airborne phased array radar (apar)
TRANSCRIPT
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AIRBORNE PHASED ARRAY RADAR (APAR) Jorge Salazar, Eric Loew, J. Vivekanandan, Wen Chau Lee and V. Chandrasekar EARTH OBSERVATORY LABORATORY, NATIONAL CENTER FOR ARMOSPHERIC RESEARCH Boulder, Colorado 80307 US
EOL is managed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research and sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publications are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
NCAR/EOL P.O. Box 3000 Boulder, CO 80307 303.497.8801 ph 303.497.8770 fax www.eol.ucar.edu
I. Introduction Airborne radar systems have been used successfully to study air motion and microphysical characteristics in storms where ground-based radars are ineffective. Studies of tropical convection, lake-effect snow, and hurricane eye walls, and rain bands are examples of atmospheric phenomena studied by the Electra Doppler Radar (ELDORA) system. Retirement of Naval Research Lab P-3 aircraft beginning 2013 effectively terminates future deployment of ELDORA in the current configuration. Continuation of airborne radar capabilities necessitated NCAR’s Earth Observing Laboratory to investigate possible development of active electronic scanned phased array radar mounted on the fuselage of the NSF/NCAR C-130 turboprop aircraft. Electronic scanning capability offers more accurate and higher temporal resolution meteorological observations in a shorter dwell time when compared to a mechanically scanned beam. Recent advances in monolithic microwave integrated circuits in the commercial manufacturing area show potential for building robust phased array radar. This poster describes preliminary design concept, development timeline and cost.
III. Airborne Phased Array Radar (APAR) Concept
Right Side APAR
Top APAR
APAR Line Replacement Unit (LRU) (8x8 elements)
Antenna radome
Backplane
Antenna array (LRU 8x8 elem.)
Quad-TR Modules
Parameter Specification Frequency 5.4 GHZ Wavelength 5.55 cm Element spacing (0.5 lambda)
2.78 cm
Number of Elements (#Nx, #Ny)
56, 64 (3584)
#LRUx, #LRUy 7, 8 Tx Beamwidth (Uniform)
θ0: 1.8o, 1.6o
θ45: 2.1o, 1.8o
Rx Beamwidth (Taylor -25dB, n=4)
θ0: 1.9o, 2.2o
θ45: 2.2o, 2.5o
Tx Gain Rx Gain
40dB 39dB
Xpol isolation (ATSR) <-25dB Spatial Resolution at 10 km
~350m
Tx Power (4W per TR mod.)
14.3kW
Sensitivity @10km (include attenuation at 10 mm h-1)
-12dBZ
APAR Technical Characteristics
Array antenna backplane • Data & Control (Master FPGA) • Power DC/DC (1+1) • RF Power Div/Comb Master board • Array Formatter board
Quad TR modules • Quad= 4 TR modules • Total= 3584 TR modules
Array antenna Front-end • Antenna radiators • Balanced feed • RF beamformer • Power dist. board • Data dist. Board • Array antenna calibration
LRU (8x8) ASP PAR project
Array Formatter controller
Up/Down Converter
Digital Transceiver
Host Computer
1
2
3
4
Radar back-end • UP/DOWN converter • Digital Transceiver • Host Computer • Waveform design • Data processing
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc.
Lowell, Massachusetts 01851• North America 800.366.2266• Europe +353.21.244.6400• India +91.80.43537383• China +86.21.5108.6464
macomtech.com
Radar Products
Affordable Aerospace and Defense SolutionsApplying commercial manufacturing processes forhigh performance aerospace and defense applications
Phased array apertures have become the technology of choice for many defense radar,communications and electronic warfare applications. This technology is used insystems as diverse as ship-to-ship communications, UAV data links, high power volumesearch radar, and wideband electronic warfare systems. These systems, whiledisplaying very high performance, also can be very costly...until now.
Cost growth of phased array systems is limiting the deployment of the technologyfor defense applications while making it virtually impossible to realize commercialsystems. M/A-COM Technology Solutions is actively applying commercial manufacturingpractices to create high performance, affordable phased array building blocks. There isa stark contrast between the worlds of defense and commercial manufacturing. In thecommercial world, the mantra is speed to market and cost. To be a viable supplier, it ispresumed that you will meet specification. Commonly, in the defense world,technology maturation programs are often implemented after the technology hasfailed to deliver—resulting in years of program delays with concomitant cost growth.
M/A-COM Tech’s work on the MPAR (Multifunction Phased Array Radar) program isan excellent example of the application of commercial manufacturing practicesto a technically demanding radar application. In addition to the technical demands,implementation of MPAR requires an order of magnitude or more reduction in costas compared to previous defense phased array systems. To achieve these goals,M/A-COM Tech has:
• Designed and manufactured highly integrated MMICs to minimize the totalpart count and simplify manufacturing at the next level of assembly
• Packaged all MMICs in industry standard surface mount plastic packages• Designed and manufactured printed circuit board (PCB) transmit/receive (T/R)
modules to facilitate automated assembly and test• Designed and manufactured PCB-based line replaceable unit (LRU)
which forms the fundamental RF building block for the radar system
MPAR is a dual polarization S-band system. Similar approaches can be takenat other frequencies. We have applied similar methodologies to:
• Highly Integrated MMICs• Plastic packaging• PCB-based T/R modules and higher level assembles• C, X, and Ku bands
For more details, contact your M/A-COM Tech sales office or visit macomtech.com
Front view of MPAR LRUdisplaying the radiating elements
Back view of MPAR LRUdisplaying the active electronics
PCB-based T/R module
Multifunction transmit ICfor S-band radar containing multiplegain stages, two 6-bit phase shifters
and two 4-bit constant phasedigital attenuators
14
Radar+EW brochure_Sep2011_r2-092611.qxd:Layout 1 9/28/11 8:35 AM Page 14
ATT V-Pol
PA PS
Rx
Tx SINGLE POLARIZATION
LNA ATT H-Pol
V-Pol PA
PS Rx
DUAL POL. (ATAR) Tx
LNA ATT PS
ATT PS
ATT PS
LNA
PA
LNA
Rx-H
Rx-V
Tx-H/V
H-Pol
V-Pol
DUAL POL. (ATSR)
APAR Architecture C130
Comparison Between ELDORA and the Proposed C-band Phased Array radar
• Mechanically scanned – inflexible, least reliable part of radar
• Operates at X band – subject to large attenuation
• Transmits high peak power at low duty cycle – single point failure, lifetime < 10,000 hrs
• Fixed antenna beamwidth and gain
• Limited to single polarization • Calibration is straightforward
• Electronically scanned – fast, flexible, reliable
• Operates at C band – less effected by attenuation
• Transmits moderate peak power at moderate duty cycle – fault tolerant, lifetime > 40,000 hrs
• Antenna beamwidth and gain varies with scan angle
• Doppler and dual-polarization measurements (ZDR, KDP, LDR, ρHV)
• Calibration is complex Fig. 1. Hurricane Rita Reflectivity from ELDORA at 2 km MSL, 22 September 2005. Attenuation at X-band limited detection of inner rainband.
II. Background Due to the large surface area of the C-130 fuselage, the radar system can be either C- or X-band. Sensitivity of the X-band radar system is about 5 dB better than C-band in the absence of any significant attenuation due to precipitation. Signal attenuation at X-band is about a factor of five to seven times larger. As a result, an X-band radar fails to penetrate a heavier precipitation region when compared to C-band radar. Figure 1 shows ELDORA X-band radar’s limitation for detecting inner rainband as a result of attenuation. EOL is in the process of developing automatic data quality control of ELDORA data and estimating real-time dual-Doppler winds. This package will be adopted for an e-scan system. One of the significant enhancements to the proposed airborne radar is polarization capability for estimating precipitation and cloud microphysics. A number of simulation studies suggest high quality polarimetric measurements could be collected over limited scan coverage.
Fig. 2. The proposed system consists of four, C-band active electronically scanned array antennas (AESAs) strategically mounted on the fuselage of the NSF/NCAR C130 turboprop aircraft
Fig. 3. APAR architecture and principal subsystems
Fig. 4. TR-Module architecture options for APAR: a) Single Polarization, b) dual-polarization for alternate transmit and alternate receive (ATAR) and, c) dual-polarization alternate transmit and simultaneous receive (ATSR)
Array antenna front-end Array TR-modules Array antenna back-plane Radar back-end
1
2
4
3
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc.
Lowell, Massachusetts 01851• North America 800.366.2266• Europe +353.21.244.6400• India +91.80.43537383• China +86.21.5108.6464
macomtech.com
Radar Products
Affordable Aerospace and Defense SolutionsApplying commercial manufacturing processes forhigh performance aerospace and defense applications
Phased array apertures have become the technology of choice for many defense radar,communications and electronic warfare applications. This technology is used insystems as diverse as ship-to-ship communications, UAV data links, high power volumesearch radar, and wideband electronic warfare systems. These systems, whiledisplaying very high performance, also can be very costly...until now.
Cost growth of phased array systems is limiting the deployment of the technologyfor defense applications while making it virtually impossible to realize commercialsystems. M/A-COM Technology Solutions is actively applying commercial manufacturingpractices to create high performance, affordable phased array building blocks. There isa stark contrast between the worlds of defense and commercial manufacturing. In thecommercial world, the mantra is speed to market and cost. To be a viable supplier, it ispresumed that you will meet specification. Commonly, in the defense world,technology maturation programs are often implemented after the technology hasfailed to deliver—resulting in years of program delays with concomitant cost growth.
M/A-COM Tech’s work on the MPAR (Multifunction Phased Array Radar) program isan excellent example of the application of commercial manufacturing practicesto a technically demanding radar application. In addition to the technical demands,implementation of MPAR requires an order of magnitude or more reduction in costas compared to previous defense phased array systems. To achieve these goals,M/A-COM Tech has:
• Designed and manufactured highly integrated MMICs to minimize the totalpart count and simplify manufacturing at the next level of assembly
• Packaged all MMICs in industry standard surface mount plastic packages• Designed and manufactured printed circuit board (PCB) transmit/receive (T/R)
modules to facilitate automated assembly and test• Designed and manufactured PCB-based line replaceable unit (LRU)
which forms the fundamental RF building block for the radar system
MPAR is a dual polarization S-band system. Similar approaches can be takenat other frequencies. We have applied similar methodologies to:
• Highly Integrated MMICs• Plastic packaging• PCB-based T/R modules and higher level assembles• C, X, and Ku bands
For more details, contact your M/A-COM Tech sales office or visit macomtech.com
Front view of MPAR LRUdisplaying the radiating elements
Back view of MPAR LRUdisplaying the active electronics
PCB-based T/R module
Multifunction transmit ICfor S-band radar containing multiplegain stages, two 6-bit phase shifters
and two 4-bit constant phasedigital attenuators
14
Radar+EW brochure_Sep2011_r2-092611.qxd:Layout 1 9/28/11 8:35 AM Page 14
V. APAR Development timeline and hardware cost estimate AUG 2011
AUG 2013
AUG 2014
AUG 2015
AUG 2016
1
AUG 2017
AUG 2018
3
4
ASP - LRU passive radiator
ASP - LRU functional antenna
LRU and radar back-end testing
Four airborne AESA’s; ~$20M WHITE PAPER
Multi-LRU AESA prototype; ~$7M
2
AUG 2010
AUG 2012
MIT/LL -- Risk Reduction Effort; $547 K
2
M/A-COM Technology Solutions Inc.
Lowell, Massachusetts 01851• North America 800.366.2266• Europe +353.21.244.6400• India +91.80.43537383• China +86.21.5108.6464
macomtech.com
Radar Products
Affordable Aerospace and Defense SolutionsApplying commercial manufacturing processes forhigh performance aerospace and defense applications
Phased array apertures have become the technology of choice for many defense radar,communications and electronic warfare applications. This technology is used insystems as diverse as ship-to-ship communications, UAV data links, high power volumesearch radar, and wideband electronic warfare systems. These systems, whiledisplaying very high performance, also can be very costly...until now.
Cost growth of phased array systems is limiting the deployment of the technologyfor defense applications while making it virtually impossible to realize commercialsystems. M/A-COM Technology Solutions is actively applying commercial manufacturingpractices to create high performance, affordable phased array building blocks. There isa stark contrast between the worlds of defense and commercial manufacturing. In thecommercial world, the mantra is speed to market and cost. To be a viable supplier, it ispresumed that you will meet specification. Commonly, in the defense world,technology maturation programs are often implemented after the technology hasfailed to deliver—resulting in years of program delays with concomitant cost growth.
M/A-COM Tech’s work on the MPAR (Multifunction Phased Array Radar) program isan excellent example of the application of commercial manufacturing practicesto a technically demanding radar application. In addition to the technical demands,implementation of MPAR requires an order of magnitude or more reduction in costas compared to previous defense phased array systems. To achieve these goals,M/A-COM Tech has:
• Designed and manufactured highly integrated MMICs to minimize the totalpart count and simplify manufacturing at the next level of assembly
• Packaged all MMICs in industry standard surface mount plastic packages• Designed and manufactured printed circuit board (PCB) transmit/receive (T/R)
modules to facilitate automated assembly and test• Designed and manufactured PCB-based line replaceable unit (LRU)
which forms the fundamental RF building block for the radar system
MPAR is a dual polarization S-band system. Similar approaches can be takenat other frequencies. We have applied similar methodologies to:
• Highly Integrated MMICs• Plastic packaging• PCB-based T/R modules and higher level assembles• C, X, and Ku bands
For more details, contact your M/A-COM Tech sales office or visit macomtech.com
Front view of MPAR LRUdisplaying the radiating elements
Back view of MPAR LRUdisplaying the active electronics
PCB-based T/R module
Multifunction transmit ICfor S-band radar containing multiplegain stages, two 6-bit phase shifters
and two 4-bit constant phasedigital attenuators
14
Radar+EW brochure_Sep2011_r2-092611.qxd:Layout 1 9/28/11 8:35 AM Page 14
$1.3M
$1.6M
$2.4M
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
Single Pol Dual Pol (ATAR) Dual Pol (ATSR)
Fig. 5. APAR hardware cost as function of polarization capability
Fig.5. A new radiating micro strip patch antenna element using a Defected Ground Structure has been designed for achieving high polarization performance at scan angles away from boresight. A cross-polarization below -25dB is obtained in the diagonal plane using HFSS simulation software
IV. APAR Transmit and receive (TR) module and micro strip patch antenna
APAR Cost
Har
dwar
e C
ost (
$)
Bottom APAR