Method and device for measuring a pulse signal with high dynamic range
AssigneeThe Secretary of State for Defence
InventorsDavid Lanto Hillier, David Norman Winter
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to devices and methods of characterising a single unknown pulse signal. They create multiple replica of the original that may be more reliably measured, by dividing the signal through nodes and using different signal pathways that may apply a temporal delay. The device and methods have multiple fields of application, most notably with the internal confinement fusion industry.
Claims20
A passive pulse replication device for passively converting a single uncharacterized pulse signal into a chain of replica pulse signals, the passive pulse replication device comprising:
- a plurality of fully optical nodes capable of replicating the single uncharacterized pulse signal, wherein the plurality of fully optical nodes are arranged to operate successively upon the single uncharacterized pulse signal, the plurality of fully optical nodes comprising:
- an input node configured to:
- receive the single uncharacterized pulse signal;
- and
- divide the single uncharacterized pulse signal into a first pulse signal following a first signal pathway and a second pulse signal following a second signal pathway such that first amplitude characteristics of the first pulse signal passing along the first signal pathway are different to second amplitude characteristics of the second pulse signal passing along the second signal pathway, the first signal pathway configured to apply a first temporal delay to the first pulse signal with respect to the second pulse signal;
- and
- an output node configured to combine the first and second pulse signals from the first and the second signal pathway into a single signal pulse train comprising time-separated replications of the single uncharacterized pulse signal, wherein successive replications have exponentially increasing amplitude characteristics relative to each other.
A method of passively optimizing a single uncharacterized pulse signal into a chain of pulse signal replicas using a pulse replication device, of which, wherein at least one of the pulse signal replicas will be within a predetermined amplitude threshold range, the method comprising:
- a) receiving, at an input node of the pulse replication device, a pulse signal to be measured;
- b) dividing, at the pulse replication device, the single uncharacterized pulse signal into a first pulse signal on a first separate signal pathway and a second pulse signal on a second separate signal pathway of the pulse replication device, wherein;
- c) applying, at the pulse replication device, a temporal delay to one of the separate pulse signals;
- and
- d) combining, at an output node of the pulse replication device, the separate pulse signals into a consolidated signal train comprising time-separated pulses of exponentially increasing intensity relative to each other.
A passive pulse replication device for passively converting a single uncharacterized pulse signal into a chain of replica pulse signals, the passive pulse replication device comprising a plurality of fully optical nodes capable of replicating the single uncharacterized pulse signal and arranged to operate successively upon the single uncharacterized pulse signal, wherein a first node of the plurality of fully optical nodes is configured to:
- divide, according to a first coupling ratio, the single uncharacterized pulse signal into a first signal and a second signal;
- delay, according to a first delay, the first signal;
- recombine the delayed first signal and the second signal into a combined signal;
- and
- output the combined signal to a second node of the plurality of fully optical nodes, wherein
- the second node is configured to:
- receive the combined signal from the first node;
- divide, according to a second coupling ratio that is different from the first coupling ratio, the combined signal into a third signal and fourth signal;
- delay, according to a second delay, the third signal;
- and
- recombine the delayed third signal and the fourth signal into an output signal, wherein the output signal comprises time separated replications of the single uncharacterized pulse signal, the replications having successively increased amplitude relative to one another.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.