An Investigation of the Frequency Limitations of a Surface Wave Variable Delay Line.

Abstract

An acoustic surface wave, variable delay line was invented at HDL. It consists of a fixed interdigital source transducer formed by metal deposited on a piezoelectric, photoconductive surface. The receiving transducer is formed by illuminating the photoconductive surface through a mask to create the image of a transducer where the signal is to be received. By making the optics movable, a variable path length and, hence, a variable delay time can be achieved. This paper derives a limit on the maximum usable frequency of such a device and proposes some modifications to the invention which will increase this upper frequency limit. The feasibility of the systems described herein have not been experimentally investigated, but they all seem to have merit. A continuously variable acoustic surface wave delay line operating at 1 GHz appears to be feasible.

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1974
Accession Number
ADA008967

Entities

People

  • Theodore H. Hopp

Organizations

  • Harry Diamond Laboratories

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Delay Lines
  • Frequency
  • Frequency Shift
  • Surface Waves
  • Transducers
  • Waves

Readers

  • Applied Combinatorial Optimization and Logic Circuit Design.
  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.
  • Radar Systems Engineering.