SBIR Phase I: Novel Method for Direct Frequency Component Decomposition: Electronic Neural Loops (ENLs)

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This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to perform fundamental research into a novel method for signal analysis, using standing waves. The intellectual merit of this proposal is the development of an innovative set of physical design rules which could lead to seamless spectral component analysis of arbitrarily complex analog signals. Fourier analysis is a ubiquitous technique for encoding and decoding information from physical systems as well as electronic signals. Yet there have been minimal innovations in the methods for producing, say Fourier spectra, aside from improvements in computational speeds with which Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs) and Discrete Fourier Transforms (DDFTs) are performed by Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) or computers. The device proposed is an electronic component called an Electronic Neural Loop (ENL), designed to promote resonances in a particular frequency. The method can be used to perform very fast frequency component identification. Several ENLs in parallel would have the capacity to decompose a broadband signal streams into frequency bins similar to Fourier frequency components, only faster. The ENL approach uses physics in place of computational methods and has not been investigated or suggested by any other company or research institution to date. The broader impact of this technology affects the essential methods currently used for signals processing. The ENL being an analog device does not require a digital sampling and framing stage, which introduces processing artifacts and limitations. As a circuit element it has countless application areas, many to yet be discovered. It replaces existing circuits comprised of more parts with simpler solutions having lower power consumption which is critical to today's handheld applications. It has tremendous market potential, allowing for continuous, real-time, on-chip Fourier analysis, with game-changing innovations to scientific spectrometric instrumentation, telecommunications, encryption, sensors for high radiation environments (nuclear reactors, space exploration), medical systems as well as numerous military uses.