Electronic Chaotic Oscillator Realization with Potential Uses in Communication Systems

Chaotic systems have some unique properties that can be taken advantage of in some practical systems. These systems have characteristics such as long-term aperiodicity, continuous power spectral density, topological mixing, and sensitivity to initial conditions, all while still having a clearly defined deterministic structure. The property of continuous power spectral density is of particular interest in spread spectrum communication applications. This work looks to maintain these complex properties in a practical custom electronic realization through careful layout and device selection. Included are simulation results demonstrating the system's sensitivity to initial conditions and topological mixing. In addition to this, the electronic simulation maintains a continuous spectral power density up the fundamental frequency of the oscillator. These simulation results are used design the chaotic oscillator in a hardware demonstration. The hardware results exhibit similar dynamics to the original motivation system. Presented here is a relatively simple electronic implementation that closely maintains the complex properties of an ideal chaotic differential equation.