A new approach to analogue-to-digital converters

Digital signal processing (DSP) analyses and remodels a signal to improve its performance. The recent improvements in DSP performance have led to digital processors that permit real-time processing of ultra-broadband signals with analogue bandwidths of hundreds of GHz. However, securing such signals is still impossible as conventional analogue-to-digital converters (ADC) have limited bandwidth scalability. The EU-funded TERASLICE project investigates and tests concepts aimed at overcoming such limitations. It applies photonically supported spectral parallelization of ADC interfaces to convert waveforms with bandwidths over 300 GHz with possibilities for further scalability. The TERASLICE concept is disruptive and has a potential impact on a wide range of applications including radar systems and wireless communication.

The project relies on a joint effort of a carefully selected interdisciplinary consortium, which unites leading academic groups in Europe (KIT, CNIT, EPFL) with two high-tech start-up companies (LiGenTec and Vanguard Automation) and a major industrial player in the field of radar systems and RF engineering (THALES).