Experimental demonstration of real-time spectrum analysis using dispersive microstrip

We demonstrate the use of dispersive microstrip as a mechanism for obtaining the real-time Fourier transform of a time-limited signal within a predefined bandwidth. By etching a linearly-chirped impedance modulation into the upper plane strip-width, dispersive microstrip lines are created in which group-delay depends linearly on frequency within a prescribed bandwidth. When the group-delay satisfies a condition that is the temporal analog of the spatial Fraunhofer (far-field) condition of diffraction, the spectral components of an input signal are reordered in time such that the temporal envelope of the output signal corresponds to the Fourier-transform of the input. Experimental results are demonstrated for signals with frequency content from 4 to 8GHz in a 1.2-ns window.