DARPA cleans up radio spectrum

Michael Peck, Contributing Writer January 14, 2016

DARPA has devised a device that reduces interference with radio and radar.

The agency has developed a high-speed analog-to-digital converter (ADC). "ADCs convert physical data—that is, analog data—on the spectrum into numbers that a digital computer can analyze and manipulate, an important capability for understanding and adapting to dynamic EM [electromagnetic] environments," said a DARPA news release. "Today’s ADCs, however, only process data within a limited portion of the spectrum at a given time. As a result, they can temporarily overlook critical information about radar, jamming, communications, and other potentially problematic EM signals."

DARPA's solution was a better ADC, using 32-nanometer silicon-on-insulator semiconductor technology produced by DARPA and chip maker GlobalFoundries. The new ADC samples and digitizes signals at a rate of over 60 billion times per second. "That’s fast enough to directly detect and analyze any signal at 30 GHz or below—a range that encompasses the vast majority of operating frequencies of interest," DARPA noted.