Wideband Digital Beamforming for SPEAR

In the proposed Phase II effort, Applied Radar, Inc. will develop a wideband scaleable digital beamforming (DBF) processor capable of supporting > 1 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth (IBW). The new patented hardware architecture paradigm developed in Phase I is scaleable in the number of input channels, the number of output beams, and bandwidth. Hence, it is directly applicable to large BMD radars such as the scaleable panel for efficient array radiation (SPEAR) radar architecture presently being developed by MDA. Wideband (2 – 3 GSPS) digital receivers and exciters, currently being developed by Applied Radar under separate funding, may be used as the front-end input/output channels for the DBF processor. Applied Radar is teamed with one of the two SPEAR Spiral 1 contractors, and will develop in Phase II a prototype of the DBF processor and bench-test this digital hardware with SPEAR Spiral 1 panel in the laboratory. In addition, specifications will be produced for the array analog and digital hardware including oscillator phase noise and dynamic range. In the Phase II Option, the prototype hardware will be refined, and a more advanced radar demo will be performed in an outdoor environment.