Rockwell Collins, Inc.

Jonathan A Lovseth

Anders P Walker

Vadim Olen

Sasha N Oster

Russell David Wyse

Orion D Davies

Roy H Olsson

John C Mather

Kenneth Wojciechowski

Joseph T Graf

Matilda Gabriela Livadaru

Theodore Jay Hoffmann

Michael C Meholensky

Robert Newgard

Ted J Hoffmann

Robert J McCabe

Altin E Pelteku

Robert C Potter

Todd A Freeman

Christopher Routh

Thomas J Journot

Zachary Haralson

Theodore Hoffman

A radio frequency (RF) transmission line is described. The RF transmission line includes a first ground line, a second ground line, and a signal line disposed on a substrate and forming a coplanar waveguide. A plasma limiter feature is integrated into an internal surface of one or more of the first ground line, the second ground line, and the signal line. The plasma limiter decreases a gap distance between the signal line and the associated ground line. The gap distance is selected, together with a gas pressure, to control a voltage at which the gas within the gap breaks down, targeted at a breakdown power of 1 W across a wide bandwidth. The plasma limiter thus limits a power transmitted by way of the RF transmission line for protecting a sensitive integrated circuit.

Microscale plasma limiter integrated into thick film interconnect

A system including an aircraft. A phased array may be configured to transmit electromagnetic (EM) energy toward rotor blades and receive EM energy in a direction from the rotor blades. A processor may be configured to: determine or obtain rotor blade information; determine or obtain aircraft information; based on the rotor blade information and the aircraft information, determine (a) a time to transmit EM energy or receive EM energy and (b) an angle to transmit EM energy or receive EM energy; and based on the rotor blade information and the aircraft information, control the phased array to adjust a beam pointing angle and to transmit EM energy for a duration at the beam pointing angle. The phased array may be configured to transmit EM energy for the duration at the beam pointing angle, wherein the transmitted EM energy is configured to reflect off a rotor blade toward a target.

Phased array transmission reflected off rotor blade to target

A filter apparatus is disclosed. The filter apparatus may include a plurality of dielectric layers. The plurality of dielectric layers may include one or more first dielectric layers formed of a first dielectric material and one or more second dielectric layers formed of a second dielectric material. The second dielectric material of the one or more second dielectric layers being different than the first dielectric material of the one or more first dielectric layers. The filter apparatus may further include one or more thin-film metal layers arranged between at least one dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers and an additional dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers.

Dielectric and thin film floating metal stacking for embedded tunable filtering of high frequency signals

A system with an acoustic filter array for analog processing of radio signals above 8 GHz includes a receiver and a downconverter to down-convert an incoming signal into an intermediate frequency range (IF). Downconverter includes suppression of local oscillator image. An active manifold splits the IF signal into separate parallel feeds into individual acoustic filter elements in an acoustic filter array. Acoustic filter array provides individually channelized IF outputs. Each IF manifold feed and corresponding acoustic filter output channel is associated with an analog-to-digital converter or system switch.

Architecture for wideband receiver module with acoustic filter array

A multi node radar network system is disclosed. The system includes a base node configured to transmit a directional 5G RF signal, a request node configured to request the base node to transmit the 5G RF signal, and one or more listening nodes configured to receive reflections of the 5G RF signal off of a target object. The system further includes a computation module configured to determine the location of the target object from data received from at least one of the base node, the request node, or the one or more listening nodes. A method for determining the position of a target object in a multi node radar system is disclosed.

Multistatic radar utilizing 5G

An electromagnetic channel emulator system is disclosed. The system includes an electromagnetic switch matrix sub-system communicatively coupled to one or more systems under test and one or more simulation control layers. The system may include a high performance computing layer including one or more processing element nodes. The electromagnetic switch matrix sub-system may include one or more electromagnetic systems under test input/output layers and one or more high performance computing input/output layers. The one or more input/output layers may include one or more signal converters. The electromagnetic switch matrix sub-system may include one or more switches communicatively coupled to the one or more input/output layers and the high performance computing layer. The one or more switches may be configured to selectively position the one or more analog signals based on the received one or more simulation control layer signals.

Electromagnetic (EM) channel emulator system

A tunable frequency selective limiter is disclosed. In one or more embodiments, the tunable frequency selective limiter includes a first electrically conductive path. The tunable frequency selective limiter also includes a ferrimagnetic layer disposed adjacent to the first electrically conductive path. The tunable frequency selective limiter further includes a second electrically conductive path coiled around the first electrically conductive path and the ferrimagnetic layer. An electromagnetic current transmitting through the second electrically conductive path produces a magnetic field coupled to the ferrimagnetic layer. The tunable frequency selective limiter further includes a dielectric layer, wherein the ferrimagnetic layer is disposed on the dielectric layer. The portions of the second electrically conductive path that are at the interface of the dielectric layer and the ferrimagnetic layer may be embedded into the dielectric layer or may be disposed on the surface of the dielectric layer.

Tunable frequency selective limiter

An antenna system is disclosed. In embodiments, the antenna system may include a communication sub-system disposed within an aircraft. The communication sub-system may include one or more power supply components configured to generate a direct current (DC) power supply, and a first capacitive coupling device configured to capacitively couple an alternating current (AC) transmit signal to the DC power supply to form an antenna input signal. In embodiments, the antenna system may further include an electrical line configured to transmit the antenna input signal from the communication sub-system to an antenna module. In embodiments, the antenna module may include a second capacitive coupling device configured to de-couple the DC power supply and the AC transmit signal, communication circuitry configured to generate one or more transmission signals based on the AC transmit signal.

System and method for retrofitting digital antenna arrays

A deployable active radar countermeasure or 'smart chaff' device includes a flexible battery or length of reflective material for passive reflection of a surveillance radar signal. Metallized antenna elements printed onto the material receive the surveillance radar signals, and RF integrated circuitry bonded to the material generates active RF echo signals based on the frequency of the surveillance signal and the length of the material. Wirebond receiving paths include reconfigurable gain amplifiers and filters for adjusting the phase and amplitude of the echo signal, and transmit paths return the echo signal to the radar source via the antenna elements. Echo signals may combine with those of other such devices, having various lengths and associated frequencies, to simulate a false return associated with a particular aircraft or moving target (e.g., simulation of Doppler shift via offset echo frequencies).

Deployable active radar countermeasures

An antenna array includes a first substrate having a first curved edge, a second substrate having a second curved edge, and members extending outwardly toward or past the first curved edge. The members include a first member and a second member below the first member. The antenna array also includes a vertical polarization (BAVA) element disposed perpendicular to the first substrate or the second substrate and between the first member and the second member, and a horizontal polarization BAVA element disposed parallel to the first substrate or the second substrate and between a top of the first member and the second member.

Dual polarized circular or cylindrical antenna array

The present invention is a method for capturing a cooling transfer function for a thermally-isolated, self-heating device. The method includes causing the device to undergo a plurality of successive heat-up cycles and cool-down cycles. The method further includes changing durations of time of the successive cool-down cycles. The method further includes deducing the cooling transfer function based upon temperature measurements for the device obtained at the end of the successive cool-down cycles (ex.&#x2014;at the beginning of the successive heat-up cycles) of the device. The method thereby allows for capture of the cooling transfer function without direct observation of the cooling transfer function.

Cooling control calibration for thermally-isolated self-heating devices

The present invention is directed to a piezo-electrically actuated membrane (ex.&#x2014;a tuner) configured for use with a tunable cavity filter. The piezo-electrically actuated tuner may be formed of printed circuit board materials and may be placed over the cavities of the tunable cavity filter. Further, the piezo-electrically actuated tuner may promote high level performance of the tunable cavity filter, while allowing the tunable cavity filter to be tunable across wide bands.

PCB-based tuners for RF cavity filters

The present invention is a method for reducing phase noise in oscillator signals. For example, the oscillator may be a low phase noise MEMS-based oscillator and may include a resonator (ex.&#x2014;a MEMS resonator). Further, the resonator of the oscillator may be operated near a bifurcation point. Still further, the MEMS resonator may be parametrically pumped in such a way so as to redistribute the quadrature signal noise (ex.&#x2014;phase noise) to in-phase noise (ex.&#x2014;amplitude noise).

Low phase noise MEMS-based oscillator with bifurcation and parametric noise squeezing

The present invention is an oscillator which implements matched resonators which are driven at a same frequency, one hundred-eighty degrees out-of-phase. The resonators may be implemented in a same plane of a printed circuit board and located adjacent to each other, thus the resonators are affected by a same (ex.&#x2014;same magnitude of) vibration interference. However, in the oscillator embodiments described herein, the vibration interference component cancels out of (ex.&#x2014;is eliminated from) the oscillator output signal, leaving only the desired component.

Growing community of inventors

Marion, IA, United States of America

Jonathan A Lovseth