Principal investigator: Tommaso Cappello
University: Villanova University
Industry partner: AR RF/Microwave Instrumentation
Modern commercial and military radios need to transmit very strong signals—sometimes over 100,000 watts—without distorting the information they carry. Unfortunately, when amplifiers produce such high power, they also create unwanted “extra” signals called harmonics, which can interfere with other electronics. At low power, these unwanted signals can be removed with filters, but at very high power, the filters become too large, too limited in frequency, and can reduce the system performance.
This project will design a new radio-frequency circuit that can prevent these unwanted signals from being created. It works by slightly modifying the input signal so that the amplifier behaves more cleanly. If successful, this technology would open up new applications, such as equipment for electromagnetic-interference testing. Villanova University’s RF group will design, build, test, package the circuit using hardware from Ametek/Amplifier Research, and deliver a complete prototype to the partner company.