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Microwave analog signal processing
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<p>Microwave Real-time Analog Signal Processing (R-ASP), as an alternative to <a href="/facts/Digital_signal_processing/PEG7azr8">DSP</a>-based processing, might be defined as the manipulation of signals in their pristine analog form and in <a href="/facts/Real-time_computing/p9HxgL4L">real time</a> to realize specific operations enabling <a href="/facts/Microwave/HmVSN31Y">microwave</a> or <a href="/facts/Millimeter-wave/l28Grdmp">millimeter-wave</a> and <a href="/facts/Terahertz_radiation/729QecPK">terahertz</a> applications. </p><p>The surging demand for higher <a href="/facts/Spectral_efficiency/GaePAvv9">spectral efficiency</a> in radio has spurred a renewed interest in analog real-time components and systems beyond conventional purely <a href="/facts/Digital_signal_processing/PEG7azr8">digital signal processing</a> techniques. Although they are unrivaled at low microwave frequencies, due to their high flexibility, compact size, low cost and strong reliability, digital devices suffer of major issues, such as poor performance, high cost of A/D and D/A converters and excessive power consumption, at higher microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies. At such frequencies, analog devices and related real-time or <a href="/facts/Analog_signal_processing/rW6A94TE">analog signal processing</a> (ASP) systems, which manipulate broadband signals in the time domain, may be far preferable, as they offer the benefits of lower complexity and higher speed, which may offer unprecedented solutions in the major areas of <a href="/facts/Radio_engineering/LoEgyLgS">radio engineering</a>, including communications, but also radars, sensors, instrumentation and imaging. This new technology might be seen as microwave and millimeter-wave counterpart of ultra-fast optics signal processing, and has been recently enabled by a wide range of novel phasers, that are components following arbitrary group delay versus frequency responses. </p><p>The core of microwave analog signal processing is the dispersive delay structure (DDS), which differentiates frequency components of an input signal based on the group delay frequency response of the DDS. In this structure, a linear up-chirp DDS delays higher-frequency components, while a down-chirp DDS delays lower-frequency components. This frequency-selective delay characteristic makes the DDS ideal as a foundational element in microwave analog signal processing applications, such as real-time Fourier transformation. Designing DDS systems with customizable group delay responses, especially when integrated with ultra-wideband (UWB) systems, enables a broad spectrum of applications in advanced microwave signal processing. </p>