Interferometer Design for Elevation Angle Estimation

Radars that are developed for the purpose of monitoring aircraft landings in the terminal air traffic control system can be designed to exploit the relatively high signal-to-noise ratio that characterizes the power budgets calculated for such a link. An interferometer using a pair of low gain antennas can be used to obtain passive coverage over a targe azimuth and elevation sector. A large baseline can be used to obtain the desired elevation angle estimation accuracy. In this paper an optimal tradeoff between the width of the subarray aperture and the width of the interferometer baseline is performed that achieves a specified elevation angle estimation error while minimizing the overall height of the interferometer configuration. The algorithm searches through the class of antenna patterns that can be synthesized from so-called finite impulse response, linear phase digital filters. For the specific problem of designing an elevation sensor for monitoring landing aircraft on final approach, the elevation angle can be estimated with no more than 1-mrad rms error when the aircraft is within ± 60° azimuth, 2.5° to 40° elevation, using two 7-wavelength subarray antennas spaced 8 wave-lengths apart. The design of a separate sensor for resolving the interferometer ambiguities is formulated as a hypothesis testing problem and solved using statistical decision theory. A bound on the probability of an ambiguity error is derived that accounts for the effects of ground reflection multipath and receiver noise.     

ANALYSIS OF LOCATION ACCURACY FOR AN EMITTER USING SATELLITE- MOUNTED INTERFEROMETER

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Phase Compensation for Widely-Spaced Antenna Systems Employing Coherent Signal Combinations

This paper describes a technique for providing phase compensation to signals received at widely-spaced antennas and processed at a central location. Self-compensation is provided for pathlength variations in reference-signal distribution systems. The technique may be adapted to include the measurement and compensation of signal-channel phase variations. Practical systems which require this type of compensation include interferometric systems used for position and position-rate measurements of missiles and spacecraft, interferometers and arrays of antennas used for radio and radar astronomy, and arrays of large-aperture antennas used for deep-space communications.     

ATS-6 Interferometer

The Applications Technology Satellite-6 (ATS-6) RF interferometer is utilized primarily as a precision 3-axis attitude sensor having an unambiguous field of view of 350°. This function requires two separated ground transmitters, each using one of the two available frequency channels or sharing a single channel by time multiplexing. For 3-axis control, one uplink transmitter can provide 2-axis attitude (pitch and roll) with other sensors (e.g., a Polaris tracker) providing yaw attitude. By utilizing two uplink transmitters and the Earth sensor or three time multiplexed uplink transmitters, the interferometer can also provide measurements of ATS-6 spacecraft orbit position. Uplink frequencies are 6.150 and 6.155 GHz. The receiving antennas are spaced at 19.95 wavelengths (?) for the vernier baseline and 1.66 ? for the coarse baseline. Spacecraft system weight is 8.39 kg (18.5 lb) and power requirement is 15.5 W. Flight evaluation results are given for the interferometer including R F link budgets, modulation of uplink carrier, signal-to-noise ratio, and dropout behavior. A hardware calibration model is described, containing major biases in the phase measurements. Techniques for flight calibration as both an attitude and spacecraft position sensor are outlined . Flight testing has shown that on-line calibration of receiver/converter biases must be performed on a short term routine basis. Interferometer resolution was found to be 0.00140 space angle with negligible noise (jitter) at transmitted power levels above 72 dBW. As an attitude sensor, the interferometer has demonstrated the ability to provide stabilization to better than 0.     

Determination of Horn Antenna Phase Centers by Edge Diffraction Theory

The edge diffraction method of analysis utilized in the past to determine amplitude patterns is extended in this paper to predict the radiation phase center of pyramidal horn antennas. A series of extensive phase and amplitude measurements were performed on these antennas to determine the validity of the theoretical results. The measurements were performed over a frequency range of 7.5 to 10.5 GHz in the E plane of the antennas. The phase measurements were accurate to ±0.2 electrical degrees, so that the phase center locations relative to the horn apertures were repeatably determined to better than 0.010 inch for horn apertures as large as 7 inches. The results of the measurements indicate that excellent agreement is obtained with the theory in predicting the phase center location of the larger horns (kRE > 50). For the smaller horns, however, there is a large discrepancy between the theory and measurements. The measured phase centers of the smaller horns exhibit a large variation with frequency which cannot be explained with the existing theory. Several reasons for the discrepancy are presented, and it is concluded that a more rigorous approach involving higher order modes has to be developed for the smaller horns.     

Novel wideband multimode hybrid interferometer system

In this paper, a novel hybrid of a three-element interferometer comprised of multimode antennas is analyzed. The phase ambiguities associated with the long baselines of the interferometer are resolved using the "coarse" angle estimates provided by the multimode antenna. This results in the elimination of the short baseline interferometers of the conventional five-element interferometer. It is shown here that the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) must be above a threshold value to resolve the phase ambiguities with a high degree of probability. An expression that shows the dependence of this threshold SNR on the interferometer spacing and the variance of the angle estimates provided by the multimode antenna is derived. A single three-element wideband multimode antenna interferometer can replace several five-element conventional interferometers, each covering a separate frequency band.     

Performance of phased-array antennas with mechanical errors

The performance of planar phase-array antennas with mechanical errors is investigated. Errors in array element positions as a result of structural distortions are considered as deterministic and predictable. Detailed calculations for two assumed modes of distortion reveal that their effects on antenna performance are the loss of peak response in the scan direction and the broadening of the mainlobe, while the far-out sidelobe structure remains relatively intact. For large antennas, performance improvement can be expected by suitable phase compensation. Performance of antennas with random errors in their element positions must be treated statistically. Expressions of average directivity and sidelobe level corresponding to arbitrary error magnitudes in element position, amplitude and phase of excitation as well as finite rate of failure of element modules were derived and verified by direct numerical calculations from the antenna directivity patterns. For a planar phased-array antenna typical for space-based radars, the standard deviation of element position errors must not exceed 1% of the operating wavelength in order to maintain a -10 dBi sidelobe level     

GPS code and carrier multipath mitigation using a multiantennasystem

Multipath is a major source of error in high precision Global Positioning System (GPS) static and kinematic differential positioning. Multipath accounts for most of the total error budget in carrier phase measurements in a spacecraft attitude determination system. It is a major concern in reference stations, such as in Local Area Augmentation Systems (LAAS), whereby corrections generated by a reference station, which are based on multipath corrupted measurements, can significantly influence the position accuracy of differential users. Code range, carrier phase, and signal-to-noise (SNR) measurements are all affected by multipath, and the effect is spatially correlated within a small area. In order to estimate and remove code and carrier phase multipath, a system comprising a cluster of five GPS receivers and antennas is used at a reference station location. The spatial correlation of the receiver data, and the known geometry among the antennas, are exploited to estimate multipath for each satellite in each antenna in the system. Generic receiver code and carrier tracking loop discriminator functions are analyzed, and relationships between receiver data, such as code range, carrier phase, and SNR measurements, are formulated and related to various multipath parameters. A Kalman filter is described which uses a combination of the available information from the antennas (receivers) in the multiantenna cluster to estimate various multipath parameters. From the multipath parameters, the code range and carrier phase multipath is estimated and compensated. The technique is first tested on simulated data in a controlled multipath environment. Results are then presented using field data and show a significant reduction in multipath error     

Radio interferometer for geosynchronous-satellite direction finding

A radio interferometer capable of azimuth-elevation direction finding for geosynchronous satellites has been developed. The interferometer has two small-diameter antennas and four movable planar mirrors. The movable mirrors reflect the microwaves from the satellite and guide them to the fixed receiving antennas. Two of the movable mirrors are mounted on a rotary arm, so that the baseline of the interferometer can rotate in the horizontal plane. This configuration enables the interferometer to eliminate phase-ambiguity problems and cable-phase errors, resulting in a direction finding accuracy of better than 0.01 deg in the Ku band.     

A Survey of Electronic Attitude Measurement Systems

Introducing rectangular coordinates for the reference coordinate system and the space-vehicle fixed-coordinate system, it will be shown that the transformation matrixes between both coordinate systems which describe the attitude of the space vehicle can be easily computed as functions of the rectangular coordinates of two precise directions known in both coordinate systems. In detail, an electronic attitude measurement will be described based on two precise propagation directions of RF waves. In order to measure the propagation direction in the space-vehicle fixed-coordinate system, a very general interferometer is described. This interferometer is characterized by the fact that the antennas of the interferometer are arbitrarily distributed on the surface of the space vehicle and that the electronic computation of the coordinates of the propagation direction of an RF wave is extremely simple. The design and some modifications of this system are discussed     

单载机相位差无源定位系统可观测性分析(英文)

With a pair of antennas spaced apart, an airborne passive location system measures phase differences of emitting signals. Regarded as cyclic ambiguities, the moduli of the measurements traditionally are resolved by adding more antenna elements. This paper models the cyclic ambiguity as a component of the system state, of which the observability is analyzed and compared to that of the bear- ings-only passive location system. It is shown that the necessary and sufficient observability condition for the bearings-only passive location system is only the necessary observability condition for the passive location system with phase difference measurements, and that when the system state is observable, the cyclic ambiguities can be estimated by accumulating the phase difference measurements, thereby making the observer able to locate the emitter with high-precision.     

鲁棒成形极化敏感阵列波束的方法及极化估计

基于极化敏感阵列,提出了一种鲁棒成形阵列波束的方法。该方法首先将阵列的数据模型进行了重新描述,从而获得了信号波达角(DOA)和极化解耦的模型。借助于该模型并对信号的两个极化方向分别进行鲁棒约束,设计出了一个新的鲁棒空域波束空间成形矩阵,利用该矩阵可以获得信号两个极化分量的鲁棒估计。基于特征值分解的方法,最后给出了估计信号极化参数的方法。分析和数值仿真实验均表明:提出的方法,在对DOA估计误差以及阵列位置误差等造成的阵列失配具有较强鲁棒性的同时,也能有效抑制干扰和噪声,进而提升了极化参数估计的性能。     

A Hybrid Navigation Concept Using a Spinning Satellite?Borne Interferometer and Self?Contained Equipment

This paper analyzes a hybrid navigation concept that uses signals from a radio interferometer mounted on a spinning geostationary satellite, preliminary position estimates from self-contained equipment, and stored a priori information on the past performance of this equipment. The craft-borne processor, optimum in the maximum a posteriori (MAP) sense, is designed to estimate position coordinates using only the incoming radio signals, although improved estimates result if the other two items are available. An error analysis starts with the derivation of an estimation error covariance matrix, whose elements depend on additive receiver noise and the physical parameters of the system. A minimum 1? estimation error in position is obtained by trading off these parameters. The effects of other major error sources, such as tropospheric phase fluctuations, multipath, and craft altitude uncertainty, are added to the estimation error to give a total 1? position error on the order of 3.7 to 5.6 km.     

仅用相位差变化率的机载单站无源定位方法及其误差分析

针对以往单站无源定位系统中长短基线干涉仪系统复杂、角度测量易受干涉仪通道幅度/相位不一致的影响等问题,提出了一种仅仅利用长基线干涉仪(LBI)的相位差变化率实现单站无源定位的新方法,并对该定位方法误差的克拉美-罗下限(CRLB)进行了推导和分析,计算并分析了不同的干涉仪基线安装方向、不同的观测器运动方式下的定位误差几何分布(GDOP)。结果表明,仅用相位差变化率定位时,为了达到侧翼最好精度,干涉仪最好平行机身安装;为了达到侧前方较好精度,干涉仪需垂直安装;观测器的运动姿态最好发生某种机动变化。     

New approach for target locations in the presence of wall ambiguities

A technique for target location estimation in through-the-wall radar imaging applications is presented. The algorithm corrects for the shifts in target positions due to ambiguities in the wall thickness and dielectric constant. We consider uniform walls and perform imaging using wideband beamforming, with the antennas placed against the wall. Behind-the-wall images are obtained using different structures of transmit and receive arrays. For each array structure, a trajectory of the shifts in the target locations is generated assuming different wall parameters. The target position is estimated as the intersection of the corresponding trajectories. The paper shows that for unknown wall thickness or dielectric constant, the point of intersection is the true target position. In the case when both parameters are unknown, the estimated target location is in close proximity to the target true position. It is demonstrated that the performance of the proposed technique is rather insensitive to the target location behind the wall and to various array structures.     

ACCURACY ANALYSIS OF PASSIVE LOCATION SYSTEM WITH PHASE DIFFERENCE RATE MEASUREMENT

The conventional mono- station passive loca-tion techniques of direction finding are low in speedand accuracy.It may notmeet the requirements ofmodern targeting or accuracy attacking actions.For a moving observer,by employing some passivemeasurements such as Doppler or Phase DifferenceRate(PDR) ,the location error can be reduced tonearly one- fifth of the conventional error[1～ 4 ] .In this paper,the location method using PDRis introduced in section one.Location accuracyanalysis is given i…     

Attitude determination using dedicated and nondedicatedmultiantenna GPS sensors

We show that the use of nondedicated Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors to determine the attitude parameters of a vessel yields the same level of performance as the use of a dedicated multiantenna receiver, namely an agreement of the order of 0.1° (1σ). The test platform is a survey launch operating at cruising speeds of 10 to 15 kt. The dedicated multiantenna receiver is a four-antenna Ashtech 3DF unit, while the nondedicated sensor array consists of three NovAtel GPSCard^TM receivers. The approach used to resolve the relative carrier phase integer ambiguities between the antennas is discussed and the use of antenna baseline constraints is analyzed. A least-squares procedure which utilizes all the position information from the antennas for the estimation of the attitude parameters and their accuracy is presented. The attitude determination results from the two configurations tested are intercompared     

Phased array of large reflectors for deep-space communication

In this paper the problem of uplink array calibration for deep-space communication is considered. A phased array of many modest-size reflectors antennas is used to drastically improve the uplink effective isotropic radiated power of a ground station. A radar calibration procedure for the array phase distribution is presented using a number of in-orbit targets. Design of optimal orbit and the number of calibration targets is investigated for providing frequent calibration opportunities needed for compensating array elements phase center movements as the array tracks a spacecraft. Array far-field focusing based on the near-filed in-orbit (low Earth orbit (LEO)) calibration targets is also presented and array gain degradation analysis based on the position error of the array elements and in-orbit targets has been carried out. It is shown that errors in the in-orbit targets positions significantly degrade the far-field array gain while the errors in array elements positions are not very important. Analysis of phase errors caused by thermal noise, system instability, and atmospheric effects show insignificant array gain degradation by these factors     

Polarization Mismatch Errors in Amplitude Comparison Direction Finders

The polarization unbalance between the two antennas of an amplitude direction finder causes measurement errors for incident waves of variable polarization. These errors are analyzable qualitatively and quantitatively by means of Poincaré's sphere.     

极化角对跟踪接收机相位影响分析

根据卫星通信中遇到的极化问题及其对移动地面站的影响,针对不同极化卫星间的差异,从电磁场理论中极化的定义和分类出发,给出不同极化电磁波电场信号表示方法,以某型移动卫通站天线馈源结构为例,介绍了不同状态下极化工作方式和线极化方式中线极化面调整的机理,然后结合单通道单脉冲跟踪接收机工作原理,对天线跟踪水平极化信标时线极化角与跟踪接收机相位间的关系进行了详细分析,为解决实际应用中遇到的跟踪接收机相位漂移问题提供了技术依据。