Non-Electronic Radio Front-End (NERF)

摘要

Radio frequency (RF) communication systems are particularly vulnerable because the antenna provides a direct port of entry for electromagnetic radiation. This report describes a new type of RF receiver front-end that features a complete absence of electronic circuitry and metal interconnects the traditional soft spots of a conventional RF receiver. The device consists of a dielectric resonator antenna that concentrates and feeds the signal onto a resonant electro-optic field sensor. The absence of metallic interconnects and the charge isolation provided by the optics removes the soft spots in a traditional receiver. In the proof-of concept experiment, detection of C band electromagnetic signals at 7.38 GHz with a sensitivity of 4.3x10 -3 V/m.Hz(exp 1/2) is demonstrated. The dielectric approach has an added benefit: it reduces physical size of the front end an important benefit in mobile applications.