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US 10,191,454 B2Granted
Methods and related systems of ultra-short pulse detection
AssigneeWilliam Marsh Rice University
InventorsAydin Babakhani, Babak Jamali
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Abstract
Ultra-short pulse detection. At least some example embodiments are methods including: receiving by an antenna a series of ultra-short pulses of electromagnetic energy at a repetition frequency, the receiving creates a pulse signal; self-mixing or intermodulating the pulse signal by applying the pulse signal to a non-linear electrical device, thereby creating a modulated signal; and filtering the modulated signal to recover a filtered signal having an intermodulated frequency being the repetition frequency.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- detecting by an antenna, electromagnetic waves incident upon the antenna, the electromagnetic waves in the form of a series of pulses, each pulse having a pulse width of 100 picoseconds (ps) or less, the series of pulses having a repetition frequency of greater than 100 Mega-Hertz, and the electromagnetic waves at a carrier frequency of 10 GigaHertz (GHz) or above, the receiving creates a pulse signal in electrical conductors directly coupled to the antenna;
- intermodulating the pulse signal by applying the pulse signal to a non-linear electrical device, the intermodulation creates a modulated signal;
- and
- filtering the modulated signal to recover a filtered signal having an intermodulated frequency being the repetition frequency.
1 more element
An electrical device comprising:
- a substrate that defines a length and width;
- an antenna disposed on the substrate, the antenna has a center frequency above 10 GigaHertz (GHz), the antenna configured to detect a series of pulses of electromagnetic waves, the series of pulses having a repetition frequency of greater than 100 Mega-Hertz, and the detection creates a pulse signal;
- a broadband amplifier disposed on the substrate, the broadband amplifier defines an input lead and an output lead, the input lead coupled to the antenna;
- a non-linear electrical device disposed on the substrate, the non-linear electrical device defines an input lead and an output lead, the input lead of the non-linear electrical device coupled to the output lead of the broadband amplifier, the non-linear electrical device configured to self-mix the pulse signal and thereby create a modulated signal;
- an electrical filter disposed on the substrate, the electrical filter defines an input lead and an output lead, the input lead of the electrical filter coupled to the output lead of the non-linear electrical device, and the electrical filter has upper cutoff frequency of about 10 GHz, the electrical filter configured to filter the modulated signal and thereby recover a clock signal having a frequency being the repetition rate;
- and
- a baseband amplifier disposed on the substrate, the baseband amplifier defines an input lead and an output lead, the input lead of the baseband amplifier coupled to the output lead of the electrical filter.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.