3,569 research outputs found
Onboard multichannel demultiplexer/demodulator
An investigation performed for NASA LeRC by COMSAT Labs, of a digitally implemented on-board demultiplexer/demodulator able to process a mix of uplink carriers of differing bandwidths and center frequencies and programmable in orbit to accommodate variations in traffic flow is reported. The processor accepts high speed samples of the signal carried in a wideband satellite transponder channel, processes these as a composite to determine the signal spectrum, filters the result into individual channels that carry modulated carriers and demodulate these to recover their digital baseband content. The processor is implemented by using forward and inverse pipeline Fast Fourier Transformation techniques. The recovered carriers are then demodulated using a single digitally implemented demodulator that processes all of the modulated carriers. The effort has determined the feasibility of the concept with multiple TDMA carriers, identified critical path technologies, and assessed the potential of developing these technologies to a level capable of supporting a practical, cost effective on-board implementation. The result is a flexible, high speed, digitally implemented Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) bulk demultiplexer/demodulator
Integrated Silicon Photonics for High-Speed Quantum Key Distribution
Integrated photonics offers great potential for quantum communication devices
in terms of complexity, robustness and scalability. Silicon photonics in
particular is a leading platform for quantum photonic technologies, with
further benefits of miniaturisation, cost-effective device manufacture and
compatibility with CMOS microelectronics. However, effective techniques for
high-speed modulation of quantum states in standard silicon photonic platforms
have been limited. Here we overcome this limitation and demonstrate high-speed
low-error quantum key distribution modulation with silicon photonic devices
combining slow thermo-optic DC biases and fast (10~GHz bandwidth)
carrier-depletion modulation. The ability to scale up these integrated circuits
and incorporate microelectronics opens the way to new and advanced integrated
quantum communication technologies and larger adoption of quantum-secured
communications
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