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Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

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ANALYSIS AND APPLICATION OF MAGNETOSTRIC!FION DELAY LINES Met B. Thompson Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College, Stillwater , Oklahoma and John A. M. Lyon Northwestern University Evanston, Illinois Summary -- Uniformly variable sordc delay lines are discussed, with particular attention to the factors affecting the formation of the mechanical signal of the transmitting transchcer and the electrical signal of the receiving transducer. ' Examples of pulse shapes for different conditions are calculated and sketched, For comparison with these, some experimental results are described ancl illus- trated. Consideration is given to variation of delay, use of multiple trans- ducers and the control of the polarity of the response. Several devices in which magnetostriction delay Nnes may be used are briefly described. INTRODUCTION The extensive use of intentional delay of signals has developed largely since 1940, beginning i n radar and other military equipment and found now in maw for delays longw than a feu microseconds because of the long paths required at the high velocity of electric wave propogation. Ultrasonic systems, requiring less space for the lower velocities of mechanical uave propogation and corre- spondingly shorter paths, are firmly established where the longer delays are required. The wide extent of the literature of ultrasomc delay lines hasbeen shown in the 1954 bibliography compiled by M. D. Fagan listing seventy-eight tit1es.l The a t t e n t i o n has been given almost exclusively to systems other than magnetostriction types. This has been due mainly 'to the frequency limitation imposed by the use of the latter. b additional applications. Purely electrical means of delay become impractical Three groups of researchers have published papers dealing with magneto- stric%ion delay lines. The earliest, by E. M. Bradburd, appeared i n 1951 describing lines used as components of aerial navigation equipment.* R. J4illersh$p, R. C. Robbins and A. E. DeBarr have described applications to digital computers made i n England.3-5 The laboratorg note of H. EDstein and 0. Stram was published i n ,1953.6 It is evident that, in some instances, factors such as greater reliability an3 ruggedness, ease of delay variatLon, saving in cost, space anl weight, as wel as other advantages will dictate the use of magnetostriction delay Urns in spite of their shortcomings i n other respects. The magnetostriction deliry line retards an electric signal by converting it into amechanical wave i n an elastic medium. After its relatively slow passage through this material it is reconverted into an e1ectrI.c signal. Such a delay line is shoun,in Flg. 1. The transmitting and'receiving transducers are solenoidal coils placed on the delay Une ach may be a wire or tube of nickel o r some other magnetostrictive material. The endsof the line me clamped between damping pads t o reduce the unwanted reflections. The magnets represent the magnetic Masing field in the receiving transducer. The electric signal a
Transcript
Page 1: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

ANALYSIS AND APPLICATION OF MAGNETOSTRIC!FION DELAY LINES

M e t B. Thompson Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College,

St i l lwater , Oklahoma and

John A. M. Lyon Northwestern University

Evanston, I l l i n o i s

Summary -- Uniformly variable sordc delay lines are discussed, with par t icular a t tent ion to the factors affect ing the formation of the mechanical signal of the transmitting transchcer and the e lec t r ica l s igna l of the receiving transducer.

' Examples of pulse shapes for different conditions are calculated and sketched, For comparison with these, some experimental results are described ancl i l l u s - trated. Consideration is given to va r i a t ion of delay, use of multiple trans- ducers and the control o f the polarity of the response. Several devices i n which magnetostriction delay Nnes may be used are briefly described.

INTRODUCTION

The extensive use of intentional delay o f s igna ls has developed largely since 1940, beginning i n radar and other mili tary equipment and found now i n maw f o r delays longw t h a n a feu microseconds because of the long paths required a t the high velocity of e l ec t r i c wave propogation. Ultrasonic systems, requiring less space for the lower ve loc i t ies of mechanical uave propogation and corre- spondingly shorter paths, are firmly established where the longer delays are required. The wide extent of the literature o f ultrasomc delay lines has been shown i n the 1954 bibliography compiled by M. D. Fagan l i s t i n g seventy-eight t i t 1 e s . l The at tent ion has been given almost exclusively t o systems other than magnetostriction types. T h i s has been due mainly 'to the frequency limitation imposed by the use of the lat ter.

b additional applications. Purely e l e c t r i c a l means of delay become impractical

Three groups of researchers have published papers dealing with magneto- stric%ion delay lines. The ear l ies t , by E. M. Bradburd, appeared i n 1951 describing lines used as components o f aerial navigation equipment.* R. J4illersh$p, R. C. Robbins and A. E. DeBarr have described applications t o digital computers made i n England.3-5 The laboratorg note of H. EDstein and 0. Stram was published i n ,1953.6 It i s evident that, i n some instances, factors such as greater reliability an3 ruggedness, ease of delay variatLon, saving i n cost, space anl weight, as well as other advantages will dic ta te the use of magnetostriction delay Urns i n spite of t h e i r shortcomings i n other respects.

The magnetostriction deliry l ine retards an e lec t r ic s igna l by converting it in to a mechanical wave i n an elastic medium. After i t s re la t ive ly slow passage through this material it i s reconverted into an e1ectrI.c signal. Such a delay l i n e is shoun,in Flg. 1. The transmitting and'receiving transducers are solenoidal coils placed on the delay Une a c h m a y be a wire or tube of nickel or some other magnetostrictive material. The ends of the l ine me clamped between damping pads t o reduce the unwanted reflections. The magnets represent the magnetic Masing f i e l d i n the receiving transducer. The e lec t r i c signal

a

Page 2: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

died t o the transnittim c o i l wl .ll change the magnetic f ie ld i n the nickel core. Because it is magnetostrictive the core corrtracts. o r expands, thereby launching mechanical waves along the delay l ine . When such a disturbance passes

MAGNETS I TRANSMITTER

I l r I

DAMPING IN OUT OUT DAMPING PA D RECEIVERS PAD

LTUBE OR WIRE

Fig. 1 - Magnetostriction delay l ine .

through the recsiving coil the change i n stress i n the nickel will a l t e r the biasing field, thus generating an e lec t r i c signal i n the receiving transducer. Since the v e l o d w . o f the mechanical wave i s much less than that of an e lec t r ic s i g n a l a delay of the signal i s obtaimd.

THE MECHANICAL SIGNAL FOR STEP INPUT

The configuration resulting when the magdtude o f t h e s t r a i n i n the medium i s plotted against distance along the longitudinal h s o f the line i s designated here as the shape o f the mechanical pulse. It is known tha t f o r a given magneto- s t r i c t ive medium the shape will be determined by three principal factors: the effective length of the transducer Coil, 11; the time, T, required f o r the flux i n , t h e medium to reach a stable value; and the strength of the magnetic fields * applied .S

T h i s can be demonstrated i n a simple way by considering incremental. charges of the f l u x density occurring a t short time in te rva ls , nt, from 0 t o T. A t each o f the instants , WAt up through time T, an incremental deformation 11 i n length will be launched along the l i ne a t velocity @. The shape result ing *om the summation of these incremental strain pulses i s shown i n M g . 2. The width o f this disturbance (outlined with the heavy l i n e ) i s seen t o be the sum o f the transducer length plus the product Tc.

For low flux densities the deformation will be p ropor t iona l t o the square o f the flu densityO7 Thus

where & i s the s t ra in .

Since B i s a function of time,

From Eq. (1) it can be seen tha t a unit step of B w i l l . produce a strain pulse of in tens i ty and 11 i n length. T h i s respozlse, the analog of the i n d i c i a admit- tance of an e lec t r ica l netrjork, can be expressed as a pulse,

9

Page 3: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

Tc I_

DSPLACEMENT

b

~~

Fig. 2 - The strain pulse formeti i n the medium by the transmitting transducer i s represented by the heavy outline. The sha2ed rectangles repre- sent the strain increments which are summed to ge t t he pulse.

oc [S(t-t0) - S(t-to- L:] 1

C

where S(t-to) represents a unit s t e p f a c t t o n a t to.

If a mathematical expression of B as a function of time is not readily aka i lab le the approhat ion methods of time series can be used.899 I n aqy case, the approximation i s fast and conveeent. The following example i l l u s t r a t e s the method. If the f lux density i s considered t o change linearly with time, Eq. (2)

& ( t ) = 6 k2t2

Time in te rva ls of 1/2 psec, represented by A t are used with the time equivalent of the transducer length equal to 2 A t and 6 k 3 equal to unity. The s t r a i n response to a unit step of flux applied t o the medium m y be written, .

L 1 8 = 1 + x + x 2 (5 1 I n this notation the coefficients of the terms x*, XI, x2, ..-. x" are e-

10

Page 4: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

respect ively to the value of 6 a t t-s 0 , v, 2v, , , m, The superpos f o r T equal to 3 A t is performed as a polynomial summation:

1 + x + x 2

9x2 + 9x3 + 9&

It will be noted tha t one i s not l imited to easily expressed relations between B and t. Empirical data or oscillographic traces showing this re la t ion are easily used t o determine & ( t ) . Equation (6) represents a function with ordinates 1, 5, 14, 29, etc., a t the times 0, v, 2v, 3v, etc., as plotted i n Flg. 3. This function i n time corresponds t o an inverted space function, since the first e lemnt i n time, located a t the origin, corresponds t o the element o f

l'

32 !-

Fig, 3 - Configuration representing the response of t ,ransmitter to a step input, with stra.in proportional t o the square of the f l u x density.

Page 5: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

the mechamcal pulse located fart'nest from the origin i n space representation. The pulse shape i n space then may be described as an inversion of Eq. (6),

6. (1) 0 16x t 2Sx2 + 29x3 + Ik& + 5x5 + x6 (7)

The accuracy of the approemation i s improved by reducing the t h e interval , to I n the limit as t approaches zero the solution i s exact.

THE OUTPUT OF THE REcEIVIExj COIL

For a given delay medium, the four principal factors involved i n the shape of the electric output signal are: the effective length of the receiver coil, the magnetization levels i n t h e medium, the shape of the mechanical signal received and t h e m b e r of turns i n the coi l . A magnetic bias f ie ld for the medium enclosed by the receiving coil must be provided since the V i l l a r i effect occurs only i n t h e presence of a magnetic f i e ld .

As the strain pulse passes through the receiver coil the change i n t h e flux present will cause poten t ia l s to be generated i n the receiver coil . Such a c o i l and a trapezoidal pulse somewhat shorter are shown i n =g. h (a) . The pulse enters the coi l and i t s leading edge generates a voltage as it progresses. Since, under strain, the permeability of the magnetostrictive medium undergoes a change, the passage of the pulse into the coi l produces a time rate of change f o r the reluctance of the magnetic path l i n k i n g t he co i l windings. This will produce the change of flux which generates the voltage i n t h e c o i l windings. The magnitude of the voltage depends on the number of t u r n s i n t h e c o i l and the time rate of the flux change. The lat ter will be affected by the shape of the pulse, the reluctance of the flux-path 3inking t he ' co i l , and the level of magnetization establlshed i n t h e c o i l by t he bias f i e ld . This voltage appears as the posit ive potential pulse i n Fig. 4 (b) . As the t ra i l ing edge o f the pulse enters the coil there i s no further change i n reluctance and flux, there- fore no voltage appears a t t h e c o i l terminals while the pulse is ent i re ly within the coi l . As the leading edge of . the pulse leaves the co i l the potent ia l of opposite polarity generated by the same act ion i n reverse will appear, extending i n time until the pulse has completely passed the coil. T h i s produces the second

- . - . pulse shown as negative i n Fig . 4 (b) Thus, fo r s t r a in pulses 'of aqy shape,

COIL

A

12

Fig. 4 - Response of a receiver. The strain pulse shown with the coil i n (a), produces the output shown i n (b) .

, . - - .- , . . -

.. r . r .. . . . -. _ - , :, _ _ . . .

Page 6: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

t h rere W ~ U appear t ;m. voltage pulses, simlar i n shape to the inver'se of the s t r a i n pulse,- one posit ive. and one negative, separated by an in t e rva l of time equivalent t o the coil length. The width of t h i s response i n space is 11+ Tc +l2 and i ts time duration T + (11 , + 12) /C.. For cases,. discussed below, where the posit ive and negative pulses overlap, these are reduced in proportion, both i n amplitude and duration.

I n t h e time series notation the electrical output f o r a receiver of length equivalent to 1.5~ sec i s found by polynomial additi.on with a displacement of six time in te rva ls (3 psec) between the two pulses of opposite sign:

e ( t ) = l + Sx + Ux2+2*3 + 25& + 16x5 - x6 (8)

- 5x7 - k8- 29x9- 25x1' - 16$- l

This appea.rs in Fig. 5; as tke ccmbirtztion of poei.t.T.m p l s s A , and negative pulse B. A longer receiving coil would produce a hider spacing between the positive

TIME, MICROSECONDS

Fig. 5 - Responses of delay l ines to s tep inputs . A plus B represents the response o f a l i n e having a longer receiver t h a n the one producing A plus C.

and mgxtive pulses. I n Fig. 5; the combination of pu3.se -4 ,and pulse C represents the respcnse o f a receiving coil of lergth equivalmt t o 1.2 Hsec.

If the receiver coil i s shortened t o 1/2 psec equivalent length the output becornes,

1 + sx + 1 ~ x * + 29x3 t 2 5 4 + 166Xs ( 9 )

- x - 5x2 - 4 x 3 - 2& - 25x5- 16x6

e ( t ) P 1 + 4~ + pX2 + 152 - LUE)' - d- ' 1 6 ~ ~

13

Page 7: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

b

This is Shawn as response A i n Fig. 6. Here, B represents the response for a transducer length equivalent t o l ~ s e c . These two responses i l l u s t r a t e t h e par t ia l cancel la t ion of voltage that occurs when the equivalent length of the

-3 Ok l I 2 I I I I 3 4 5 TIME, MICROSECONDS

Fig. 6 - The e f f ec t of overlapping o f the posi t ive and negative portions of the output signal. This occurs when the time equivalent t o the length of the receiver is less than T, result ing i n the reduction of voltage.

receiver coil becomes l e s s than the time T. It is this ef fec t which has reduced the.peak voltage although all factors, except the receiver coil length, are the same f o r A and B.

It should be noted that the response of the 3 i n e described above, having the 1.5 vsec transmitter and 12 wsec receiver as shown i n Fig. 5, i s not altered i f the roles of the coils are interchanged, with all other conditions the same. The response of the 1.5 psec receiver t o the signal output of the 1 2 Hsec transmitter is found to be,

14

Page 8: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

T h i s response is i den t i ca l t o that of the original combination of coils appearing as A and c in f i g . 5. Thus, with other factors remaining the same, the inter- change of the lengths of the transmitting and receiving- transducers does not affect the output o f the delay line.

RESPONSE TO A PULSE IhTUT

When a step voltage i s applied to the input terminals o f the delay l ine a pulse of compression, f o r example, is formed fn the delay medium. With the assumption that B is linear with time, the compression increases with the square o f the time and decreases abruptly as shoun i n Fig. 3. When the voltage i s removed a pulse of the opposite kind, tension i n this case, will be formed, with tension r i s i n g abruptly and f a l l i n g a t a rate inversely proportional t o t he time. Using the same numerical example, the pulse formed a t the removal of the voltage i s expressed, . i

1

1

-16 - 25x - -l4x3 - S& - x S V

The complete strain pulse formed uhen a pulse of voltage is applled is, there- fore, the sum of these two different pulses separated by a time interval equal t o the electric pulse duration. For a 3 psec electr ic pulse the delay line output is ,

1 + x + x 2 (12 1

h+ h 2 + 4x3

9 x 2 + 9x3 + Sd.L 16x3+ 16x4 c 1 6 2

-16x6 - 16x7 - 16x 0

15

Page 9: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

For a 1.5 vsec e lec t r ic pu lse appl ied the s t ra in s igna l muLd be,

l + x + x

4.x t 4x2 + 4x3

9x2 + px3 t 9x4

- 9x3 - & - 9x5

-lupk-Q-jJ&

b

15r

16

Page 10: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

TIME, MICROSECONDS

Fig. 8 - Response of a delay l ine to pulse input when the receiver is shortened t o cause partial overlapping.

FACTORS AFFEc!lTNG R E S P O N S

It has been shown that the shape o f the output of the magnetostriction deley l i n e f o r a given medium deperds principally on the effect ive length of the trans- ducers, t he &er of turns on the coils, the saturat ion time and t h e levels of magnetization used. Other factors, most of uhich contribute to these principal ones, will be mentioned, Although external ele,ctric drcuits.connected t o the transducers have not been considered i n this paper, it uill be understood tha t the line! must be matched t o these far.best results.

Blos -- It has been poirrted out t ha t a magnetic b ias f i e l d i s required f o r the operation o f the receiving transducer. The magnitude of this f ie ld deter- mines the region of operation on the saturation Curve of the delay.medim. The amplitude of the 'output can be modified by adjustment of the bias. Reversal of i t s direct ion will reverse the polarity of the output. The shape o f the response can be changed by the appl icat ion of bias Fields not uniformly d i s t r ibu ted i n the medium. The t ransmit t ing coi l does not require a bias f ie ld ; however, one may be used t o alter the magnitude and shape of mechamcal pulse, since the s t r a i n produced i s not a linear function of the magnetization.

-

Magnetic c i r c u i t -0 The reluctance of the magcetic c i r cu i t o f the trans- mitter will affect the amplitude of the mechanical signal. By enclosing the coil

Page 11: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

with a magnetic covering, one m a y increase the levels of magnetization produced i n t h e delay medium f o r a given current i n the transmitter. The result i n the receiver i s to increase the effect of the pulse on the coi l flux and thus increase the magnitude of the output, The dimensions of the air gaps a t the coil aperture will af fec t the flux dens i ty in the medium, as well as the fringing of flux, and thereby, the effective length of the transducer.

Medium -- The time f o r f lux saturat ion can be appreciably reduced by the use of the delay medium i n forms such as ribbons,* tubing6 o r f i ne wires. There i s usually some mechanical advantage i n t h e use of the tube since it i s easier t o get a close fit t o a round coi l aper ture and the tube i s more l i k e l y t o be self-supporting . Reduction i n volume of the medium enclosed i n t h e transducer will reduce hysteresis and eddy current losses. The physical experience of the medium, such as heat treatment, w i l l af fec t i t s magnetostrictive characteristics, as well as the velocity of propogation of the wave i n t h e medium.lo This l a t t e r f a c t will, of course, determine the time of delay per unit length. To a lesser degree the response shape i s affected by the treatment of the medium i n t h a t the dispersion of the s t ra in pulse and velocity of propogation are f a c t o r s i n i t s detezpination. Applying tension or tors ion to the medium will a l t e r i t s magnetostrictive characteristics, i n some cases permanently.1°

Transducer Coils -- Integrat ion of the delay line w i t h the complete system w i l l require sui table e lectr ic Character is t ics for i t s coils.7 The relat ions existing among quant i t ies such as number of turns, coil length and diameter,

will make some of t h e m dependent upon the values selected for the others. This limits the choice of values for shaping the response o f the delay l ine so that , as i s usual i n such cases, a compromise i s required. These coil character- i s t i c s a f f ec t t he pulse shape by modifying the pr incipal factors mentioned a t the beginning o f this section.

b wire s ize and insulation, aperture diameter, coil impedance and current capacity

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

Factors i n shaping the output -- A number of delay l ines were assembled t o determine the effects of parameter changes on the responses to.the step and pulse voltage inputs. Traces on the oscilloscope showing some of these a re i l lus t ra ted i n Figs. 9 , 10 and 11. They may be compared with the calcuLated responses shown i n Figs. 3 , 5 and 6. It should be kept i n mind that the flux-time relationship which was assumed- there i s now different. I n addition, factors such as the lack of resolution i n t h e pulse launched and i t s f'urther dispersion, not considered i n the calculations, have an e f f ec t on these responses. Furthennore, the nomni- formity of the bias f i e l d s adds distor t ion t o some of these outputs.

The t races ..shown i n Fig. 9 illustrate the par t played by the length of the receiving transducer i n the shape and magnitude of the lins output. The same transmitter, equivalent to 0 ,33-~sec . in ac tua l l ength , was used fo r A and B. The measured length of the receiver used i n making A, 0,33 ysec, i s one-eighth as long :as the coil producing B, The spacing between the mEudmum and. mLnimum for each output i s .proportional t o t he length -of the 'receiver. used. ,. The .effect '"., of the short rne&anicaYpulse on the ' flux of the sho'kt ' receiver , ' k S greater, than ,' i t s ef fec t on the flux of the longer receiver. This caused the peak voltage t o be lower f o r B. I n this graph the parts played by the .effect ive length of the transmitter ard the time t o saturate, T, may a l s o be seen. . .

18

Page 12: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

Fig. 9 - Oscillograph traces of the responses of two delay lines, ident ica l except that the B receiver i s longer than tha t of A . Overlapang does not occur.

t v Fig. 10 - Oscillograph traces

of the responses of two delay lines, ident ica l except that the B receiver i s shorter than t h a t of A causing overlapping i n t h e output which reduces the peak values of B

V

Figure 10 i l l u s t r a t e s , with actual responses, the reduction i n voltage which occurs uhen the reduced length of the receiver coil causes the posit ive and negative pulses t o overlap. The only difference i n the.conditions for'maklry the two traces was the use of a receiver f o r B on ly one-fourth as long as fo r A, causing partial cancellation of voltages, resulting i n reduction i n the peaks of the output.

figure 11 (a) shows the effect of the shape of the l ine cross-section and s ize on the output of a line using the same transducers and annealed mckel throughout . The lowest peak was produced u i th wire having a diameter of 0.005 inch; the next l o w s t peak was" produ.ced u i th a 0.010 inch wire. The highest voltage peak, a t 5.4 cm deflection which is above the range of the figure, came ui th the use 'of a tube having 0.020 inch outside diameter and 0.010 inch inside diameter . N e x t louer is tb fourth trace uhich was produced with a 0.020 inch &re. The closeness of fit of the la rger l ines to the co i l s resu l ted in h igher flux-density levels. The reduced cross-section of the tube forced the flu density even higher, producing the highest output of the lines tested. Required time t o saturate, for the same l eve l of flux density, i s l e s s f o r t h e tube than f o r the wire. I n Fig. ll (b) the e f fec t of current change from 120 t o 200 ma r e s u l t s i n a proportional. r i s e of the response voltage, depending on a number of fac tors such as condition of saturation.

Other results -- The number of transducers which can be applied to a delay line appears t o be limited only by their physical s ize and space along t h e l im. No effect on the output by the addition of a number of transducers d t h high

19

Page 13: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

l Fig . 11 - (a) Oscillograph traces

of the responses of four delay l i nes using as delay medium: A, .005 in. wire; B, .010 i n . wire; C, .020 i n . wire; D, -020 in . th in wall tubing. (b) Oscil- lograph traces of the responses of a delay lines with current producing A sixty per cent of t ha t produclng B.

b impedance loading could be observed. The length of delay afforded by any delay medium i s determiEd by the speed of sound i n it. T h i s i s calculated a s the square root of the quotient Young*s modulus divided by the density. For nickel the value is near 1.6 by l& fee t per pecond. T h i s is 0.192 inches per micro- second, Wng the delay nearly 5.3 sec per inch. During the experiments, lengths varying from a few inches t o 71 f ee t were used. The delay along the lat ter was 5100 p sec.

The space required for the l ine may be reduced by coiling the delay medium. Care must be taken to avoid small-radius bends i n the Une since they cause ref lect ions of the signal. Moreover, damping and ref lect ions due t o contact with supports are to be minind.zed. One 27 foot l ine was coi led into a space less than 7 inches i n diameter with no serious detrimental effect on the signal. The damping effect required a t the ends i s easily supplied by neoprene pads clamped to the delay medium. The length of delay can be varied smoth ly by moving the receiver coi l along the l ine . To change the delays for several receivers simul- taneonsly the transmitter position m a y be changed. If the s igmficant s i g n a l i s a reflection, the delay m a y be varied by moving the reflecting discontinuity with respect t o the receiver. Variation.by steps can be obtained by switching to separate coils located along the line.

UPIJ CATI ONS . . . -

Limited frequency response and high inser t ion loss have restr ic ted the use of the magnetostziction system i n applications requiring delay alone. . However, where these handicaps can be tolerated -- when, f o r exanple, the signal can be shaped aftgr delay -- the relative advantages i n cost, temperature, stability,2 r e l i ab i l i t y , space and weight have made the use of magnetostriction practical..

S .

20

Page 14: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

In addition, some of i ts unique charac te r i s t ics make it particularly useful i n other si tuations. Onti of these features i s t h e l a t i t u d e i n the choice of location and number o f transducers used on the l i n e . The use of the single pai r of transducers g i n s 'a deley l i n e which can be made continuously variable over some specified range by 'changing the,distance separating the two along the delay medium. A scheme for dividing the pulse rate. provides for the signdl received aFter delay to t r igge r a gate uhich admits the next pulse simultaneously into the transrtdtter and the output .S O n e transmitter and a number o f receivers properly spaced along the Una can be used t o change the series dist r ibut ion of a t r a i n of pulses t o a parallel distribution.6 This process may be reversed i f the roles of the transducers are exchanged. A similar arrangement can be used for multiplying the frequency of a pulse sequence by combimng tk output of the transducers i n cascade.

The second characterist ic largely responsible for the applicat- Lon o f the magnetostriction delay l i n e i s the revers ibi l i ty of the polarity of the output. If the direct ion of the bias field i s reversed the polarity of the output i s changed. Information i n binary code can be easily stored and read i n the polar i ty of the magnetic bias field of a number of receivers. The readiry: is done without destruction of t h e stored information by the sonic pulse sent down the delay line, reading each b i t o f information through the output of i t s receiver.5,6 Changes i n the stored information i s made by a change of bias field which i s remanent magnetism i n t h e l i n e . This m a y be done by a pulse through ,the receiver. "he same system with fixed bias f i e l d s may be sed as word generators which supply, f o r example, constants used repeatedly.? By using reshaping equipment a circulating memory can be assembled with the information, supplied as positive or negative pulses, circulating down the l i n e and through the restoring system arad back down the l ine un t i l requi red i n the computation.5

REFERFNCFS

1. Fagan, M. D. : "Bibliography on ultrasonic delay l ines ." Trans. E, FGUE-2, pp. 3-8 (NOV. 1954).

3. Millership, R., Robbins, R. C., ancl DeBarr, A. E. : lWagneto&rfction storage systems for a high speed digital computer .l1 Brit ish J0u.1-d of Applied Physics, vol. 2, p. 304 (Oct. 1951). -

4. DeBarr, A. E.: " D i g i t a l storage using ferromagnetic materials." E l l i o t t J o ~ n a l , vol. 1, pp. 116-120 ( M a y 1953)

5. Robbins, R. C., and Millership, R.: lfApplications o f Magnetostriction Delay Lims." Automatic D i g i t a l Computation, proceedings of a symposium held at the National Pwsical Laboratory (London), 1953.

6. Epstein, H., ard Stram, 0. r "Magnetostrictive scmc delay line." --- Rev. ' S d . Instr . , vol. 24, pp. 231-2 ( M a r . 1953) .

7. Mason, W. P. : TE2ectromechdcal Transducers and .Wave Filters.11 New York, N. Y o , D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., Chapt. 6, 1948.

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Page 15: Analysis and Application of Magnetostriction Delay Lines

8. "ustin, A.: "A method of analyzing the bshaviour o f linear systems i n terms of time ser ies ." J. Inst. Elec. Engrs. (London) vol. 94, par t 11-A, pp 13O-fi2 (MW 1947)

- - - 9 . Bubb, F. W.! "A New Line= Operational Calculus." Report No. 6581,

Wright Air Development Center, Dayton, Ohio (1951) .

b

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