FPGA core advances radio astronomical receivers

A new spectrometer IP core for FPGAs enables the rapid development of very wideband spectral analysis systems.

RF Engines has developed a new spectrometer IP core for FPGAs that enables the rapid development of very wideband spectral analysis systems.

The new core is based on RF Engines' HyperSpeed fast Fourier transform (FFT) technology, and makes possible unprecedented advances in radio astronomical receivers that operate in the frequency domain.

The Max-Planck-Institut fur Radioastronomie (MPIfR), Bonn, is already making use of a 100MHz spectrometer core in receivers at its 100m radio telescope and has acknowledged the improvement over traditional spectrometers.