Radar Basics and Recent Amazing Advances – Fall 2014
202 Burlington Road
Bedford, MA 01730
USA
Due to the snowstorm – Class is cancelled, Monday, February 9th. A make-up date will determined soon.
Date & Time: Mondays, Oct. 27, Nov. 3, 10, 17, 24, Dec. 1, 8, 15, Jan. 5, 12
(makeup days, if needed Jan 26, feb. 2, 9)
Location: MITRE Corporation, 202 Burlington Rd., Bedford, MA
Speaker: Dr. Eli Brookner, Raytheon Company (Retired)
By: Oct 16
Members: $300
Non-Members $340
After: Oct 16
Members: $340
Non-Members $370
Decision: Monday, October 20
This book plus over ten paper reprints are provided FREE with your registration:
1. “Aspects of Modern Radar”, Dr. Eli Brookner (Editor), Artech House, Hardcover, 432 pages, 1988, List price: $159. The 1st chapter gives the best easy to read introduction to radar. It covers all aspects of radar: transmitters, receiver, antennas, signal processing, tracking, clutter derivation of radar equation in easy terms and definition of dB. The 2nd chapter gives detailed descriptions of different radar systems like: Cobra Dane, Pave Paws, BMEWS, Series 320 3D radar, OTH radars and dome antenna. The book has a catalog giving the detailed parameters for over 200 radars from around the world. The remaining chapters cover AEGIS SPY-1, Hybrid and MMIC circuits, ultra low sidelobe antennas (ULSA), mmw, radar cross section and Doppler weather radars. The material in the book is easy to access and as a result the text serves as a handy reference book.
This course is an updated version of the Radar Technology course given previously. Those who have taken the Radar Technology previously should find it worthwhile taking this revised version. Extra lecture added in order to include coverage of NEW material consisting of but not limited to: How to easily determine your radar height-range coverage diagram using the powerful SPAWAR’s AREPS program. AREPS provides coverage for arbitrary propagation conditions (ducts [evaporation, surface, or elevated], subrefraction and superrefraction) and terrain conditions based on DTED data. AREPS now accounts for surface roughness scattering and evaluates sea and land clutter backscatter versus range. Attendees will be told how to obtain AREPS FREE. Valued at over $7,000. Also new is the coverage of: Anomalous Propagation and what to do about it; the latest on solid state devices and transmitters including GaN, SiC, SiGe; Breakthroughs in Radar — $10 T/R module, Digital Beam Forming (DBF), MIMO, Packaging, Disruptive Technology, Metamaterials, Memristors, Graphene, Tubes. Also covered are STAP, AMTI, DPCA, System Temperature.
Updated course is framed around FREE book described above. Also given out free are supplementary notes consisting of copies of >800 vugraphs plus over ten paper reprints by Dr. Brookner. For the beginner, basics such as the radar equation, MTI (Moving Target Indicator) and pulse doppler processing, antenna-scanning techniques, pulse compression, CFAR, RAC and SAW devices are explained in simple terms. Dome antenna, CCDs, BBDs, SAW devices, SAW monolithic convolvers, microstrip antennas, ultra-low antenna sidelobes (<-40 dB), stacked beam and phased array systems, (1-D, 2-D, Limited Field of View [LFOV]), Moving Target Detection (MTD). For both the novice and experienced covered are tracking, prediction and smoothing in simple terms (mystery taken out of GH, GHK and Kalman filters); the latest developments and future trend in solid state, tube and digital processing technologies; synthetic aperture radar (SAR); Displaced Phase Center Antenna (DPCA); Space-Time Adaptive Processing (STAP) ; digital beam forming (DBF); Adaptive-Adaptive Array Processing for jammer suppression with orders of magnitude reduction in computation; RECENT AMAZING RADAR BREAKTHROUGHS. These will be explained so that the inexperienced can follow as well.
OUTLINE
Lecture 1, Oct. 27
FUNDAMENTALS OF Radar: Part 1: HISTORY of Radar — Major achievements since WWII: PHASED ARRAYS: Principles explained with COBRA DANE used as example. Near and Far Field Defined, Phased Steering, Time Delay Steering, Subarraying, Array Weighting, Monopulse, Duplexing, Array Thinning, embedded element, COBRA DANE slide tour (6 stories building). Radar equation derived.
Lecture 2, Nov. 3
FUNDAMENTALS OF Radar: Part 2: FREQUENCY TRADEOFFS: Search vs Track, Range and Doppler Ambiguities, Detection in Clutter. Blind Velocity region, range eclipsing, Environmental Factors, Dependence of clutter model on grazing angle and size radar resolution cell discussed, Weibull clutter: Polarization Choice, Detection of Low Flying Low Cross-Section Targets, Antenna Pattern Lobing in Elevation due to multipath, Ground Multipath Elevation Angle Error Problem and ways to cope with it, e.g., use of an even difference pattern Off-Axis Monopulse, Complex Monopulse,Two Frequency Radar Systems: Marconi L- and S-band S631, Signaal/Thales (Holland),Flycatcher X and Ka System; Tube and Solid State OTH Radars
Lecture 3, Nov. 10
FUNDAMENTALS of Radar: Part 3: PROPAGATION: standard, superrefraction, subrefraction, surface-based ducts, evaporation ducts. Determination of radar coverage using new AREPS program. ANTENNA SCANNING SYSTEMS: Fixed Beam System: Wake Measurement Radar; 2-D Radars, 3-D Radars: Stacked Beam: Marconi Martello, Smart-L, SMARTELLO, ARSR-4; 1-D Frequency Scanning: ITT Series 320; 1-D Phased Scanning: TPS-59, GE-592, RAT-31DL; Phased-Frequency Scanners: Raytheon Fire Finder and Plessey AR320; Limited and Hemispherical Scanning (Dome Antenna) related and explained in simple terms.
Lecture 4, Nov. 17
FUNDAMENTALS of Radar: Part 4: ULTRA LOW ANTENNA SIDELOBES (40 dB down or more). MOVING TARGET INDICATORS (MTI): Two-Pulse Canceller, Pulse Doppler Processing; MOVING TARGET DETECTOR (MTD); Optimum Clutter Canceller, STAP, AMTI, DPCA.
Lecture 5, Nov. 24
TRENDS IN SIGNAL PROCESSING: Part 1: What is PULSE COMPRESSION? Matched Filters; Chirp Waveform Defined; ANALOG PROCESSING: Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) Devices: Reflective Array Compressor (RAC), Delay Lines, Bandpass Filters, Oscillators, Resonators; IMCON Devices; Analog Programmable Monolithic SAW Convolver; BBD/CCD. What are they?
Lecture 6, Dec. 1
TRENDS IN SIGNAL PROCESSING: Part 2: DIGITAL PROCESSING: Fast Fourier Transform (FFT); Butterfly, Pipeline and In-Place Computation explained in simple terms; Maximum Entropy Method (MEM) Spectral Estimate; State-of-the-art of A/Ds, FPGAs and Memory; Signal Processor Architectures: Pipeline FFT, Distributed, Systolic; Digital Beam Forming (DBF)
Lecture 7, Dec. 8
SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR (SAR): Strip, Spotlight, Digital processing
Lecture 8, Dec. 15
Amazing Recent Advances and Future Potential Breakthroughs: 3, 4, 6 face “Aegis” systems developed by China, Japan, Australia, Netherlands, USA; FAA NexGen ATC system; AMDR, Space Fence, JLENS; S/X-band Dual Band Radar , AN/TPN-2, Airborne AESAs; Low Cost Packaging: Raytheon funding development of low cost flat panel X-band array using COTS type PCB; Lincoln-Lab/ MA-COM developing low cost S-band flat panel array using PCBs, overlapped subarrays and a T/R switch instead of a circulator; Extreme MMIC: 4 T/R modules on single chip at X-band costing ~$10 per T/R module; Digital Beam Forming: Israel, Australia and Thales AESAs have an A/D for every element; Lincoln Lab and AFRL developing X-band element level A/D having 600 MHz instantaneous wideband, uses double down conversion; Raytheon developing latter without mixer down conversion; Lincoln Lab increases spurious free dynamic range of receiver plus A/D by 20 dB; Materials: With GaN can now put 5X to 10X the power of GaAs in same footprint; Metamaterials: Was used in cell phones to obtain antennas 5X smaller and have 700 MHz-2.7 GHz bandwidth simultaneously serving GPS, Blue Tooth, Wi Max and WiFi; Potential low cost electronically steered antenna not using phase shifters at 20 and 30 GHz being developed; Stealthing by absorption from 2-20GHz; cloaking (where microwave signal goes around the target) demonstrated over 50% band at L-band; Can now focus 6X beyond diffraction limit (λ/12) at 0.38 μm – could help Moore’s Law; 40X diffraction limit (λ/80) demonstrated at 375 MHz and can extend to IR; 3-D metamaterials at optical wavelengths now possible; Provides isolation between closely spaced antennas and antenna elements; n–Doped graphene has negative index of refraction, first such material found in nature; Very Low Cost Systems: Valeo Raytheon (now Valeo Radar) developed low cost, $100s only, car 25 GHz 7 beam phased array radar; about 2 million sold already, more than all the radars ever built up to a very few years ago; Commercial ultra low cost 77 GHz Roach radar on 72mm2 chip with >8 bits 1 GS/s A/D and 16 element array; Un. Michigan developing low cost 240GHz 4.2×3.2×0.15 cm2 5 gm radar for bird inspired robots and crawler robots, Frequency scans 2ox8o beam ±25o; DARPA has goal to build 28,000 element 94 GHz array costing $1/element; SAR/ISAR: Principal Components of matrix formed from prominent scatterers track history used to determine target unknown motion and thus provide motion compensate for ISAR image; MEMS: Can reduce the power amplifier (PA) count in an array by a factor of 2 to 4, can also be used as tuneable microwave filters, like 8-12 GHz with ~200 MHz BW; COSMOS: DARPA revolutionary program will allow integration of III-IV, CMOS and optics on one chip without bonded wires; MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output): where it makes sense, point out that contrary to what is believed conventional array radars can provide the same 1, 2 or 3 orders of magnitude resolution and accuracy improvement as claimed for MIMO arrays; Also MIMO does not provide any better barrage jammer rejection than conventional array radars; Graphene: Potential for terahertz clock speeds using graphene transistors; Signal Processing: Potential use of electron spin for memory; DARPA UHPC Program has goal of 100 to 1000 reduction in computer required power by 2018; Intel manufacturing chips using 3D integrated circuits; ; Synaptic Transistors: Learn like human brain synaps, lead to analog replacing binary computing; Superconductivity: We may still achieve superconductivity at room temperature; Additional Advances: Biodegradable array of transistors or LEDs for detecting cancer or low glucose; can then dispense chemotherapy or insulin; Can now grow functioning kidney and heart for rats.
Lecture 9, Jan. 5
TRACKING, PREDICTION AND SMOOTHING: Simple Algebra and Physical explanation. Mystery taken out of αβ (GH) Filter; Errors of; Fading Memory; Benedict-Bordner; Example Designs; Stability; Tracking Initiation; αβγ (GHK) Filter; Kalman Filter Explained in simple physical terms; Why Kalman Filter?; Relationship to GH and GHK Filters; Matrix Notation; Simple Derivation.
Lecture 10, Jan. 12
HOW TO LOOK LIKE A GENIUS IN DETECTION WITHOUT REALLY TRYING: Simple procedure for determining detection using Meyer Plots, MATLAB, Excel and MATHCAD is presented. No detailed mathematics used, emphasis on physical understanding of target models (non-fluctuating, Marcum, Swerling, Weinstock, Chi-Square, Rayleigh, Lognormal, Rice and YGIAGAM) and performance results. Also covered are beam shape, CFAR, mismatch loss
Your Registration Includes:
Textbook ………………………………………………….. $159
Reprints …………………………………………………….$150
Over 800 Vugraphs ……………………………………..$120