Hypres Delivers Two Digital-RFTM Receiver Systems To U.S. Office of Naval Research For Test and Evaluation Applications

Elmsford, New York (Aug 19, 2008)— Hypres Inc., a leading developer of superconducting microelectronics technology and the Digital-RFTM product line, delivered two Digital-RFTM receiver systems to the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Naval Research (ONR). The systems are designed to serve as versatile test beds for evaluating Digital-RF technology for wireless communications applications such as satellite and tactical communications, signals intelligence, electronic warfare, and software defined radio.

The ONR will locate the Digital-RF receiver system test beds within facilities at Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) and prime contractors as directed by ONR. Hypres has been working closely with SPAWAR on a number of contracts related to the continued development of Digital-RF technology.

“Delivering the test bed systems is an outstanding achievement for our entire team and a key milestone for Hypres,” said Richard Hitt, CEO of Hypres. “The systems can efficiently evaluate the chip design upgrades we develop when configuring our receivers for customers’ specific operating parameters.”

Work on the two test bed systems was supported through an ONR Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase 3 contract valued at $650,000, with an exercised option of $75,000 to develop an improved analog-to-digital converter (ADC) chip.

Each Digital-RF receiver system features a pre-characterized low-pass single-chip digital-RF receiver, a cryocooler with two temperature stages and appropriate cryopackaging, temperature controller, interface amplifiers, dc bias current source, FPGA-based data acquisition hardware, data acquisition software and graphical user interface, and operating manual. Of note, these systems include an additional temperature-controlled stage to permit integration of a hightemperature superconductor analog filter with Hypres’ low-temperature digital electronics.

“Hypres’ Digital-RF technology is directly relevant to the Department of Defense’s goal of creating architecture for seamless military communications,” said Deborah Van Vechten, Ph.D., technical representative at ONR. “The two test bed receiver systems the ONR accepted from Hypres will help support the continued prototyping of all-digital receivers for specific defense applications and operating parameters, such as those associated with Signals Intelligence, Communications, and Command and Control.”

Since 2000, ONR has provided approximately $3 million in SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer funding and approximately $10 million in non-SBIR R&D funding related to the continued development and prototyping of Digital-RF technology.

“We’ve been working closely with the team from Hypres and we are pleased with the technology’s development and direction,” said Bobby Junker, Ph.D., department head at ONR. “Superconducting electronics offers the potential of profound performance gains and efficient use of resources for defense system architectures.”

Digital-RF receiver technology is supported through a variety of defense and commercial contracts. Receiver development is part of a three-part project at Hypres to create a Digital-RF transceiver. The other two parts include designing a Digital-RF transmitter, and then integrating the receiver and transmitter into a complete Digital-RF transceiver.

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About Hypres
Hypres, Inc., formed in 1983, develops and commercializes superconductor microelectronics (SME) that provide unparalleled economic and performance advantages for defense and commercial wireless markets, and a host of other applications. Hypres SME technology is widely recognized as the leading solution to achieve a single RF system that is interoperable across all required waveforms and spectrum ranges. Headquartered in Elmsford, New York, Hypres is recognized worldwide as the leader in SME technology with the most accomplished team of superconductor specialists. The company has delivered more varieties of SME circuits than any other organization worldwide.