Major Advance in High Speed Signal Acquisition
Information Display · 1981
National Bureau of Standards scientists have recently built and tested what is claimed to be the fastest known real-time analog-to-digital converter. The NBS superconducting device uses Josephson junctions as its active elements, has six-bit resolution, and in tests has performed two billion A/D conversions per second. It should ultimately be useful for a variety of civilian and military applications involving high-speed measurements and signal processing. One use might be to measure the shape of fast transient phenomena encountered in different types of fusion experiments. Such events last only several billionths of a second, and improved time resolution could yield valuable information. Laser chemistry, radar, communications, and weapons testing are other areas where such high-speed measurements are essential. Retrievable Space Sensor-Optical alignment is verified on an infrared sensor that will be rocketed to the edge of space to detect and track ballistic missiles. Optical engineer William Davis conducts the tests at Hughes Aircraft Company's Electro-Optical and Data Systems Group, Culver City, Calif. The sensor, a part of the U.S. Army's Designating Optical Tracker (DOT) Program, is designed to be carried by a missile to an altitude of 100 nautical miles, where it scans a wide area of space and relays what it “sees” to the ground. At mission end, the sensor is parachuted into the ocean, where it is located and then recovered for refurbishment and reuse. Two DOT sensors, launched from Kwajalein Missile Range, have successfully demonstrated longrange infrared detection capability during three missions. One sensor was retrieved after its first launch and performed a second mission. The other sensor also was retrieved. Hughes developed the sensors under contract to Boeing Aerospace Company, prime contractor for the DOT program. New charge coupled, 2048-bit high resolution linear image sensor from NEC electron in 24-pin dip package.