Spectrally Compliant Waveforms for Navy Communication Systems Navy SBIR FY2012.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2012.1 Topic No.: N121-062 Topic Title: Spectrally Compliant Waveforms for Navy Communication Systems Proposal No.: N121-062-0268 Firm: Technology Service Corporation 962 Wayne Avenue Suite 800 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910-4453 Contact: Carroll Nunn Phone: (301) 576-2393 Web Site: www.tsc.com Abstract: Increasing data rate requirements from Navy communication systems, motivated in part by future sensor netting applications, drive a corresponding need to utilize broader communication bandwidths. It is envisioned that such bandwidth broadening will cause increased conflicts with other systems in the future RF environment characterized by ever increasing spectral occupancy, leading to fragmentation of the communication band. To simultaneously maintain data-rates, communication efficiency, and communications security, TSC has developed an orthogonal signaling approach, based on multiple symbols. This technique can be viewed as a generalization of the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technique. It provides practical implementation capabilities together with spectral compliance; coherent processing across fragmented bands; constant amplitude to maximize transmission power and efficiency; and enhanced communication security. Furthermore, it has the potential to support future broadening of the communication band without additional waveform complexity. During Phase I, TSC proposes to develop and evolve the concept in concrete terms and demonstrate its feasibility in convincing terms via modeling and simulation. Harris Corporation is joining TSC under a Phase I subcontract to supply hardware implementation expertise. Hardware validation in Phase II will be supported by Harris Corporation. Benefits: A direct benefit of TSC's Orthogonal Signaling technique is that it makes high data rate requirements consistent with increasing spectral occupancies. This is necessary for the implementation of future radar networking application as well as other applications such as the communications of large measurement databases from unmanned UAV and satellite platforms for processing on the ground, and for the close networking of such systems. The ability to operate coherently, with constant amplitude, across fragmented band, together with orthogonal signals, which imply multiple keys, will enhance communication security as well. Communications security will become critical in high data-rate applications, such as the above examples, in order keep the communications from becoming the weak link, subject to electronic attacks and repeated denial by the adversaries. Potential future users of such waveforms include all branches of the Department of Defense (DOD) as well as many commercial enterprises who are relentlessly pushing for broader spectral bands in order to increase data-rates in their own applications. Return