Radar system and method for a synthetic aperture radar

• US 8,947,292 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2009
• Issued: 02/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saab AB
• Original Assignee: Saab AB
• Inventors: Andersson, Lars-Gunnar, Hellsten, Hans
• Primary Examiner(s): BYTHROW, PETER M
• Application Number:
  US13/148,328
• Publication Number:
  US 20120105274A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,188 Days
• Field of Search: 342/25.R, 342/25.A, 342/25.B, 342/25.C, 342/25.D, 342/25.E, 342/25.F, 342/118, 342/120, 342128-132, 342/175
• US Class Current: 342/25.R
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/0209 Systems with very large relative bandwidth, i.e. larger than 10 %, e.g. baseband, pulse, carrier-free, ultrawideband
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/28 with time compression of received pulses
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/90 using synthetic aperture techniques , e.g. synthetic aperture radar [SAR] techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/9041 Squint mode

Abstract

A radar system for a synthetic aperture radar including an arrangement of at least one transmitter, two receivers, two antennas and signal processing means located on a platform. The platform is arranged to move over ground and arranged to transmit a known signal shape and receive signals reflected from the ground. The received signals are used to produce a synthetic aperture radar image of the ground. The synthetic aperture radar image includes a number of resolution cells. The radar system is further arranged to operate in a frequency band with a center frequency and with a wide bandwidth of at least one octave. A first antenna and a second antenna have a length of less than half the wavelength of the center frequency. The radar system is further arranged for: a radar system transfer function to be flat over the frequency band and one-sided beam forming with wideband antenna gain. Also a corresponding method.

Claims

1. A radar system for a synthetic aperture radar, comprising:

an arrangement comprising at least one transmitter, two receivers, two antennas and a signal processor;

a platform on which the arrangement is located, the platform being arranged to move over ground and arranged to transmit a known signal shape and receive signals reflected from the ground, the received signals being used to produce a synthetic aperture radar image of the ground, the synthetic aperture radar image comprising a number of resolution cells, and the radar system being arranged to operate in a frequency band with a center frequency and with a wide bandwidth of at least one octave;

a first antenna and a second antenna having a length of less than half a wavelength of the center frequency,

wherein a radar system transfer function is arranged to be flat over the frequency band by arranging for signal equalization and pulse compression of the received signals by the signal processor, and wherein one-sided beam forming with wideband antenna gain is arranged utilizing a first receiver channel and a second receiver channel where the first receiver channel is arranged to receive a signal from the first antenna and the second receiver channel is arranged to receive a signal from the second antenna and further by arranging for matching antenna separation, with a phase difference of 2α

egrees between the transmit signals arranged to be fed into each antenna, 2α

being in the vicinity of 90 degrees.

2. The radar system according to claim 1, wherein a voltage standing wave ratio of the radar system is arranged to be reduced by insertion of a voltage standing wave ratio reducer in the radar system between the transmitter and the first antenna and the second antenna.

3. The radar system according to claim 1, wherein transmitted power is arranged in such a way that after equalization, pulse compression and one-sided beam forming the received signal energy from one resolution cell during the radar registration time at least equals the sum of external and internal noise energy divided with a time/bandwidth product.

4. The radar system according to claim 1, wherein flatness of the radar system transfer function is arranged by transmission of the known signal shape over the bandwidth, by arranging for the received signals for each channel to be convolved with an inverse impulse response function, thus obtaining a signal equalization for each channel, and by arranging a pulse compression by convolving the equalized signal for each channel with a conjugate transmit signal waveform thus obtaining a first equalized and compressed signal from the first receiver channel and a second equalized and compressed signal from the second receiver channel.

5. The radar system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a reciprocal 4-port device arranged between the transmitter and said antennas in a configuration with;

the reciprocal 4-port device having a first port connected to the first antenna via a first transmit/receive switch and a second port connected to the second antenna via a second transmit/receive switch,

a waveform generator being connected to a third port of the reciprocal 4-port device via the transmitter,

a load connected to a fourth port of the reciprocal 4-port device.

6. The radar system according to claim 5, wherein the radar system has a configuration of:

the first antenna and the second antenna,

a Transmit/Receive Switch connected to each antenna,

the reciprocal 4-port device,

the first receiver being connected to the first antenna via one of the transmit/receive switches in the first receiver channel and the second receiver being connected to the second antenna via the other transmit/receive switch in the second receiver channel,

the receivers and an impulse response function-unit are connected to a first and a second convolution unit and the first convolution unit is connected to a first compression unit in the first receiver channel and the second convolution unit is connected to a second compression unit in the second receiver channel, the second receiver channel being in parallel to the first receiver channel, the compression units both being connected to a conjugate unit, and each compression unit is arranged to produce the equalized and compressed signal for their respective channels

and/or

wherein by the reciprocal 4-port device being a 90 degree hybrid both the voltage standing wave ratio reducer is realized and the phase difference 2α

is arranged to be substantially 90°

.

7. The radar system according to 1, wherein the radar system is arranged to operate in a sub-band within the frequency range 20-500 MHz

and/or

wherein the wide bandwidth B of the frequency band is arranged to cover 1.6 octaves corresponding to the highest frequency in the frequency band being three times the lowest frequency in the frequency band.

8. The radar system according to claim 1, wherein said antennas have a length of approximately 1 m when the radar system is arranged to operate in a frequency band 27.5 MHz-82.5 MHz

and/or

wherein the transmit/receive switches, the reciprocal 4-port device, the waveform generator, the conjugate unit, the impulse response function-unit, the convolution units, phase shifters, the compression units and synthetic aperture radar signal processor all being signal processors.

9. A method for arranging a radar system for a synthetic aperture radar comprising an arrangement comprising at least one transmitter, two receivers, two antennas and a signal processor located on a platform moving over ground and transmitting a known signal shape and receiving signals reflected from the ground, the received signals being used to produce a synthetic aperture radar image of the ground, the synthetic aperture radar image comprising a number of resolution cells, and the radar system operating in a frequency band with a center frequency and with a wide bandwidth of at least one octave, wherein the radar system comprises a first and a second antenna having a length of less than half the wavelength of the center frequency and further by arranging:

a radar system transfer function to be flat over the frequency band by equalizing and pulse compressing the received signals by the signal processing means and

one-sided beam forming with wideband antenna gain, by utilizing a first receiver and a second receiver channel where the first receiver channel receives a signal from the first antenna and the second receiver channel receives a signal from the second antenna and further by matching antenna separation with a phase difference of 2α

degrees between the transmit signals fed into each antenna, 2α

being in the vicinity of 90 degrees.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein a voltage standing wave ratio of the radar system is reduced by insertion of a voltage standing wave ratio reducer in the radar system between the transmitter and said antennas.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein transmitted power is arranged in such a way that after equalization, pulse compression and one-sided beam forming the received signal energy from one resolution cell during the radar registration time at least equals the sum of external and internal noise energy divided with a time/bandwidth product.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein a flatness of the radar system transfer function is arranged by transmission of the known signal shape over the bandwidth, by convolving the received signals for each channel with an inverse impulse response function, thus obtaining a signal equalization for each channel, and by pulse compressing by convolving the equalized signal for each channel with a conjugate transmit signal waveform thus obtaining a first equalized and compressed signal from the first receiver channel and a second equalized and compressed signal from the second receiver channel.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein a reciprocal 4-port device is inserted between the transmitter and said antennas in a configuration with:

the reciprocal 4-port device having a first port connected to the first antenna via a first transmit/receive switch and a second port connected to the second antenna via the a second transmit/receive switch,

a waveform generator being connected to a third port of the reciprocal 4-port device via the transmitter, and

a load connected to a fourth port of the reciprocal 4-port device.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the radar system has a configuration of:

the first and the second antenna,

a transmit/receive switch connected to each antenna,

the reciprocal 4-port device,

the first receiver being connected to the first antenna via one of the transmit/receive switches in the first receiver channel and the second receiver being connected to the second antenna via the other transmit/receive switch in the second receiver channel,

the receivers and an impulse response function-unit are connected to a first convolution unit and a second convolution unit and the first convolution unit is connected to a first compression unit in the first receiver channel and the second convolution unit is connected to a second compression unit in the second receiver channel, the second receiver channel being in parallel to the first receiver channel, the compression units both being connected to a conjugate unit, and each compression unit is producing the equalized and compressed signal for their respective channels

and/or

wherein by the reciprocal 4-port device being a 90 degree hybrid both the voltage standing wave ratio reducer is realized and the phase difference 2α

is arranged to be substantially 90°

.

15. The method according to claim 9, wherein the radar system operates in a sub-band within the frequency range 20-500 MHz

and/or

wherein the wide bandwidth of the frequency band covers 1.6 octaves corresponding to the highest frequency in the frequency band being three times the lowest frequency in the frequency band.

16. The method according to claim 9, wherein said antennas have a length of approximately 1 m when the radar system is operating in a frequency band 27.5 MHz-82.5 MHz

and/or

wherein the transmit/receive switches, the reciprocal 4-port device, the waveform generator, the conjugate unit, the IRF-unit, the convolution units, phase shifters, the compression units and SAR signal processor all being signal processors.