Superconducting cueing receiver for space experiment

Exploiting the high-temperature superconductor YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-x/ (YBCO), we have extended chirp-transform processing to instantaneously analyze the spectrum of an incoming signal over greater bandwidth than any competing technology. A compact receiver has been developed that can analyze a 3 GHz bandwidth in 120 ns with 110 MHz resolution. The cryogenic YBCO chirp filter and ambient-temperature semiconductor electronics have been space qualified for flight on the US Navy's High-Temperature Superconductivity Space Experiment, a package to be launched on the US Air Force ARGOS scientific satellite.<
>