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At least 847 records · Page 47

Development of an Optical Slice for an RF and Optical Software Defined Radio

A key component in the Integrated Radio and Optical Communications project at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Glenn Research Center (GRC) is the radio frequency (RF) and optical software defined radio (SDR). A NASA RF SDR might consist of a general purpose processor to run the Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Architecture for radio command and control, a reconfigurable signal processing device such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) which houses the waveform, and a digital to analog converter (DAC) for transmitting data. Prior to development, SDR architecture trades on how to combine the RF and optical elements were studied. A modular architecture with physically separate RF and optical hardware slices was chosen and the optical slice of an SDR was designed and developed. The Harris AppSTARTM platform, which consists of an FPGA processing platform with a mezzanine card targeted for RF communications, was used as the base platform in prototyping the optical slice. A serially concatenated pulse position modulation (SCPPM) optical waveform was developed. The waveform follows the standard described in the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) Optical Communications Coding and Synchronization Red Book. A custom optical mezzanine printed circuit board card was developed at NASA GRC for optical transmission. The optical mezzanine card replaces the DAC, which is used in the transmission of RF signals. This paper describes RF and optical SDR architecture trades, the Harris AppSTAR platform, the design of the SCPPM waveform, and the development of the optical mezzanine card.

Nappier, Jennifer M.↗

High-Rate Ka-Band Modulator for the NISAR Mission

In order to meet ever-increasing data return requirements, more satellites are using the near-Earth Ka-band (25.5 – 27.0 GHz) to achieve higher downlink rates. The paper discusses the Universal Space Transponder - Ka-band Modulator (UST-KaM) developed at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) mission, which is capable of transmitting up to 1.74 Gbps with 7/8 LDPC encoding. The UST-KaM utilizes OQPSK with both baseband and RF filtering to contain the 1 Gsps transmission spectrum within the 1.5 GHz Ka-band, even with the use of an external, saturated amplifier. Due to the high data rates involved, several technical hurdles were overcome in both the digital and RF designs. The UST-KaM is a software defined radio with two digital circuit board assemblies: a low speed housekeeper board for commanding and telemetry, and a high-rate signal processing board known as the Signal Processing Module (SPM). The SPM receives data from the spacecraft via a SERDES interface at up to 2 Gbps, processes and encodes the data using a Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA, and produces 1 Gsps OQPSK I and Q waveforms via synchronized, multiplexed DACs. The RF Electronics in the UST-KaM employ a heterodyne architecture in which the I/Q digital waveforms are filtered and then up-converted using a sub-harmonic IQ mixer. The LO of the converter, which is included in the exciter assembly, is at 13.125GHz, and the RF output is a 26.25GHz carrier which is modulated with the OQPSK waveforms. The output of the mixer is then filtered using low loss quartz thinfilm edge coupled Chebyshev filters and amplified through a series of low gain Ka-Band amplifiers. The exciter assembly also has a 2GHz, low-phase-noise, PLL synthesizer to supply the clock to the DACs for the high rate digital waveforms.

Spurgers, Carl↗

Aboveground biomass density models for NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) lidar mission

NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) is collecting spaceborne full waveform lidar data with a primary science goal of producing accurate estimates of forest aboveground biomass density (AGBD). This paper presents the development of the models used to create GEDI’s footprint-level (~25 m) AGBD (GEDI04_A) product, including a description of the datasets used and the procedure for final model selection. The data used to fit our models are from a compilation of globally distributed spatially and temporally coincident field and airborne lidar datasets, whereby we simulated GEDI-like waveforms from airborne lidar to build a calibration database. We used this database to expand the geographic extent of past waveform lidar studies, and divided the globe into four broad strata by Plant Functional Type (PFT) and six geographic regions. GEDI’s waveform-to-biomass models take the form of parametric Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) models with simulated Relative Height (RH) metrics as predictor variables. From an exhaustive set of candidate models, we selected the best input predictor variables, and data transformations for each geographic stratum in the GEDI domain to produce a set of comprehensive predictive footprint-level models. We found that model selection frequently favored combinations of RH metrics at the 98th, 90th, 50th, and 10th height above ground-level percentiles (RH98, RH90, RH50, and RH10, respectively), but that inclusion of lower RH metrics (e.g. RH10) did not markedly improve model performance. Second, forced inclusion of RH98 in all models was important and did not degrade model performance, and the best performing models were parsimonious, typically having only 1-3 predictors. Third, stratification by geographic domain (PFT, geographic region) improved model performance in comparison to global models without stratification. Fourth, for the vast majority of strata, the best performing models were fit using square root transformation of field AGBD and/or height metrics. There was considerable variability in model performance across geographic strata, and areas with sparse training data and/or high AGBD values had the poorest performance. These models are used to produce global predictions of AGBD, but will be improved in the future as more and better training data become available.

Laura Duncanson↗

Performance Evaluation of a Shaped Sonic Boom Detector and Classifier

NASA will soon fly the X‑59 aircraft over selected communities to evaluate community responses to shaped sonic booms. Community tests will include dozens of deployed acoustic sensors capable of measuring and detecting shaped sonic boom waveforms in situ for rapid onboard analysis. To this end, we present a sonic boom detector and classifier. The sonic boom detector identifies a shaped sonic boom within a measured acoustical waveform by calculating the cross-correlation with a template shaped sonic boom waveform. The sonic boom classifier determines whether the identified event is indeed a shaped sonic boom based on the correlation coefficient and the calculated noise exposure level. We evaluate these algorithms using simulations of on- and off-design X-59 sonic boom waveforms injected into previously measured 30 s ambient noise recordings. Results of this case study indicate that the detector identifies a sonic boom with an accuracy of ±100 ms in 99.98% of the cases. Furthermore, for a given 30 s measurement, the classifier shows true-positive rates of approximately 0.9999 when the false-positive rate is 10e-3. The case study demonstrates that the recommended onboard sonic boom detector and classifier should be highly capable of identifying shaped sonic booms.

sonic boom↗

Method of achieving ultra-wideband true-time-delay beam steering for active electronically scanned arrays

The various embodiments presented herein relate to beam steering an array antenna by modifying intermediate frequency (IF) waveforms prior to conversion to RF signals. For each channel, a direct digital synthesis (DDS) component can be utilized to generate a waveform or modify amplitude, timing and phase of a waveform relative to another waveform, whereby the generation/modification can be performed prior to the IF input port of a mixer on each channel. A local oscillator (LO) signal can be utilized to commonly drive each of the mixers. After conversion at the RF output port of each of the mixers, each RF signal can be transmitted by a respective antenna element in the antenna array. Initiation of transmission of each RF signal can be performed simultaneously at each antenna. The process can be reversed during receive whereby timing, amplitude, and phase of the received can be modified digitally post ADC conversion.

Loui, Hung↗

Combined radar and telemetry system

A combined radar and telemetry system is described. The combined radar and telemetry system includes a processing unit that executes instructions, where the instructions define a radar waveform and a telemetry waveform. The processor outputs a digital baseband signal based upon the instructions, where the digital baseband signal is based upon the radar waveform and the telemetry waveform. A radar and telemetry circuit transmits, simultaneously, a radar signal and telemetry signal based upon the digital baseband signal.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Converter topologies for common mode voltage reduction

An inverter includes a three-winding transformer, a DC-AC inverter electrically coupled to the first winding of the transformer, a cycloconverter electrically coupled to the second winding of the transformer, and an active filter electrically coupled to the third winding of the transformer. The DC-AC inverter is adapted to convert the input DC waveform to an AC waveform delivered to the transformer at the first winding. The cycloconverter is adapted to convert an AC waveform received at the second winding of the transformer to the output AC waveform having a grid frequency of the AC grid. The active filter is adapted to sink and source power with one or more energy storage devices based on a mismatch in power between the DC source and the AC grid. At least two of the DC-AC inverter, the cycloconverter, or the active filter are electrically coupled via a common reference electrical interconnect.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Gas stream analysis using voltage-current time differential operation of electrochemical sensors

A method for analysis of a gas stream. The method includes identifying an affected region of an affected waveform signal corresponding to at least one characteristic of the gas stream. The method also includes calculating a voltage-current time differential between the affected region of the affected waveform signal and a corresponding region of an original waveform signal. The affected region and the corresponding region of the waveform signals have a sensitivity specific to the at least one characteristic of the gas stream. The method also includes generating a value for the at least one characteristic of the gas stream based on the calculated voltage-current time differential.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Converter topologies and control

An inverter includes a transformer that includes a first winding, a second winding, and a third winding, a DC-AC inverter electrically coupled to the first winding of the transformer, a cycloconverter electrically coupled to the second winding of the transformer, an active filter electrically coupled to the third winding of the transformer. The DC-AC inverter is adapted to convert the input DC waveform to an AC waveform delivered to the transformer at the first winding. The cycloconverter is adapted to convert an AC waveform received at the second winding of the transformer to the output AC waveform having a grid frequency of the AC grid. The active filter is adapted to sink and source power with one or more energy storage devices based on a mismatch in power between the DC source and the AC grid.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Context-dependent piano music transcription with convolutional sparse coding

The present disclosure presents a novel approach to automatic transcription of piano music in a context-dependent setting. Embodiments described herein may employ an efficient algorithm for convolutional sparse coding to approximate a music waveform as a summation of piano note waveforms convolved with associated temporal activations. The piano note waveforms may be pre-recorded for a particular piano that is to be transcribed and may optionally be pre-recorded in the specific environment where the piano performance is to be performed. During transcription, the note waveforms may be fixed and associated temporal activations may be estimated and post-processed to obtain the pitch and onset transcription. Experiments have shown that embodiments of the disclosure significantly outperform state-of-the-art music transcription methods trained in the same context-dependent setting, in both transcription accuracy and time precision, in various scenarios including synthetic, anechoic, noisy, and reverberant environments.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

System and method for instantaneous power decomposition and estimation

A system disaggregates and estimates power consumption of electric loads powered by a single electrical outlet. The system includes a processor having a routine; a current sensor cooperating with the processor to measure samples for one line cycle of an aggregated current waveform for the electric loads powered by the single electrical outlet; and a voltage sensor cooperating with the processor to measure samples for the one line cycle of a voltage waveform for the electric loads powered by the single electrical outlet. The processor routine transfers the measured samples for the one line cycle of the aggregated current waveform and the voltage waveform into an aggregated voltage-current trajectory for the single electrical outlet, and provides an instantaneous decomposition of power consumption for a plurality of different categories of the electric loads from the aggregated voltage-current trajectory for the one line cycle.

Yang, Yi↗

Method and system for estimating a rotor position with a notch filter

A motor has a rotor that rotates in response to one or more alternating current input signals. A position sensor is adapted to generate a substantially saw-tooth waveform indicative of a position of the rotor. A primary processing module or data processor is capable of providing position data and speed data for the rotor based on the substantially saw-tooth waveform. A notch filter can reject one or more selected frequency components in the substantially saw-tooth waveform to reduce distortion off the substantially saw-tooth waveform that would otherwise tend to cause inaccuracy in the provided position data and speed data.

Li, Dan↗

Harmonic combiner and divider

The harmonic combiner and divider efficiently combines multiple harmonic signals onto a common transmission line. Combined harmonic signals can be used to generate fast, high-fidelity arbitrary waveforms by superimposing the harmonics described in their Fourier series. Fast arbitrary waveforms have applications in communications, radar, and can be used for manipulating and controlling charged particle beams. The harmonic combiner and divider also efficiently divides fast arbitrary waveforms into their constituent harmonics and provides an efficient mechanism for waveform analysis and for multi-channel communications.

Roberts, Brock Franklin↗

On-the-fly computation of analog mixed-signal (AMS) measurements

The present disclosure generally relates to an analog mixed-signal (AMS) design verification system. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a system and method for system verification. One example method includes: obtaining an electronic representation of the circuit design; generating at least a portion of a waveform using the electronic representation of the circuit to obtain a first segment of the waveform associated with the circuit; converting, via the one or more processors, one or more measurement functions to code for performing the one or more computations on the first segment of the waveform; performing one or more computations on the first segment of the waveform using the code; and identifying when a behavior of the circuit violates a design specification based on whether a result of the one or more computations meets a threshold.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Microwave photoconductance spectrometer and methods of using the same

The present disclosure relates to a steady-state microwave conductivity method that includes modulating a light beam to form an amplitude modulated light having a modulation frequency ω1, producing a microwave waveform, exposing a sample to the amplitude modulated light and a first portion of the microwave waveform to produce an amplitude modulation signal on the first portion of the microwave waveform, and mixing a second portion of the microwave waveform and the amplitude modulation signal to produce a first signal and a second signal.

Larson, Bryon William↗

Multiple frequency electron cyclotron resonance thruster

An electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) thruster includes a magnetic field source configured to generate a magnetic field, a thruster body that defines a chamber, the thruster body being disposed relative to the magnetic field source such that the magnetic field is present in the chamber and such that a magnetic nozzle is established, an antenna configured to propagate radio frequency (RF) power within the chamber, and a waveform generator coupled to the antenna to generate an RF waveform for the RF power. The waveform generator is configured such that the RF waveform includes multiple frequencies.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Microwave photoconductance spectrometer and methods of using the same

A steady-state microwave conductivity method whereby a light beam is modulated to form an amplitude modulated light having a modulation frequency ω1. The method further includes producing a microwave waveform, exposing a sample to the amplitude modulated light and a first portion of the microwave waveform to produce an amplitude modulation signal on the first portion of the microwave waveform, and mixing a second portion of the microwave waveform and the amplitude modulation signal to produce a first signal and a second signal.

Larson, Bryon William↗

Detecting Unclassified Electromagnetic Signals for Secure Wireless Communication Using Open Set Recognition

We developed multiple machine learning methods for the detection and classification of new wireless communication waveforms, which is critical for targeted attacks in wireless networks and electronic warfare. Our machine learning models are capable of dynamically detecting security threats in near real time through our advanced open set recognition (OSR) approach. This model has demonstrated significant improvements in the detection of unknown waveforms, thereby enhancing the security and reliability of mission critical communications. Our approach to detecting uncertain security threats is novel; we advanced OSR techniques by incorporating domain knowledge of wireless signals. Specifically, we combined time and frequency domain model features to enhance the model’s performance. Utilizing an OSR approach eliminates the need for training data to be distributed similarly to the deployment environment and removes the requirement for the training set to contains all possible threat classes. This is crucial because it is often infeasible to determine and characterize all potential security threats in advance. Our model were trained on simulated data, generated in partnership with the University at Albany, State of New York. The data set contained a diverse array of wireless signals, including those with additive white Gaussian noise and multipath signals, with and without line of sight. This comprehensive training set allowed us to optimize our models to detect unknown waveforms under various challenging scenarios, such as low signal-to-noise ratios. By training on various waveforms, varying signal-to-noise ratio, and different sample sizes under normal conditions, our models were fine tuned to perform effectively in challenging environments.

99 - GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗