Prototype Parts of a Digital Beam-Forming Wide-Band Receiver

Some prototype parts of a digital beam-forming (DBF) receiver that would operate at multigigahertz carrier frequencies have been developed. The beam-forming algorithm in a DBF receiver processes signals from multiple antenna elements with appropriate time delays and weighting factors chosen to enhance the reception of signals from a specific direction while suppressing signals from other directions. Such a receiver would be used in the directional reception of weak wide-band signals — for example, spread-spectrum signals from a low-power transmitter on an Earth-orbiting spacecraft or other distant source.