HIGH POWER MICROWAVE DETECTOR

GROUND RADARS AND OTHER SPACECRAFT SUPPORT SYSTEMS WHICH TRANSMIT MICROWAVE RADIATION MAY PRODUCE ELECTRIC FIELD STRENGTHS IN EXCESS OF THOSE SPECIFIED IN MIL-STD-461. THESE HIGH ELECTRIC FIELD STRENGTHS CAN DAMAGE OR REDUCE THE RELIABILITY OF SPACECRAFT AND ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS BEFORE AND DURING LAUNCH. A HIGH POWER MICROWAVE DETECTOR (HPMD) WILL BE DEVELOPED TO DETECT ELECTRIC FIELDS OVER THE 1 TO 10 GHZ FREQUENCY RANGE WITH STRENGTHS FROM 1 V/M TO 50 V/M, USING AN INNOVATIVE ANTENNA/DETECTOR DESIGN. THE HPMD MEASURES THE AMPLITUDE OF INCIDENT MICROWAVE PULSE OR CW RADIATION, AND STORES THE FIELD INTENSITY AND TIME OF OCCURRENCE. THIS HPMD HAS HEMISPHERICAL (-3 DB) COVERAGE. THE HPMD IS BUILT INTO A SMALL ENCLOSURE THAT CAN BE LOCATED CLOSE TO THE SPACECRAFT AND IS SIMPLY PROGRAMMED THROUGH A "DIGITAL WATCH" TYPE INTERFACE. THE HPMD DISPLAYS THE GREATEST ELECTRIC FIELD STRENGTH MEASURED AND HAS AN ALARM MODE WITH FLASHING LIGHT AND AUDIBLE ALARM IF A PRESET ELECTRIC FIELD THRESHOLD IS EXCEEDED. IT OPERATES ON BATTERIES, OR MAY USE AN EXTERNAL CALCULATOR TYPE POWER SUPPLY RUN FROM LINE VOLTAGE. IT RECORDS DATA FOR SEVERAL HOURS ON A SET OF BATTERIES. A MICROWAVE DETECTOR CALIBRATED IN VOLTS/METER TO +/-3 DB ACCURACY, WITH HEMISPHERICAL COVERAGE OVER THE 1 TO 10 GHZ FREQUENCY RANGE, ALL IN A COMPACT BATTERY OPERATED UNIT, WILL ADVANCE THE STATE OF THE ART.