce quadrature related sine waves.

Robert Malm

Papers

Adaptive electronically steerable phased array

Digital coherent phase demodulator

Combined coherent frequency and phase shift keying modulation system

In-phase quadrature demodulator for CPSK signals

Signal frequency synthesizer