Raytheon Company

Jerome Howard Pozgay

Wesley Thomas Dull

Christopher P McCarroll

Michael G Adlerstein

Thomas E Kazior

Angelo M Puzella

Kaichiang Chang

Rosario Mangiapane

Matthew Fassett

Steven Marc Lardizabal

Yuchoi Francis Lok

Joel C Roper

Stephen J Pereira

Joseph A Licciardello

James L Lampen

Peter Dennis Morico

Michael G Sarcione

Richard W Burrier

James McSpadden

James D Birch

Steven T Cummings

Benjamin L Young

Eileen Conaty

James A Roche, Jr

Allen L Hieber

Lawrence A Durfee

Gerald L Warner

Leonard R Flumerfelt

Henry M Majchrzak

Fatemeh Tingley

Daniel L Fontaine

Lawrence R Lewis

A method of controlling sidelobe distribution in an active electronically steered array, including electronically reshaping the array aperture so as to reduce sidelobes over a selected region of a coverage volume of the array. In one example, reshaping of the aperture is achieved by electronically turning on and/or off selected radiators in the array to vary the angle of edge discontinuities of the aperture, and thereby move the main sidelobes off the principal plane(s) of operation of the array.

Method and apparatus for controlling sidelobes of an active antenna array

Described is a mobile radar system which provides both persistent surveillance and tracking of objects with adaptive measurement rates for both maneuvering and non-maneuvering objects. The mobile radar system includes a vehicle having mounted therein an active, electronically-steerable, phased array radar system movable between a stowed position and a deployed position and wherein the phased array radar system is operational in both the deployed and stored positions and also while the vehicle is either stationary or moving. Thus, the mobile radar system described herein provides for longer time on target and longer integration times, increased radar sensitivity and improved Doppler resolution and clutter rejection. This results in a highly mobile radar system appropriate for use in a battlefield environment and which supports single-integrated-air-picture metrics including but not limited to track purity, track completeness, and track continuity and thus improved radar performance in a battlefield.

Mobile radar system

Methods and apparatus for an electrically steered array including a phased array aperture having a plurality of elements at a selected spacing, the aperture to provide up to four simultaneous, independent beam sets, wherein the elements are controlled by a single complex weight.

Methods and apparatus for multiple beam aperture

A feed network for an antenna subarray includes a first feed arrangement having an sum output, a second feed arrangement having an delta output, a fixed attenuator having a first port and a second port, the first port connected to the delta output of the second feed arrangement, a first power divider/combiner having a first and second port and a third port; the first port connected to the second port of the fixed attenuator, a variable phase shifter having a first port and a second port, the first port connected to the second port of the power divider/combiner, a variable attenuator having a first port and a second port, the first port connected to the second port of the variable phase shifter, a second power divider/combiner having a first and second port and a third port; the first port connected to the second port of the fixed attenuator, a first circulator having a first port, a second port and a third port, the first port connected to the sum output of the first feed arrangement, and a third power divider/combiner having a first and second port and a third port; the third port connected to the second port of the circulator and the second port connected to the second port of the variable attenuator.

RF feed network for modular active aperture electronically steered arrays

Method and apparatus for a receive electronically steered array aperture including a plurality of radiators each having a single complex phase/amplitude control at a radiating phase center of the radiators to simultaneously receive up to four circularly polarized plane waves, each of the plane waves being arbitrarily of left hand circular polarization or right hand circular polarization, from spatially diverse sources.

Methods and apparatus for radiator for multiple circular polarization

A motion compensation method and system is included in a radar antenna system mounted on a moving platform which is subject to pitch, yaw and roll. The radar antenna system includes a main array antenna, and an auxiliary antenna. The auxiliary channel associated with the auxiliary antenna utilizes roll, pitch and yaw angle motion compensations as its auxiliary antenna always steers a horizontal fan shape beam at the horizon to blank any surface (land or sea) based EM interferences. Such motion compensations are provided by a ship motion compensator component and process included within the antenna system. The ship motion compensator component in response to platform motion signals indicative of changes in platform motion angles generates new sets of values using an initial set of weighting coefficient values as a function of such angle motion changes. This produces changes in both amplitude and phase weighting coefficient values which results in both the quadrant phase rotation and the element weighting rotation. The process steers and spreads out the received auxiliary antenna pattern making sidelobe coverage broad enough to compensate for such changes in platform motion.

Adaptive sidelobe blanking for motion compensation

A method includes providing a single crystal wafer having MMIC chips. Each chip has an active device in a first surface portion of a semiconductor substrate provided by the wafer and an electrical interconnect having a first portion disposed on a second surface of the semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate structure has a via therethrough, a second portion of the electrical interconnect passing though the via and being electrically connected to the active device. A multilayer interconnect structure is formed on the wafer providing a signal routing section on the second surface portion of a corresponding one of the chips. Each section has dielectric layers and an electrical conductor, such electrical conductor being electrically coupled to the active device to route an electrical signal to such active device. Each chip and the corresponding signal routing section are separated from the wafer.

MMIC having back-side multi-layer signal routing

Estimating an angle-of-arrival of a signal includes receiving a signal sent from an emitter. The signal is received at a singly polarized antenna system associated with an antenna response model. An autocorrelation matrix having noise-related eigenvectors is generated in response to the signal. Polarization ratios are determined from projections of a noise-related eigenvector onto the antenna response model. A minimum polarization ratio variance is established for the polarization ratios. A polarization vector corresponding to the minimum polarization ratio variance is identified. An angle-of-arrival of the signal is estimated in accordance with the identified polarization vector.

Estimating an angle-of-arrival of a signal by determining polarization

A system and technique for calibrating a plurality of radars provides a set of simultaneous equations derived from monostatic echo returns from a plurality of targets. A solution of the simultaneous equations provides relative position calibration factors and time delay calibration factors associated with the plurality of radars. The relative position calibration factors and the time delay calibration factors allow the plurality of radars to be coherently combined with only a small amount of processing gain loss compared with an ideal coherent processing gain.

System and technique for calibrating radar arrays

A transceiver having a transmit/receive switch. The transmit/receive switch includes: a common port adapted for coupling to an antenna element; a transmit port; a receive port and a matched port. The transceiver includes a second switch. The second switch has: a common port adapted for coupling to an input/output port through a gain/phase control unit; a transmit port; a receive port and a matched port. The transceiver includes a balanced amplifier. The balanced amplifier includes a pair of input ports. A first one of the pair of input ports is coupled to receive port of the transmit/receive switch, and a second one of the pair of input ports is coupled to the transmit port of the second switch. The balanced amplifier includes a pair of output ports. A first one of the pair of output ports is coupled to the transmit port of the transmit/receive switch and a second one of the pair of ports is coupled to the receive port of the second switch.

Monolithic microwave integrated circuit transceiver

Calibrating an antenna includes receiving a signal sent from a reference located within a region. The signal has a polarization within an expected polarization range. Polarization value sets are established in accordance with the expected polarization range. Polarization ratios are generated from the plurality of polarization value sets. A minimum polarization ratio variance for the plurality of polarization ratios is established. A polarization value set corresponding to the minimum polarization ratio variance is identified. A calibration correction is determined in accordance with the identified polarization value set.

Calibrating an antenna by determining polarization

Estimating an antenna pointing error includes receiving a signal sent from a reference located within a region. A polarization ratio is evaluated over the region. A minimum polarization ratio variance for the polarization ratio is established. A location corresponding to the minimum polarization ratio variance is identified. An antenna pointing error is estimated from the identified location.

Estimating an antenna pointing error by determining polarization

A technique is described which makes novel use of monopulse data to augment the normal CFAR detection processing by incorporating monopulse data in a computationally simple way into the detection decision process such that off-axis signals which are of sufficient strength to pass a CFAR detection threshold are effectively rejected by a second detection threshold. The signal compared to the second detection threshold is formed from all of the monopulse channels. Detection processing is thus a two step process, incorporating not only the information contained in the magnitude of the Sum channel, but information contained in all of the monopulse channels.

Off-axis indicator algorithm for electrically large antennas

An antenna element is disclosed with a microstrip transmission line having a series of conductive patch radiating elements, each one of the radiating elements having a pair of conductive patches, each one of the patches being disposed on opposite edges of the transmission line, each of the patches having a rhomboidal shape with edges disposed at an oblique angle with respect to the microstrip transmission line, the edges of one of the patches being at substantially ninety degrees to the edges of the other one of the patches, the patches being staggered with respect to each other along the transmission line by substantially a quarter-wave length at the nominal operating wavelength of the antenna element.

In-line CP patch radiator

An antenna having: a beam forming network; an array of antenna elements; and a parallel plate region coupling the array of antenna elements and the beam forming network formed on a common, folded dielectric substrate. The beam forming network includes strip conductor circuitry separated from a ground plane conductor by a portion of the substrate. The array of antenna elements comprising strip conductor circuitry separate from a ground plane conductor by a second portion of the substrate. The parallel plate region is disposed about a folded region of the substrate and includes a pair of conductive plates separated by the folded region of the substrate. With such arrangement, a compact antenna is provided using the folded substrate. Also, spurious radiation (which has been found to radiate when strip conductor circuitry is disposed about the folded region to couple the array of antenna elements and the beam forming network) is confined by the parallel plate region.

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Marblehead, MA, United States of America

Jerome Howard Pozgay