Tiny waveform receiver with a dedicated system chip for observing plasma waves in space

Abstract

Plasma waves are important observational targets for scientific satellite missions to investigate electromagnetic phenomena that occur in space. For future scientific missions, reduction in the resource requirements of plasma wave receivers without loss of performance is important. This paper introduces a miniaturized on-board instrument for the observation of plasma waves using analogue application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) techniques. The developed ASIC functions as a system chip to filter and amplify signals detected by plasma wave sensors. Miniaturization of the analogue circuit using the ASIC leads to the realization of a tiny plasma wave receiver. The overall size of the developed plasma wave receiver circuit board is less than 1/20 that of a conventional receiver used in previous scientific missions. The power consumptions of the system chip and the plasma wave receiver are 165 and 525 mW, respectively.