Hypres receives five patents

ELMSFORD, USA: Hypres Inc., a developer of the Digital-RF product line, has been issued five patents this year from the United States Patent and Trademark Office related to advancements in digital and mixed signal superconductor circuits and applications.

Based on this technology, the company is producing the world’s fastest integrated circuits for a variety of applications including wireless communications and signals intelligence, advanced computing, metrology/instrumentation, and biomedical imaging.

“In recent years, Hypres has aggressively pursued an IP growth strategy to enhance our value proposition and better serve new markets with new applications,” said Richard Hitt, Hypres CEO. “The patents secure our position as the leading developer of digital superconductor solutions and broadens our licensing potential with partners.”

Digital-RF devices and the underlying technology have been demonstrated in a series of prototypes produced for a variety of military and commercial applications. “These demonstrations clearly confirm the remarkable performance improvement afforded by the use of digital superconductor technology,” said Oleg Mukhanov, Ph.D., Hypres Senior Vice President, General Manager.

Made from the natural element niobium, Hypres’ integrated circuits are packaged in commercial cryocoolers that operate at 4 Kelvin, where helium becomes liquid. Superconductor properties enable the ICs to operate at clock speeds up to 40 GHz in fielded systems and over 100 GHz in the lab. In comparison, digital semiconductors operate typically at approximately 4 GHz clock speeds.

This speed advantage translates into significant performance improvements for wireless communication systems and a variety of other applications. The ICs can be used to directly digitize virtually any RF signal directly at the antenna, eliminating most analog radio components.

The direct path to digital results in superior performance and a first ever RF programmability, a key ingredient of the true software radio, long sought as a means of improving wireless system performance.

To date, the company has been issued more than 20 US patents related to digital superconductor circuits, system architecture, and fabrication techniques. In addition, Hypres has approximately 40 US and international patents pending and another 20 inventions in various stages of development.

Two of the most prolific inventors at Hypres are Deepnarayan Gupta, Ph.D., Vice President, Research and Development, and Alex Kirichenko, Senior Circuit Designer. With backgrounds in superconductor physics and electrical engineering, the two have contributed innovative solutions that have moved the state-of-the-art in advanced communication and computation systems.

“In the twenty-first century we are likely to witness revolutionary advances in high speed data handling fueled in large part by the innovations of Hypres scientists and engineers and the university and industry partners we collaborate with closely,” explained Dr. Mukhanov.