Digital Backend

Digital signal-processing technology has now progressed to the point where a fully "digital back end" (DBE) has many advantages, including both price and performance. In a brief note, we examine one possible concept for a flexible DBE, examine its probable performance, and cost.

Goals of the DBE Design

The goals of the DBE design presented in this document can be summarized as follows:

Performance
• Improved RFI tolerance, detection, and avoidance compared to analog systems
• Reduced spurious harmonic and inter-modulation response compared to analog systems
• Absolute stability and repeatability
• Increased channel bandwidth and, potentially, ability to handle increased IF bandwidth

Implementation
• Use of FPGA-based design for ease of fixes, upgrades, and flexibility
• Based on industry-standard COTS components
  
  Cost
• Reduce per unit reproduction cost to ~$10K/system (compared to >$100K for current analog backend systems)

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