Systems Capabilities of Arrays of Large-Aperture Antennas

The array approach to increasing space-communication capability is analyzed and discussed. The problem of signal acquisition is given particular attention. A lower range bound of array operation is defined by assuming a system which employs independent acquisition by each antenna circuit; an upper bound is defined by assuming a prefocused array. It is believed that systems can be implemented which have capabilities well in excess of that achievable by the former system and not greatly less than that achievable by the latter system.     

一种盲多波束形成GNSS天线阵抗干扰算法

天线阵抗干扰是现代卫星导航接收机抗干扰的重要手段。传统的天线阵波束形成类算法能够在抑制干扰的同时提升抗干扰后输出信噪比,但是在信号捕获阶段,由于缺少先验信息的支持,该类算法无法在信号方向形成增益。因此,提出了一种盲多波束形成的天线阵抗干扰算法,通过形成多个波束覆盖天线阵上半球面,可在无先验信息的条件下对卫星信号形成增益,从而提升信号捕获阶段信噪比,使得接收机在干扰环境中具备更强的信号捕获能力。仿真结果表明:与传统的天线阵抗干扰算法相比,提出的算法能够在有效抑制干扰的同时显著提升接收机信号捕获成功率。     

An Adaptive Interference Canceling Array Utilizing Hybrid Techniques

The steady state properties of an adaptive array utilizing prior knowledge of both approximate signal arrival direction and signal characteristics are presented. The method combines the features of a directionally constrained array and an array with a self-generated reference signal. Explicit results are obtained for output signal, interference, and noise powers assuming a single interferer is present. The inclusion of a self-generated reference circuit is shown to reduce the sensitivity to pointing error typical of arrays utilizing a zero order directional constraint, the improvement being a consequence of the reduction of the desired signal component fed back to the sidelobe canceling circuit. A relationship between the degree of sensitivity reduction and the quality of the reference signal is developed. Results of computations of signal to interference plus noise ratios for a 7-element 10-wavelength nonuniformly spaced array as a function of pointing error are presented. These results show the behavior with one interferer inside and outside the beamwidth of the quiescent array and with multiple interferers for various degrees of perfection of the reference generating circuit. In all cases the computations confirm that the otherwise severe effects of small pointing errors are substantially reduced.     

北斗B1 QPSK调制信号的高灵敏度捕获算法

卫星信号在复杂环境中功率存在衰减,导致其低于接收机正常捕获范围,给信号捕获带来较大困难。在分析北斗B1频点信号体制及研究码并行捕获算法基础上,提出了针对北斗B1 QPSK调制信号的双通道并行搜索捕获算法,设计了优化的相干、非相干码并行捕获算法,解决了信噪比较低环境中北斗卫星信号捕获困难的问题。利用卫星信号模拟器产生的仿真信号对双通道并行捕获算法和相干、非相干累加捕获算法进行验证与分析,结果表明,前者性能明显优于单通道捕获,后者较普通捕获算法具有更理想的捕获灵敏度。     

一种改进双块补零北斗导航接收机弱信号捕获方法

利用卫星导航系统对高轨航天器进行自主导航与高精度定轨,对接收机的捕获灵敏度要求极高,双块补零(DBZP)算法是无辅助下卫星导航弱信号捕获的理想方案,然而受限于数据处理量大,DBZP实际应用难度大。在深入分析双块补零机理的基础上,结合矩阵重构的思想,提出了一种改进双块补零北斗导航接收机弱信号捕获方法。该方法对参与块内相关运算的基带信号和本地测距码分别进行重构,解决了块内点数与快速傅里叶变换输入点数之间的矛盾,提高了北斗导航接收机弱信号捕获性能。仿真实验结果分析表明,改进双块补零算法对信噪比没有损失,可以保证对低至15dB·Hz的弱信号进行有效捕获,能够满足高轨航天器定轨、室内外无缝导航等对接收机高灵敏度的需求。本方法是在块内运算层面对DBZP进行优化,具备良好的通用性和可移植性,与优化相干积分策略的各种改进DBZP算法可以无缝对接,进一步提高北斗导航接收机信号处理的效能。同时,重构的思想也适用于其他采用码分多址信号的卫星导航系统的弱信号检测和捕获,对提升多星座卫星导航系统的基带信号处理性能具有参考意义。     

基于LEO辅助的北斗B1C高灵敏快速捕获算法

随着低轨(LEO)卫星数量的不断增加,利用LEO星座辅助增强GNSS导航性能已经成为一种新的趋势.针对低信噪比环境下B1C信号难以捕获的问题,提出了一种基于LEO辅助的B1C信号高灵敏快速捕获算法.首先对提升接收机捕获灵敏度进行了分析,对比了相干积分与非相干积分对于信号处理增益的影响,得出在低轨导航增强信号的辅助下采用增加相干积分时间的捕获算法对低信噪比条件下B1C信号的捕获更有效.然后提出了一种基于LEO辅助的B1C高灵敏快速捕获算法,从理论分析和实验仿真两方面,对比验证了在LEO辅助下可以显著提高B1C信号的捕获灵敏度,缩短捕获时间,提高捕获效率.     

Reference Loop Phase Shift in an N-Element Adaptive Array

Adaptive arrays based on the LMS algorithm require the generation of a reference signal which is usually derived from the array output. A particular problem associated with this technique is that of a phase shift in the reference signal loop. The effects of this phase shift on the performance of an N-element adaptive array are discussed. It is shown that a reference loop phase shift causes the array weights to cycle, thereby frequency translating the signals at the output. The weight-cycling frequency is related to various system parameters of an N-element array. In particular, it is observed that the cycling frequency increases as the number of antennas (N) increases.     

Design and implementation of near-field, wideband synthetic aperture beamformers

A coarray-based near-field, wideband synthetic aperture beamformer using stepped-frequency signal synthesis and post-data acquisition processing is presented. While coarray techniques offer significant reduction in the number of array elements for a given angular resolution, the hybrid subarray-stepped frequency realization of wideband systems simplifies implementations and offers flexibility in beamforming. Proof of concept is provided using real data collected in an anechoic chamber for several pulse shapes and array weightings.     

Noise-correlating radar based on retrodirective antennas

A new retrodirective antenna-based search radar system has been introduced. The suggested system uses a noise correlation technique to detect the presence and the direction of the target. Simulation and analytical results show an order of magnitude improvement in acquisition time of the radar when compared with a phased array antenna-based radar system with the same specifications, except transmit power. To the best knowledge of the authors, no radar of a comparable acquisition time has been designed to this date. Power versus acquisition time tradeoff has been compared with a phased array radar for evaluating performance of the system. The radar is self-tracking due to retrodirectivity of the antenna array, and is much easier to implement, as it does not require any phase shifters etc.     

A new quadrature sampling and processing approach

A quadrature sampling and array signal processing technique that differs from earlier approaches in that is processes the data before the Hilbert transformation is presented. A fast Fourier transformation (FFT) technique that performs the discrete Fourier transformation (DFT) on the sampled data directly without Hilbert transformation is proposed for frequency-domain signal processing. For array signal processing, the proposed approach does not perform Hilbert transformation prior to signal combining. It features high processing speed, low distortion, and hardware simplicity. Error analyses, performance evaluation, and computer simulation results are included     

Reference Loop Phase Shift in Adaptive Arrays

Adaptive arrays for use in communication systems require the generation of a so-called reference signal, which is usually derived from the array output. A particular problem associated with this technique, the problem of reference loop phase shift, is discussed. It is shown that phase shift in the reference loop causes the array weights to cycle, and also causes the array to frequency-modulate the signal. In spite of this frequency change, the array maintains a maximum SNR at the output.     

Flight path estimation using frequency measurements from a wideaperture acoustic array

A narrowband technique based on the acoustical Doppler effect is proposed for estimating the trajectory of a turbo-prop aircraft in level flight with constant velocity as it transits over a ground-based passive acoustic sensor array. The basic principle is to measure the temporal variation of the instantaneous frequency (IF) of the acoustic signal received by each sensor and then to minimize the sum of the squared deviations of the IF estimates from their predicted values over a sufficiently long period of time for all sensors. The technique provides estimates of the propeller blade rate and the five source motion parameters that describe the aircraft trajectory. The six dimensional minimization problem is reduced to a five dimensional maximization problem, which is solved numerically using the quasi-Newton method. A simple method is described that provides the initial parameter estimates required for the numerical maximization. The effectiveness of the motion parameter estimation technique is verified using real acoustic data recorded from a wide aperture microphone array during various transits of a turbo-prop aircraft     

Antenna array beam steering using time-varying weights

The author presents a new technique of steering an array antenna by introducing time-varying phase weights. It is shown that the technique is equivalent to placing a linear phase and linear frequency offset across the array when transmitting a linear frequency modulated (LFM) waveform. The technique reduces array dispersion and increases the operating bandwidth. An element level signal generator is presented as a possible way of implementing the time-varying weights. A possible array implementation is also shown.<>     

Limitations of Series-Fed Arrays in Broadband Communications

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the signal distortion which results when long, series-fed arrays are used for communication. It is shown that under certain conditions the antenna array can be considered a linear filter, the response of which is a function of frequency as well as spatial coordinates. The distortion accompanying the transmission as measured by the least mean-square difference between the transmitted and the received signals is derived. This expression is evaluated for the case of a uniformly excited array and a rectangular band-pass signal spectrum. In the absence of noise the transmitted signal can be completely recovered in the receiver by employing the proper linear filter. In the presence of noise the signal cannot, of course, be completely recovered. However, a technique for minimizing the distortion, in this case using a pre-filter and a post-filter, is investigated.     

有源对消隐身系统设计研究

针对有源对消隐身要求的系统延时短、反应速度快、信号参数测量和对消波幅相控制精度高的特点,设计了一个基于相控阵技术、数字射频存储器(DRFM)和现场可编程门阵列(FPGA)的有源对消系统。为了解决目标雷达散射截面计算量太大、不能有流水线延迟和难以实现实时计算等问题,采用离线计算的方法,预先建立目标的全向雷达散射截面(RCS)数据库、杂波数据库和噪声数据库,由FPGA根据测得的雷达信号参数在数据库中查找到相应的目标回波数据,实时调整对消波的幅度和相位,使对方的雷达接收机始终处于合成方向图的零点。最后通过仿真计算验证了该设计方案的有效性。     

适用于BOC(m,n)信号的无模糊捕获技术

针对二进制偏移载波(BOC)调制信号自相关多峰特性引起的信号捕获模糊性问题,提出了一种子相关相乘边峰消除技术(CMSCT)。根据BOC子相关函数的特性,通过将不同子相关函数相乘获得边峰消除能力,并且为了充分利用接收信号,进一步提高捕获性能,提出了相应的优化算法。分析对比了提出算法的实现复杂度和基于恒虚警率准则的峰值发现概率,对Galileo E1C中频采样信号的处理结果表明:提出的边峰消除方法有效解决了捕获模糊性问题。     

Adaptive Array Behavior with Periodic Phase Modulated Interference

We consider a least mean square (LMS) adaptive array [1] receiving a phase modulated interference signal. The phase modulation is assumed to be periodic and to have finite bandwidth. Under these assumptions, we determine the time-varying array weights, the modulation on the array output desired signal, and the time-varying output interference-to-noise ratio (INR) and SINR (signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio). We present numerical results describing the behavior of a 2-element adaptive array that receives an interference signal with sinusoidal phase modulation. We show how each signal parameter (arrival angle, power, modulation index, and modulation frequency) affects the performance of the array.     

A flexible processor for a digital adaptive array radar

A digital beamforming processor for an adaptive array radar is described. The functionality and the architecture of the processor are strongly driven by a goal of achieving adaptive null depths in the 60-dB to 70-dB range, which necessitates substantial preprocessing of each channel. In particular, conversion to baseband quadrature channels is accomplished digitally using a single A/D converter per channel, and FIR (finite impulse response) equalizing filters are employed in each channel to match channel transfer functions. The processor is highly modular, and this not only distributes the total processing load, but also the I/O (input/output) bandwidth requirement. This is accomplished by distributing the adaptive beamforming algorithm systolically across a linear array of processing nodes. The processor is expandable to a different number of channels and sufficiently flexible to be applied to other problems of an array signal processing nature. Experimental data presented demonstrate that the processor is capable of supporting channel-to-channel cancellation of interfering signals to the level of -65 dB     

基于FPGA的BOC(1,1)信号捕获技术

BOC调制是新一代卫星导航系统中广泛采用的调制方式,在时域上具有多峰值特性,副峰的存在增加了捕获的难度。采用自相关副峰消除技术(ASPeCT)在原有的BOC码相关支路的基础上增加一条伪码相关支路,可以有效削弱码相位检测函数的副峰,避免误捕获,是一种性能良好的BOC信号捕获技术。提出一种采用二维并行快速搜索的在FPGA芯片中实现ASPeCT捕获技术的方案,可以显著缩短捕获时间。在理论分析和仿真验证的基础上,采用Verilog硬件描述语言在接收机FPGA+DSP平台上编程实现,在露天测试中,成功捕获到Galileo E1B卫星导航信号,并对ChipScope采集的数字中频信号的多普勒频率和码相位静态捕获结果进行验证,与同一段信号的Matlab仿真结果一致,证明所提出的技术方案正确合理可行。     

The Performance of an LMS Adaptive Array with Frequency Hopped Signals

The performance of an LMS adaptive array with a frequency hopped, spread spectrum desired signal and a CW interference signal is examined. It is shown that frequency hopping has several effects on an adaptive array. It causes the array to modulate both the amplitude and the phase of the received signal. Also, it causes the array output SINR (signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio) to vary with time and thus increases the bit error probability for the received signal. Typical curves of the desired signal modulation and the time-varying SINR at the array output are presented. It is shown how the array performance depends on hopping frequency, frequency jump size, interference frequency, signal arrival angles, and signal powers.