Spurious Signal Tagging for Nonlinear Amplifier Harmonics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current signal processing systems face inefficiencies due to the need to account for spurious harmonic signals generated during nonlinear amplification events, which burdens downstream hardware devices and reduces their ability to perform other functions efficiently, particularly in electronic warfare systems.
Innovation Solution
A signal detection assembly that includes a spur detector and a tagging circuit to identify and tag spurious signals by determining the time envelopes of nonlinear amplification events, allowing these signals to bypass downstream processing and thereby improve throughput and reduce false positives.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If signal processing logic processes all signals including spurious harmonic signals, then processing thoroughness is improved, but processing efficiency and throughput deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The spur detector performs preliminary detection of nonlinear amplification events and generates time envelopes before the main signal processing logic operates. This preliminary action identifies spurious signals early, allowing the downstream processing to skip unnecessary analysis of tagged spurious signals, thus maintaining thoroughness for genuine signals while improving overall efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The signal processing system is segmented into distinct functional blocks: a spur detector for identifying nonlinear events, a tagging circuit for marking spurious signals, and downstream processing logic. This segmentation allows the system to handle spurious and genuine signals through different paths, improving throughput by avoiding redundant processing of spurious signals while maintaining processing thoroughness for authenticated signals
2Measurement precision
If downstream hardware devices process spurious signals, then signal analysis completeness is improved, but device capability for other functions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The spurious signal detection and tagging function is extracted as a separate preliminary processing stage before the main downstream hardware devices. By extracting this function, spurious signals are identified and tagged early, allowing downstream devices to bypass processing of tagged signals and dedicate their capabilities to other critical functions while maintaining complete analysis of untagged genuine signals
3Reliability
If the system processes all harmonic signals through downstream logic, then false positive reduction is improved, but processing throughput deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of nonlinear amplification events and generates time envelopes before downstream processing. This preliminary action enables the tagging circuit to identify and tag spurious signals early, allowing the downstream logic to skip processing of tagged signals. This maintains false positive reduction by thoroughly analyzing untagged signals while improving throughput by bypassing tagged spurious signals
Solution Approach 2:
The processing path is segmented into authenticated signal processing and spurious signal bypass paths. The tagging circuit creates a segmentation marker that directs genuine signals through thorough downstream analysis for false positive reduction while directing tagged spurious signals through a bypass path, thereby improving overall processing throughput without sacrificing reliability
Data Source
AI summary
An amplifier generate harmonic noise or nuisance signals when the amplifier enters into a nonlinear amplification event. The harmonic noise or nuisance signals are spurious and a tagging circuit may tag them as such so they bypass signal processing logic and provide the same to a downstream hardware device that skips the signals tagged as spurious. The system uses a spurious signal detector and a comparator to identify nonlinear amplification events containing harmonic noise below an amplitude threshold that indicates the harmonic noise or nuisance signals as spurious to the downstream hardware device. Typically, the system is incorporated into an electronic warfare system such that the downstream hardware device effectuates countermeasures for a manned or unmanned platform.