Cellular Wireless Sensor System for Aircraft Health Management

This Phase-I SBIR program will investigate novel techniques for the efficient delivery of signal power to reactive loads such as are required in sonar systems. Class-D and class-S power amplifiers with very fast switching offer a theoretical efficiency of100 percent. Maintaining high efficiency with a reactive load is achieved by very fast switching, achieved by a new type of complementary MOSFET. Bandwidth can be extended by a new minimum-rating filter that allows maximum bandwidth within a given set ofpower-amplifier voltage and current ratings. An electronically tuned output filter allows significant extension of the frequency range. Electronically tuned inductors and semiconductor capacitors currently under development for another application can beadapted for such filters.Commercial applications include not only sonar and high-power audio amplifiers, but also RF power systems including RF heating, antenna tuning, jamming, and magnetic-resonance imaging.