Patent GB-1481419-A (GB)
Title: Phase shift demodulators
IPC: H04L27/233
Filed: 1974-02-15
Abstract: 1481419 Data transmission; differential phase demodulation; surface wave devices GENERAL ELECTRIC CO Ltd 11 Feb 1975 [15 Feb 1974] 6958/74 Headings H4P and H3K A differential phase shift demodulator comprises an input transducer for launching on a substrate surface waves corresponding to phase shifted signals with a plurality of output transducers each arranged to produce a signal dependant on relative phases of a number of successive coded input signals, one transducer producing a larger output signal than any other when successive coded signals have a particular phase relation, different for each output transducer. A device sensitive to relative amplitudes of transducer outputs produces a replica of original coded signals. In the particular embodiment two output transducers are used producing a signal dependant on relative phases of input signals representing two successive bits. Input phase modulated signals are converted from radio to intermediate frequency at 2 then passed to a surface wave device having a substrate 3 of suitable piezo electric material, e.g. ST cut quartz. Input transducer 4 formed on the substrate, comprises a pair of metal film electrodes 7 each comprising a set of fingers 8 extending from a metallized area 9 forming a termination, the fingers being interleaved. Preferably the number of finger pairs=number of cycles in one bit of i.f. input signal. Width of each finger and spacing= wave length of i.f. signal. Output transducers 5, 6 are equi-spaced from transducer 4 and on the same axis and have twice the number of finger pairs with one set reversed relative to the other and common central termination 12 which is connected to comparator 15 together with non-common terminations 11, 14. Unwanted acoustic waves are absorbed by blobs 18 of lossy material, e.g. black wax appropriately positioned. In operation, the input transducer 4 launches a surface wave corresponding to i.f. input perpendicular to the length of the fingers corresponding to 2 successive bits hence if the modulated waves corresponding to these bits are in phase, output of 5 is a maximum and 6 is a minimum and reverse wise for antiphase adjacent signals. With the first condition, comparator 15 gives a negative output and the second condition a positive one: the comparator may be arranged to maintain its value between sampling times. The number of finger pairs in transducers 5, 6 may be halved to the number of i.f. cycles per bit necessitating successive sampling, the centres of the two finger groups being equal to one wavelength at bit frequency. In a modification (Fig. 2, not shown), a known multi-strip coupler (24) directs the surface wave along parallel paths along the axes of each output transducer. With a similar "mirror image" configuration to the left of input transducer (21). Dummy loads (42, 43) equal to the load presented by comparator (40) reflect the surface waves to couplers (24, 31) equal to that reflected back by (29, 36) hence as transfer from either upper path to lower and vice versa causes a phase change of 90 degrees, results of reflected waves are directed only towards a blob (38) of lossy material and not towards input transducer (21).