One-chip analog circuits for a new type of plasma wave receiver on board space missions

Abstract

Abstract. Plasma waves are important observational targets for scientific missions investigating space plasma phenomena. Conventional fast Fourier transform (FFT)-based spectrum plasma wave receivers have the disadvantages of a large size and a narrow dynamic range. This paper proposes a new type of FFT-based spectrum plasma wave receiver that overcomes the disadvantages of conventional receivers. The receiver measures and calculates the whole spectrum by dividing the observation frequency range into three bands: bands 1, 2, and 3, which span 1 Hz to 1 kHz, 1 to 10 kHz, and 10 to 100 kHz, respectively. To reduce the size of the receiver, its analog section was realized using application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) technology, and an ASIC chip was successfully developed. The dimensions of the analog circuits were 4.21 mm × 1.16 mm. To confirm the performance of the ASIC, a test system for the receiver was developed using the ASIC, an analog-to-digital converter, and a personal computer. The frequency resolutions for bands 1, 2, and 3 were 3.2, 32, and 320 Hz, respectively, and the average time resolution was 384 ms. These frequency and time resolutions are superior to those of conventional FFT-based receivers.

Development of a miniaturized spectrum-type plasma wave receiver comprising an application-specific integrated circuit analog front end and a field-programmable gate array

“…As mentioned in the Introduction, the gain of wideband receivers must be set for the most intense waves in the observation frequency range, and it leads to decreasing the sensitivity. To avoid this disadvantage, the new spectrum receiver was proposed [8]. The new receiver has a filter for bandlimiting in the first stage, and it covers the entire observation frequency range of each band by switching its cutoff frequency.…”

“…The power supply voltages of the circuit are 3.3 V for the analog components and the analog part of the ADC and 2.5 V for the digital part of the ADC. The design of the analog part is based on the previously developed analog ASIC chip, and the detailed circuit design is given in Zushi et al [8]. From the previous design, the design of the anti-aliasing filter is modified to improve the flatness of the gain frequency response within the passband.…”

“…The authors have previously proposed a new spectrum receiver to overcome the above disadvantage and developed the analog part of the receiver, which is the core component of the new receiver [8]. The proposed spectrum receiver applies narrowband amplification and measures a wide frequency range by switching the observation band.…”

“…The ASIC allows us to implement necessary circuits on a chip by designing it by ourselves. Zushi et al introduced the successful development of the chip for the new spectrum receiver and verified its functions and performance [8]. These authors focused on the design of the analog circuits on the chip and substituted the necessary digital parts such as FFT calculations including an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with the PC.…”

“…In this study, the proposed spectrum receiver was implemented and assessed using an ASIC and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The ASIC chip contained all components for the analog front end of the receiver: the improved analog part developed by Zushi et al [8] and an ADC. Because the receiver requires a digital processor to calculate the frequency spectrum and control each component of the receiver, a digital part was designed and implemented using an FPGA.…”