Technology Trends, High Performance Radio Evolution and Smart IntegrationIan HillDRS Signal SolutionsDirector, OA Product Developmentihill@drs.com

1960 Bethesda, Maryland 1973-2014 Gaithersburg, Maryland

2015- Germantown, Maryland

1960 Communications Electronics Incorporated1967 Watkins-Johnson1999 Marconi North America1999 BAE Systems2002 Integrated Defense Technologies2003 DRS Technologies

Company History

RF Performance increases over time.(Smaller low performance radios exist.)

Density vs. Time

Chart1

19851985

19861986

19871987

19881988

19891989

19901990

19911991

19921992

19931993

19941994

19951995

19961996

19971997

19981998

19991999

20002000

20012001

20022002

20032003

20042004

20052005

20062006

20072007

20082008

20092009

20102010

20112011

20122012

20132013

20142014

20152015

Tactical

Rack Mount

Year

Volume, Cubic Inches per Channel

V/UHF Channel Density, Volume vs. Year

1683

410

126

88

17

24

11.25

9.4

12

Sheet1

yearv/uhf tactv/uhf oaHF

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

19851683

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990410

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995126

1996

1997

199888

1999

2000

200117

200224

2003

2004

2005

2006

200711.25

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

20159.412

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Sheet1

Tactical

Rack Mount

Year

Volume, Cubic Inches per Channel

V/UHF Channel Density, Volume vs. Year

The Sparrow architecture is designed for high dynamic range with excellent Intercept Point, Image and IF Rejection, low Mixer Spurious,

and very low internally generated spurs.

NEXT GENERATION MICROWAVESI-9170 Sparrow

Sparrow: 3U VPXIMPROVEMENTS Two channels in a single 3U VPX

Extended frequency range Independent or coherent capability across 3U VPX

cards Dynamic Range Performance 6 dB improvement 55% size reduction single version (80% dual) 35% power reduction for single version (55% dual) 37% reduction in weight Extended Temperature Range Modular approach allows 6U, Brick, or Rack mount

QTY 2SI-9158

One of these is not like the other.

Consider Two Red Cars

Noise Figure

Overload

Spurious

Three Key RF Specifications

Spur Free Dynamic Range

Image Rejection

Specifications:

Some Specifications are Not Very Useful

Get the signals you want and reject the rest!

ADC full scale

dB below

full scale(dBfs)

Small Signal

ADC full scale

dB below

full scale(dBfs)

Small Signalin the noise

Large Signal

Tuner at full gainTuner gain reduced

by large signal

25 MHz BW

BIG Signal Interference

The Sparrow architecture is designed for high dynamic range with excellent Intercept Point, Image and IF Rejection, low Mixer Spurious,

and very low internally generated spurs.

NEXT GENERATION MICROWAVESI-9170 Sparrow

Sparrow: 3U VPXIMPROVEMENTS Two channels in a single 3U VPX

Extended frequency range Independent or coherent capability across 3U VPX

cards Dynamic Range Performance 6 dB improvement 55% size reduction single version (80% dual) 35% power reduction for single version (55% dual) 37% reduction in weight Extended Temperature Range Modular approach allows 6U, Brick, or Rack mount

QTY 2SI-9158

A Third Important Consideration:

SWAP

Performance

System Longevity

System design and funding

AcquisitionInstallation

Training

Operation and Maintenance

End of Life(Start Over)

Life of a System

Does not meet new mission requirementsToo expensive to operateLack of partsNo manufacturer support

System End of Life

End of Life

System design and fundingAcquisition

InstallationTraining

Operation and Maintenance

Upgrade Extended Capability

Extended service

System Upgrade Life Extension

Cell Phone:

2 years!

Rapidly Moving Technology

Hammer> 50 Years!

Long Lifetime

Support multi-mission capability.

COMINT

ELINT

Electronic Support

Electronic Attack

COMMS

IO & Cyber

This requires hardware architectures to be developed scalable and more flexible.

Anticipation of Future Needs

Multi-mission Capability Rapidly Customized Flexible, Extensible, Upgradeable

MOSA (Modular Open System Architecture)

Software configurable: Mission Ware

Service Oriented Architectures

Plug in modularity requires appropriate interface partitions

Goal More with Less

Enabling Technologies

Higher Density SMT

Improved Semiconductor Parts

Improved packaging

Improved Interfaces and Standards

WAIT!!! What About the Upgrade Impact Of WHIZ-BANG Technologies?

DRS has extensively evaluated a potential next generation laser optical RF converter in the lab.

The converter had a 4 GHz instantaneous bandwidth at microwave

Unfortunately, current state-of-the-art optical converters have a spur free dynamic range of only about 56 dB.

Temperature and vibration of optical systems are also major technical challenges

Dont expect this technology for at least 5 years, probably longer.

Laser Optical RF Converters

This technology touts dramatic size and cost reductions.

The Zero IF direct I/Q conversion to baseband technique is over 60 years old.

Unfortunately, it still has the same major spurious signal problems.

This is a physical constraint of the analog elements.

Dont expect this to replace wide bandwidth, broad coverage high performance receivers.

Zero-IF (I/Q) Receiver On A Chip

Performance Comparison of Superheterodyne Vs. Zero IF (I/Q) Radio

TEST SIGNAL

SPURS

NOISE FLOOR

10 DB/ DIV

DRS SI-9150 POLARIS Best-In-Class Zero IF Radio

Test Conditions:Equal level test signals, receiver gains set for equal sensitivity.

High-Speed ADCs for Direct RF Digitization

A/D Digitized RF

State-of-the-art A/Ds can directly digitize HF, but acceptable performance above 100 MHz is not currently available.

Performance above 1 GHz is orders of magnitude worse than superheterodyne based converters.

High performance direct digitization of most RF is not in the foreseeable future.

High-Speed ADCs Dynamic Range

Best-In-Class A/Ds

SMART INTEGRATIONDefining Breakpoints and Interfaces

Due to physics constraints, the analog portions of the RF converter change more slowly than the rest

of the system.

A/DRFConverterDigital Signal Processing User

RF Converter

Dynamic Range for Best A/D's

110

120

130

140

150

160

170

1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07 1.E+08 1.E+09 1.E+10 1.E+11

Nyquist Bandwidth, Hz

SNR,

dBFS

/Hz

current limit

future limit

Bandwidth is increasing, but maximum dynamic range is not.

A/DRFConverterDigital Signal Processing User

Analog to Digital Converter

Chart1

39000

64000

1250000

3000000

5000000

10000000

50000000

100000000

200000000

500000000

1000000000

1300000000

2500000000

13000000000

Nyquist Bandwidth, Hz

SNR,dBFS/Hz

Dynamic Range for Best A/D's

156.6

157.9

159.5

157.5

155

153

158

159.3

152.9

146.4

145.9

150

134

120.2

Sheet1

3.90E+04156.6

6.40E+04157.9

1.25E+06159.5

3.00E+06157.5

5.00E+06155

1.00E+07153

5.00E+07158

1.00E+08159.3

2.00E+08152.9

5.00E+08146.4

1.00E+09145.9

1.30E+09150

2.50E+09134

1.30E+10120.2

Sheet1

Nyquist Bandwidth, Hz

SNR,dBFS/Hz

A/D Dynamic Range

Sheet2

Sheet3

A/DRFConverterDigital Signal Processing User

Digital Processing is Improving Rapidly

Computer Servers are a Commodity Item

A/DRFConverterDigital Signal Processing User

Breakpoint

Quickly changing technology

Relatively stable technology

The Logical System Breakpoint

Standardizing the InterfaceFor Rapid Integration

Data Formats

Electrical Interface

Mechanical Interface

A/DRFConverterDigital SignalProcessing

VITA 49Formatting

AdditionalProcessing

Storage

I/O

Controller

UserLINK

GPSTimebase

TimeTag

TUNER

Basic System Detail

Breakpoint

VITA 49 is the ANSI approved, industry adopted standard for digitally formatting RF signal data.

A/DRFConverterDigital Signal Processing

VITA 49Formatting

AdditionalProcessing

Storage

I/O

Controller

UserLINK

GPSTimebase

TimeTag

TUNER

VITA Radio Transport (VRT)

RFConverter

Digital IF Signal Data Packets

Context Data PacketsFrequencyPrecision time tagsGeo-location dataGain Etc.

VITA Radio Transport (VRT)

A/DRFConverterDigital Signal Processing

VITA 49Formatting

AdditionalProcessing

Storage

I/O

Controller

UserLINK

GPSTimebase

TimeTag

TUNER

Physical Data Transport

Connecting the Modules:

Well established industry standard (IEEE 802.3)Standard speeds up to 10 Gbps100 Gbps now availableTCP/IP for crowded links UDP for high throughput (>90% of nominal rate)Wire Ethernet suitable for short distanceFiber optic for long distance, 80km and more

Ethernet

Physical Data Transport

A few standard coax types are widely used.

There are adapters for most types.

Connecting the RFStandard connectors simplify long term integration

Common Plug-in Module Standards:

VMEVXIVPX

Relatively compactConduction cooledHigh speed back planeCoax plugability using Vita 67.3

3U VPX or 6U VPX

3U VPX 6U VPX

VITA 67.3 Backplane RF Connector Insert

Standard Outline

Supports high performance RF to beyond 20 GHz

Provides plug-in module servicing

Allows simple functional upgrades using an RF insert

Easy to implement without high cost

Does not constrain RF innovation with rigid packaging rules.

VITA 67.3 Benefits

45

Problems with Over-Constrained Standards

RF integration needs to be defined at an appropriate break-point.

RF technology is very different from digital technology, particularly with regard to spurs.

Rigidly specifying the details of the RF integration within the VPX module is technically dangerous.

With VITA 67.3 plugability, this sort of constraint is unnecessary.

A well designed break-point allows the maximum of flexibility and innovation.

DRS is now offering RF tuners with higher the density than what is possible with some proposed internal module standards.

Future cost reductions could also be imperiled with rigid standards.

2 MHz to 6000 MHz Frequency Range6U, 1 Pitch, VPX UHF/VHF Tuner Module100 MHz Digitized Bandwidth10 Channels Independent Tuning or Phase Coherent

Vesper SI-9173x Multi-Channel 6U VPX Tuner

Identify core system elements: Antenna Tuner Processor

Identify easy to upgrade parameters: Bandwidth (anticipate) Frequency range (anticipate) Number of channels Signal processing

Choose good system interface break points RF Data

Upgrade Planning in Advance

You may be living with your choice for a long time.

Choose Carefully for the Future

Slide Number 1Slide Number 2Slide Number 3Slide Number 4Slide Number 5Slide Number 6Slide Number 7Some Specifications are Not Very Useful Slide Number 9Slide Number 10Slide Number 11A Third Important Consideration:SWAPPerformance System LongevitySlide Number 13Slide Number 14Slide Number 15Slide Number 16Slide Number 17Slide Number 18Slide Number 19Enabling TechnologiesWAIT!!! What About the Upgrade Impact Of WHIZ-BANG Technologies?Slide Number 22Slide Number 23Slide Number 24Slide Number 25Slide Number 26SMART INTEGRATIONDefining Breakpoints and InterfacesSlide Number 28Slide Number 29Slide Number 30Slide Number 31Slide Number 32Slide Number 33Slide Number 34Slide Number 35Slide Number 36Slide Number 37Slide Number 38Slide Number 39Slide Number 40Slide Number 41Slide Number 42VITA 67.3 Backplane RF Connector InsertSlide Number 44Slide Number 45Slide Number 46Slide Number 47Slide Number 48