Value chain · CLM-0916
In plain terms
The built prototype gives every single antenna its own steering circuit rather than sharing one between a group. The steering signal arrives at one frequency, the power leaves at another 20 megahertz away, and a third frequency midway between them is piped to every antenna by cable as the common reference. The paper quotes two sets of these frequencies - what it designed for and what it actually measured, one megahertz apart - and taking one number from each set is how a reader gets the wrong answer. It kept the beam locked while the whole array was physically rotated.
The claim as recorded
The CASSIE 112-element cross-helix breadboard performs phase conjugation PER ELEMENT, not per sub-array: each of the 112 elements carries its own phase-conjugating unit cell, with a common phase reference distributed to every element by power splitters and phase-matched cables. SRC-001 states TWO INTERNALLY CONSISTENT FREQUENCY PLANS, a DESIGN plan and an AS-MEASURED plan, and they must not be mixed. Design: pilot 2.476 GHz, reference 2.486 GHz, power beam 2.496 GHz. As-measured: pilot 2.475 GHz, reference 2.485 GHz, power beam 2.495 GHz. Both give a 20 MHz pilot-to-power offset and a 10 MHz intermediate frequency on both legs. Conjugation is analogue, by phase-locked loop: the pilot is down-converted to an IF the paper places "in the 10 MHz range" and phase-compared against a down-converted reference in an IF PLL, whose output an RF PLL multiplies back to 2.5 GHz. Retrodirective tracking was demonstrated over a full 360 degrees of azimuth with less than plus or minus 1 dB ripple, at 672 W total, including while the array was mechanically rotated at 3.6 degrees per second.
Evidence behind this: Parameters of a fabricated and measured array, reported in a peer-reviewed open-access paper. Every quotation below was confirmed verbatim against the held PDF before entry, not carried from a drafting note.
Scope and limits
Cable-and-splitter reference distribution does not scale: it is the right answer for a 6.5 m bench and says nothing about how a 2 km structure would distribute a reference, which is the part Cash 2019 calls proprietary. 112 elements is roughly seven orders of magnitude from the application, consistent with the scope CLM-0511 already records. The 360-degree result is AZIMUTH; the paper says elevation coverage was "limited" and this record does not quantify it. For the rotation test the p.9 body says the rotation was in elevation where the Fig. 17 caption says azimuthal, and the 672 W during rotation rests on the section VII summary only. The A59 count of "retrodirective" (24) is case-sensitive; ignoring case it is 35. The measurement amplitude scale is relative and the paper says so, so the plus or minus 1 dB is ripple across the scan and not an absolute gain statement.
What it assumes
No assumptions are recorded against this claim.
Where it comes from
READ FIRST-HAND FROM THE HELD PDF ON REGISTRATION, 2026-09-14, 11 pages. Section IV verbatim: "The unit cell is designed to receive a pilot signal at 2.476 GHz, retransmit a power beam at 2.496 GHz, using an efficient power amplifier at up to 6W power level per unit cell." And: "A phased lock loop arrangement is used to provide the phase conjugation of the pilot tone, which allows a constant, high power, retransmitted signal, even if the pilot signal is weak." Reference distribution, section VI-A verbatim: "using a network of power splitters and phase matched cables". As-measured plan verbatim: "applying a 2.475 GHz, 30 dBm pilot beam from the horn antenna, at 6.5m separation from the helical array, and measuring the radiation pattern of the retransmitted power beam at 2.495 GHz. The unit cells were each fed with a 2.485 GHz reference source". Design reference verbatim: "phase variations in the 2.486 GHz reference signal". IF verbatim: "The pilot signal is down converted to a lower frequency IF signal (in the 10 MHz range)". Tracking verbatim: "beam tracking is clearly demonstrated over the entire 360 azimuth range, with less than +/- 1dB ripple" and "an azimuthal speed of 3.6 deg/s". A59 CONTROLS FROM THE SAME EXTRACTION: 112 occurs 23 times, retrodirective 24, phase conjugation 4, and each of 2.475, 2.476, 2.486 once with 2.485, 2.495 and 2.496 twice. 672 W reconciles as 112 elements at 6 W.
Basis: GHz (frequencies); deg/s (tracking rate); W (power)
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-013 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-0916
CLM-0916, Energy Aperture, as of 2026.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-001
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