HYPRES Selects Lockheed Martin To Build Compact, Tactical Cryocooler For JTRS-Compliant All-Digital RF Transceiver

Elmsford, NY, Feb. 21: HYPRES, Inc., a leading developer of Superconducting MicroElectronics (SME) technology, has selected Lockheed Martin to design and build a compact, tactical cryocooler for the company’s All-Digital RF Transceiver. HYPRES is developing the industry’s first All-Digital RF Transceiver through a series of multi-million, multi-year contracts with the Department of Defense.

Lockheed Martin has a well-established track record of providing highly reliable cryocooler systems for a variety of military and scientific applications. For the All-Digital RF Transceiver, Lockheed will develop a cryocooler that meets the unique mechanical and electrical packaging and thermal environment requirements for HYPRES’ high performing SME circuits to operate. The Lockheed Martin cryocooler subcontract, valued at $1.4 million over two years, is part of a HYPRES contract with the U.S. Army’s Communications and Electronics Command (CE LCMC).

The All-Digital RF Transceiver—which is designed to meet the requirements for the DoD’s transformational communications programs—is based upon SME circuits. A proven technology used to detect/measure brainwaves and set/regulate worldwide voltage standards, SME offers orders-of-magnitude improvements in performance, power, speed, precision, and cost when compared to traditional, semiconductor-based radio components. The cryocooler packaging provides the appropriate operating environment for SME circuits.

“We’re extremely fortunate and excited that we have the opportunity to work closely with Lockheed Martin on this project,” said Richard Hitt, HYPRES President and CEO.

“The Lockheed team brings with it a wealth of experience and talent in our joint effort to deliver to the DoD this first-ever advanced wireless communications technology.”

The defense and commercial wireless industries are interested in SME for the technology’s inherent ability to directly convert a wireless signal at RF frequencies from the analog to digital domain—an accomplishment that represents a major shift in the basic paradigm of wireless communications.  This ability to digitize the signal from the antenna, known as direct digitization, results in a much more robust radio system with revolutionary new opportunities for dealing more efficiently with complex waveforms, such as the Wideband Networking Waveform. Direct digitization also allows for the elimination of most analog reception devices, which limit overall system performance in present military and commercial sectors.