N112-126 TITLE: Master Clock Vibration-Isolation Technology Improvements for Aircraft Avionics

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Air Platform, Sensors, Electronics

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMA-272, Advanced Tactical Aircraft Protection Systems

OBJECTIVE: Develop a vibration-isolation schema that greatly improves by several magnitudes the performance of the 10-megahertz (MHz) master clock in aircraft avionics.

DESCRIPTION: Every digital receiver system that serves signal intelligence (SIGINT), electronics intelligence (ELINT), and communications intelligence (COMINT) has a crystal oscillator as a reference source (master clock). Also, every aviation platform has platform-induced vibration that adds random phase noise to these crystal oscillators, thereby increasing phase noise by as much as 45 decibels (dB) and degrading overall system performance. When receiving electronic signals of interest during collection events, aircraft experience vibration-induced phase noise that increases the noise floor creating the potential for failure to detect signals that are under the platform's noise floor. Further, the more vibration-induced phase noise there is, the smaller the platform stand-off range is, or the closer to the source the detection platform has to be.

In order to decrease the noise floor and increase the stand-off range of aviation platforms (UAVs included) that receive and gather electronic information, a novel approach to reducing the platform-induced vibration in the crystal oscillator is needed. Creating a novel vibration-isolation solution will reap overall system performance benefits throughout all avionics on the aircraft that use master clock reference signals, including radars, jammers, countermeasures, and so on.

PHASE I: Develop novel solutions to increase the vibration isolation of the crystal oscillator in legacy aircraft avionics. Provide both white paper theory and modeling and simulation as to the benefit of the proposed vibration-isolation schema. This modeling and simulation should show significant performance improvements of legacy avionics based on the crystal oscillator's improved vibration isolation.

PHASE II: Develop a prototype vibration-isolation solution and conduct platform-specified vibration analysis, demonstrating reduced vibration and increased receiver sensitivities. Vibration testing will include three aircraft-type vibration tables prescribed by the technical point of contact (TPOC) at the beginning of Phase II.

PHASE III: Transition the approach to legacy systems and other platforms that will benefit from the developed vibration-isolation schema.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Every aircraft, military and commercial, has vibrations that affect the reference crystal oscillator (master clock), creating a degradation in the system's performance. Advances in vibration isolation for crystal oscillator applications will result in system improvements.

REFERENCES:
1. Driscoll, M. M. (2002, June). Low noise oscillator design and performance. Paper presented at the IEEE Frequency Control Symposium, New Orleans, LA. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/14168533/Low-Noise-Oscillator-Design-and-Performance-MMDriscoll

2. Corsaro, R. D., Herdic, P. C., Houston, B. H., & Klunder, J. D. and assigned to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy. (2009). U.S. Patent No. 7,586,236. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved from http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=7586236.PN.&OS=PN/7586236&RS=PN/7586236

3. Vig, J. R. and assigned to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army. (1997). U.S. Patent No. 5,652,550. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved from http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5,652,550.PN.&OS=PN/5,652,550&RS=PN/5,652,550

4. Howe, D. A. (2006). Phase noise and vibration tolerance in microwave oscillators: Needs vs. state-of-the-art. Boulder, CO: National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved from http://nistboulder.net/Presentations/HoweMTO%20DarpaPhotonicsConf06.pdf

KEYWORDS: crystal oscillator; vibration isolation; master clock; electronic warfare; decibel; vibration noise reduction

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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