Performance simulation involving correlated part characteristics.
Algorithm for generating normally distributed variables set with given correlation matrix in digital computer simulation of electronic circuit performance
DISTRIBUTION FUNCTION↗
SEARCH · Engineering Papers
Results for “digital electronic circuits”
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Upper-Bound SEU Rates In Anisotropic Fluxes
Upper bounds on rates of single-event upsets (SEU's) in digital integrated circuits and other electronic devices exposed to anisotropic fluxes of energetic ionizing particles computed by use of improved method. Derived from simplified, worst-case mathematical models of charge-collecting volumes and physical phenomena in electronic devices.
Edmonds, Larry D.↗
Silicon-Germanium Films Grown on Sapphire for Ka-Band Communications Applications
NASA's vision in the space communications area is to develop a broadband data network in which there is a high degree of interconnectivity among the various satellite systems, ground stations, and wired systems. To accomplish this goal, we will need complex electronic circuits integrating analog and digital data handling at the Ka-band (26 to 40 GHz). The purpose of this project is to show the feasibility of a new technology for Ka-band communications applications, namely silicon germanium (SiGe) on sapphire. This new technology will have several advantages in comparison to the existing silicon-substrate- based circuits. The main advantages are extremely low parasitic reactances that enable much higher quality active and passive components, better device isolation, higher radiation tolerance, and the integration of digital and analog circuitry on a single chip.
Alterovitz, Samuel A.↗
Computer aids for worst case electronic circuit design
Computer aids for worst case electronic circuit design
DIGITAL COMPUTER↗
RF Device for Acquiring Images of the Human Body
A safe, non-invasive method for forming images through clothing of large groups of people, in order to search for concealed weapons either made of metal or not, has been developed. A millimeter wavelength scanner designed in a unique, ring-shaped configuration can obtain a full 360 image of the body with a resolution of less than a millimeter in only a few seconds. Millimeter waves readily penetrate normal clothing, but are highly reflected by the human body and concealed objects. Millimeter wave signals are nonionizing and are harmless to human tissues when used at low power levels. The imager (see figure) consists of a thin base that supports a small-diameter vertical post about 7 ft (=2.13 m) tall. Attached to the post is a square-shaped ring 2 in. (=5 cm) wide and 3 ft (=91 cm) on a side. The ring is oriented horizontally, and is supported halfway along one side by a connection to a linear bearing on the vertical post. A planar RF circuit board is mounted to the inside of each side of the ring. Each circuit board contains an array of 30 receivers, one transmitter, and digitization electronics. Each array element has a printed-circuit patch antenna coupled to a pair of mixers by a 90 coupler. The mixers receive a reference local oscillator signal to a subharmonic of the transmitter frequency. A single local oscillator line feeds all 30 receivers on the board. The resulting MHz IF signals are amplified and carried to the edge of the board where they are demodulated and digitized. The transmitted signal is derived from the local oscillator at a frequency offset determined by a crystal oscillator. One antenna centrally located on each side of the square ring provides the source illumination power. The total transmitted power is less than 100 mW, resulting in an exposure level that is completely safe to humans. The output signals from all four circuit boards are fed via serial connection to a data processing computer. The computer processes the approximately 1-MB data set into a three-dimensional image in a matter of seconds. The innovation is to configure the receiver array in a ring topology surrounding the scanned object. The ring is then scanned vertically to cover the necessary two-dimensional surface. This fabrication of the ring is made possible by using planar antenna and circuit technology. A planar circuit board serves as a medium for both antennas and signal processing components. Using this technique, parts counts are kept low, and the cost per element is a small fraction of a waveguide-based system.
Gaier, Todd C.↗
A precision star tracker utilizing advanced techniques and materials
An image dissector star tracker has been developed which operates in the photon counting mode making it possible to utilize all digital electronics. A unique pulse processing circuit allows bright stars to be tracked as well as dim stars. Thermal mechanical stability has been greatly enhanced by fabricating a housing with graphite/epoxy composite material with a linear coefficient of thermal expansion near zero. Test results indicate the +10 Mv stars can be acquired and tracked, while position variation with star intensity is less than 2 arc seconds from 2.5 Mv to +10 Mv. The noise equivalent angle for a +8 Mv star is 3 arc seconds. Polynominal correction for remaining cross-coupling and nonlinearity reduced error over total 1 x 1 deg field to 1.5 arc seconds.
Gates, R. F.↗
Propulsion controls
Increased system requirements and functional integration with the aircraft have placed an increased demand on control system capability and reliability. To provide these at an affordable cost and weight and because of the rapid advances in electronic technology, hydromechanical systems are being phased out in favor of digital electronic systems. The transition is expected to be orderly from electronic trimming of hydromechanical controls to full authority digital electronic control. Future propulsion system controls will be highly reliable full authority digital electronic with selected component and circuit redundancy to provide the required safety and reliability. Redundancy may include a complete backup control of a different technology for single engine applications. The propulsion control will be required to communicate rapidly with the various flight and fire control avionics as part of an integrated control concept.
Harkney, R. D.↗
Analog/Digital System for Germanium Thermometer
Electronic system containing analog and digital circuits makes high-precision, four-wire measurements of resistance of each germanium resistance thermometer (GRT) in array of devices, using alternating current (ac) of 1 micro-A. At end measurement interval, contents of negative register subtracted from positive one, resulting in very-narrow-band synchronous demodulation of carrier wave and suppression of out-of-band noise. Microprocessor free to perform other duties after measurement complete. Useful in noisy terrestrial environments encountered in factories.
Woodhouse, Christopher↗
Programmable Maintenance Processor For XAIDS
Programmable maintenance processor (MAINT) made of commercially available integrated circuits. Autonomous one of four digital electronic processors in extended aircraft interrogation and display system (XAIDS). Developed for testing of system and application computer programs as well as for testing equipment. MAINT has independent terminal and printer interfaces and dedicated magnetic bubble memory storing system-testing sequences entered from terminal. Software for MAINT written in PLM86 programming language and broken into four separate modules.
Glover, Richard↗
Monolithic Optical-To-Electronic Receiver
Monolithic optoelectronic integrated circuit converts multiplexed digital optical signals into electrical signals, separates, and distributes them to intended destinations. Developed to deliver phase and amplitude commands to monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC's) at elements of millimeter-wave phased-array antenna from single optical fiber driven by external array controller. Also used in distribution of high-data-rate optical communications in local-area networks (LAN's). Notable features include options for optical or electrical clock inputs; outputs for raw data, addresses, and instructions for diagnosis; and optical-signal-detection circuit used to reduce power consumption by 80 percent between data-transmission times. Chip fabricated by processes available at many major semiconductor foundries. Distribution of digital signals in aircraft, automobiles, and ships potential application.
Kunath, Richard↗
Solenoid-Simulation Circuit
Electrical properties of solenoids imitated for tests of control circuits. Simulation circuit imitates voltage and current responses of two engine-controlling solenoids. Used in tests of programs of digital engine-control circuits, also provides electronic interface with circuits imitating electrical properties of pressure sensors and linear variable-differential transformers. Produces voltages, currents, delays, and discrete turnon and turnoff signals representing operation of solenoid in engine-control relay. Many such circuits used simulating overall engine circuitry.
Simon, R. A.↗
Digital Accumulators In Phase- And Frequency-Tracking Loops
Report describes investigation of deleterious effects of digital accumulators upon performances of phase- and frequency-tracking electronic circuits used to compute averages and reduce processing rates. Emphasizes problems encountered with respect to digital accumulators in operation of receivers in Global Positioning System (GPS). Also applicable to more general receivers or other signal-processing systems that include digital accumulators.
Hinedi, Sami↗
General-Purpose Driver For Arrays Of Photodetectors
Electronic system containing both digital and analog circuits supplies clock waveforms at frequencies up to 12 MHz and/or bias voltages in 16 output channels. Designed to provide low-noise driving signals for any of variety of arrays of photodetectors. Clock waveform and/or bias in each channel adjusted independently of others to suit requirements of specific array of detectors. System offers primary advantage (adjustability) of prior laboratory systems, but at cost, power, and size like those of prior dedicated, field-deployed systems.
Shu, Peter K.↗
Cell Libraries
A NASA contract led to the development of faster and more energy efficient semiconductor materials for digital integrated circuits. Gallium arsenide (GaAs) conducts electrons 4-6 times faster than silicon and uses less power at frequencies above 100-150 megahertz. However, the material is expensive, brittle, fragile and has lacked computer automated engineering tools to solve this problem. Systems & Processes Engineering Corporation (SPEC) developed a series of GaAs cell libraries for cell layout, design rule checking, logic synthesis, placement and routing, simulation and chip assembly. The system is marketed by Compare Design Automation.
Source record↗
Radiation-Hardened GaN HEMT and Cell Design, Modeling, and Fabrication for Nuclear Instrumentation Applications
Recent advances in nuclear power generation technologies show great promise for efficient, safe generation of carbon-free power in the near future. Consequently, many new generation reactor designs are being pursued by government and industry groups, including both fission- and fusion-based technologies. Radiation- and temperature-tolerant sensor technology continues to advance, yet development of the electronics/instrumentation technologies suitable for these environments have fallen behind. Industry has adequately addressed harsh environment electronics needs for low earth orbit satellites, but the much more extreme conditions associated with electronics placed near or in a reactor core remain unaddressed. This project investigates the use of gallium nitride (GaN) circuit technology to address the unique needs for sensor interface electronics and communications in reactor environments. This report provides a summary of the first year’s project activities related to developing and optimizing devices and circuits for this GaN high electronic mobility transistor (HEMT) process. Activities reported include multiple analog and digital circuit designs simulated using custom Verilog-A models generated from measured GaN devices fabricated in the target process. Digital circuit designs included fundamental logic circuits such as an inverter, NAND, NOR, AND and OR gates, as well as a 5-stage ring oscillator. Each design was simulated using an open-source SPICE simulator, and an integrated circuit layout was produced of each design for use in future fabrication. Analog circuit designs focused on the fundamental building blocks to be used to construct sensor interface and communications circuits. These included current mirrors, matched differential pairs, and a Gilbert cell mixer design, each with an associated integrated circuit layout. Layout tools used for these designs included two open-source packages—KLayout and Magic—which were customized for specific use with the OSU GaN process layers. Design rules and preliminary device extraction capabilities were built for the Magic tool to enable device extraction and subsequent netlist generation for SPICE simulation. Finally, future research directions for year two are summarized. When the year-two directions are implemented, the project will be in position to advance the state of the art in electronics for near- or in-reactor sensor interfacing and communications.
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
Circuit design tool. User's manual, revision 2
The CAM chip design was produced in a UNIX software environment using a design tool that supports definition of digital electronic modules, composition of these modules into higher level circuits, and event-driven simulation of these circuits. Our design tool provides an interface whose goals include straightforward but flexible primitive module definition and circuit composition, efficient simulation, and a debugging environment that facilitates design verification and alteration. The tool provides a set of primitive modules which can be composed into higher level circuits. Each module is a C-language subroutine that uses a set of interface protocols understood by the design tool. Primitives can be altered simply by recoding their C-code image; in addition new primitives can be added allowing higher level circuits to be described in C-code rather than as a composition of primitive modules--this feature can greatly enhance the speed of simulation.
Miyake, Keith M.↗
Architecture for a 1-GHz Digital RADAR
An architecture for a Direct RF-digitization Type Digital Mode RADAR was developed at GSFC in 2008. Two variations of a basic architecture were developed for use on RADAR imaging missions using aircraft and spacecraft. Both systems can operate with a pulse repetition rate up to 10 MHz with 8 received RF samples per pulse repetition interval, or at up to 19 kHz with 4K received RF samples per pulse repetition interval. The first design describes a computer architecture for a Continuous Mode RADAR transceiver with a real-time signal processing and display architecture. The architecture can operate at a high pulse repetition rate without interruption for an infinite amount of time. The second design describes a smaller and less costly burst mode RADAR that can transceive high pulse repetition rate RF signals without interruption for up to 37 seconds. The burst-mode RADAR was designed to operate on an off-line signal processing paradigm. The temporal distribution of RF samples acquired and reported to the RADAR processor remains uniform and free of distortion in both proposed architectures. The majority of the RADAR's electronics is implemented in digital CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor), and analog circuits are restricted to signal amplification operations and analog to digital conversion. An implementation of the proposed systems will create a 1-GHz, Direct RF-digitization Type, L-Band Digital RADAR--the highest band achievable for Nyquist Rate, Direct RF-digitization Systems that do not implement an electronic IF downsample stage (after the receiver signal amplification stage), using commercially available off-the-shelf integrated circuits.
Mallik, Udayan↗
Modeling from Local to Subsystem Level Effects in Analog and Digital Circuits Due to Space Induced Single Event Transients
Single Event Transients in analog and digital electronics from space generated high energetic nuclear particles can disrupt either temporarily and sometimes permanently the functionality and performance of electronics in space vehicles. This work first provides some insights into the modeling of SET in electronic circuits that can be used in SPICE-like simulators. The work is then directed to present methodologies, one of which was developed by this author, for the assessment of SET at different levels of integration in electronics, from the circuit level to the subsystem level.
State Transistion Model.↗