Innovative Hardware Technologies for Anti-Jam and Electromagnetic Attack Rejection in Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) Radars

The proposed research promises to replace and/or complement current front end limiter technologies, which do not provide the necessary growth potential for evolving threats, with a technology that does. This would enable design engineers to support MDA GMD radar, communication, and GPS systems advancing threat requirements by applying an advanced limiter technology that counters evolving threats while not affecting the front end insertion loss. This research will provide the basis for the development of Planar Metamaterial Limiter Coating (PMLC) that will counter this problem and provide the necessary growth potential for evolving threats. During the proposed Phase II effort, PMLC technical feasibility demonstrations will be performed to demonstrate that this PMLC technology will raise the front-end RF power handling capability to well over 10x which will allow countering the estimated incident HPM/EMP field threats without transient failure or permanent damage to any RF front-end. The intended PMLC operation principle is to establish virtually instantaneous energy exchange between nonlinear PMLC coating material and incident high-power interference, thus clamping powerful HPM/EMP fields. At the same time this technology is intended to provide negligible coupling with the desired small signals thereby acting RF transparent and minimizing insertion loss. This effect will be achieved using nonlinear properties of the PMLC constituent material when influenced by the high RF fields. This research will provide a new category of inexpensive, easily integrated limiter technology that can grow with the evolving threat. Results: Several new PMLC devices will be fabricated and tested that will mitigate HPM, UWB and EMP destructive effects.