Raytheon Technologies will continue to research advanced radio frequency mixed-mode circuit designs, under Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Technologies for Mixed-mode Ultra Scaled Integrated Circuits (T-MUSIC) program, the company reported on Tuesday.
“Radio frequency bands are increasingly cluttered, and we need to be able to ‘hear’ through all of the noise,” said Art Morrish, vice president of Advanced Concepts and Technologies at Raytheon Intelligence and Space, a Raytheon Technologies company. “If someone is yelling at you, it’s easy to miss what someone else is whispering. But imagine if you had a way to hear both at the same time. That’s what our multi-function system with mixed-mode electronics seeks to achieve.”
Raytheon Technologies has noted that the systems operate similarly to humans, where the front end of the system is comparable to eyes and ears, and the back end is like the brain. The brain will process what the eyes see and ears hear. In order for the back end to provide actionable information, the front end has to discriminate between the noise and the signals of interest.
The company has stated that the demand for multi-function systems with mixed-mode electronics at the front-end of the system will convert the RF signal into bits. The bits will integrate vital pieces of data that the back-end processes. The conversion will improve the user’s ability to distinguish between the noise, interference and signals of interest across a broad range of frequencies.
Raytheon Technologies has described the overall benefit of its continued research. The company has stated that the technology will not just be small in size, weight and power, but it will enhance it’s the performance.
The solution will be able to detect the faintest of signals amongst a broad range of frequencies and noise. It will then process the noise with precision and speed, enabling the identification of the object emitting the signal, even if it’s slow-moving or very small.
The potential designs will be collectively researched by Raytheon, commercial, aerospace and defense companies and universities. The designs could form the foundation out of future Department of Defense-relevant capabilities, including communication links, multi-function RF systems and next-generation electronic warfare and radars.
“What’s different here is all of this could happen on a single chip,” said Morrish. “Nobody has done this type of mixed composition before.”
About Raytheon Intelligence & Space
Raytheon Intelligence & Space delivers the disruptive technologies our customers need to succeed in any domain, against any challenge. A developer of advanced sensors, training, and cyber and software solutions, Raytheon Intelligence & Space provides a decisive advantage to civil, military and commercial customers in more than 40 countries around the world.
Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the business generated $15 billion in pro forma annual revenue in 2019 and has 39,000 employees worldwide. Raytheon Intelligence & Space is one of four businesses that form Raytheon Technologies Corporation.
