Europe begins to move on framework for SDR communications transparency
February 1, 2008Executive Spotlight On Richard Hitt
March 1, 2008Elmsford, New York (Feb. 28, 2008)—Hypres Inc., a leading developer of superconductor microelectronics technology and the Digital-RFTM product line, completed one of the most significant years in the company’s 20-plus-year history. During fiscal year 2007 (Jan.-Dec. 07), the company successfully demonstrated and delivered two record-setting prototypes of its All Digital Receiver to the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, secured more than ten million dollars in new defense and commercial contracts, and added key executives to the management team.
The most significant achievement for the company was the successful demonstration of its satellite communications All Digital Receiver, which clearly confirmed the arrival of superconductor Digital-RFTM technology. The demonstration was conducted at the U.S. Army Fort Monmouth Joint SATCOM Engineering Center and coordinated by Project Manager, Defense Communications and Army Transmission Systems, and the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center. The X-band All Digital Receiver directly digitized a wideband signal centered at 7.68 GHz from an XTAR communications satellite. It is believed to be the first time anyone in the world has directly digitized frequencies this high.
A second prototype, equipped with a high-resolution low-pass analog-to-digital converter, was demonstrated and delivered to the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. This was an improved version of the first prototype—twice as fast at 25 GHz sample rate and twice as complex in terms of digital circuitry on chip—developed for the U.S. Office of Naval Research and delivered in 2005. The Air Force unit, demonstrated to digitize signals from 0-1.75 GHz, will be used to explore the potential for capturing previously unobserved signals.
“With its ability to directly digitize RF signals up to 20 GHz, the All Digital Receiver family has the potential of eliminating most of the costly and bulky analog components associated with the frontend of a typical radio receiver,” said Deep Gupta, Ph.D., vice president for research and development at Hypres. “Our latest addition to the All Digital Receiver (ADR) family is the Ka/EHF-band ADR, which digitizes signals in the 20.2-21.2 GHz range. Advances in these enabling superconductor components and system integration technology put us in a strong position to realize our multi-band, multi-channel Digital-RFTM receiver architecture, particularly for satellite communication applications.”
In addition to the successful live demos, the company secured a number of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and other research and development contracts through the U.S. Department of Defense during the year. The company also announced a large commercial contract with SELEX Communications, a Finmeccanica company. Hypres is developing an All Digital Receiver that will provide high performance, multi-channel wideband reception for the software radio being developed by SELEX Communications. Collectively valued at more than ten million dollars, these contracts push forward Hypres’ Digital-RFTM technology roadmap the company and its defense sponsors and commercial customers are pursuing.
Finally, Hypres named several business development veterans to newly created positions on the executive team. Steven D. Gray, Ph.D., was named senior vice president and general manager of commercial operations, Glenn Flack was named director of strategic programs, and Art Earl was named director of strategic business development. These executive additions support the company’s overall strategy to pursue new business opportunities and develop strategic partnerships related to the Digital-RFTM product line in defense and commercial markets.
“It has been a tremendous year—the result of an abundance of behind-the-scenes work by our world class team of scientists and engineers,” said Richard Hitt, president and CEO of Hypres. “In particular, the successful satellite demonstrations were a critical milestone. We could not have done this without the tremendous support of the team at Ft. Monmouth and the Office of Naval Research. All the new contracts and the additions of Steve, Glenn and Art to the team are direct results of the business growing quickly as the technology rapidly matures.”
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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 digital superconducting technology with the most accomplished team of superconductor specialists in the world. Hypres has delivered more different and complex SME circuits than any other institution worldwide.