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The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of a turnkey mobile dynamic R.C.S. system, presently under design and development. The test system includes no less than 16 antennas, installed on two heavy duty tracking positioners, trailer mounted. The RF instrumentation is split over racks located on the positioners and in the mobile shelter housing the control equipment and operators and includes 14 receivers and 7 high power transmitters. The paper describes the antenna system, RF instrumentation, control and processing software as wek as operational and modularity aspects of this dynamic RCS facility.
Measuring the radar cross section of low-observable (LO) vehicles require an RCS quality control (QC) program that will last throughout the life cycle of the vehicle, from component production to operational deployment and depot maintenance. Testing must be done at regular intervals to ensure that surface or sub-surface damage has not degraded the RCS characteristics of the vehicle beyond acceptable limits. In the past, these measurements were complicated by the requirement for and expensive, well-prepared RF test environment. The test range—usually a fixed site—is often remotely controlled. System Planning Corporation (SPC) has developed an RCS QC measurement technique that requires little or no facility improvements while offering high sensitivity inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) images. The instrumentation radar system can be located at the production, maintenance, or operational site of the vehicle or component. As a result, the QC program is both economical and reliable.
Lockheed’s Advanced Development Company (LADC), located in Burbank, California, has been evaluating the capability of indoor anechoic chambers to measure VHF/UHF RCS. Two chambers were available for evaluation. A 155 feet long, 50 feet high by 50 feet wide tapered horn chamber and a compact range having dimensions of 97 feet long, 64 feet high by 64 feet wide, featuring a 46 feet wide collimator. For comparison purposes, a common instrumentation radar was used in each chamber. This radar was based on a network analyzer using a Lockheed designed pulse-gate unit to increase transmit/receive isolation. Various antenna feed system were tried in both chambers to ascertain their characteristics. Theoretical and experimental data on system performance will be presented emphasizing practical implementation and inherent limitations.
Radar cross section (RCS) measurements were performed in the 0.1-1 GHz band in an anechoic chamber optimized for microwave frequencies. Selection of proper instrumentation, antennas, measurement techniques and processing software are discussed. Experimental results, showing the accuracy and sensibility of the system are presented.
Adaptive antenna systems will expand the test requirements for conventional antenna testing. The specific example of adaptive uplink antennas for satellite communications illustrates this required expansion. Test facilities will require additional capabilities to generate both desired and interference test signals with differing arrival directions. A novel extension of compact range technology is described for testing spaceborne designs. Instrumentation likewise will require further development for testing wide bandwidth adaptive cancellation designs used with spread spectrum modems.
A 45 GHz instrumentation radar system unique in several respects has been developed for inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) and tracking angle scintillation (glint) studies. The system, based on a Hewlett-Packard HP-8510B network analyzer, is fully polarimetric and operates on a 1000-m outdoor far-field range. An amplitude monopulse receiver provides a measure of the instantaneous apparent-center-of-scattering of the target. Successful glint and ISAR measurements have been made on targets as large as 8 m.
In-phase and quadrature (I/Q) aberrations in radar receiver data create problems in radars used for radar cross section (RCS) measurements. I/Q errors cause incorrect representations of the target under test. A method for correcting I/Q error and calibrating the measured amplitude to a scattering standard provides a means of obtaining a more accurate representation of the target under test. The RCS measurement instrumentation addressed here uses a wide band receiver with a single quadrature mixer for conversion of radio frequency (RF) to base band (also referred to as video) frequency. In the one-step down conversion, distortions in the I/Q constellation occur, causing I/Q errors. This method quantifies the extent of the I/Q problem by estimating the actual I/Q error from a series of calibration measurements. An algorithm is presented which quantifies parameters of the I/Q distortion, then uses the distortion parameters to remove the I/Q aberrations from the target measurement.
The effects of non-systematic receiver instrumentation errors on precision antenna measurements are investigated. A simple uncertainty model relating dynamic range to random perturbation effects on amplitude measurements is proposed. Examples of measurement uncertainty versus both input level and measurement speed are presented using data taken on modern measurement receivers. Dara are compared with the model to estimate measurement uncertainty at various pattern levels and acquisition speeds. Equivalent dynamic range specifications are deduced from the measures data.
Pulse-to-pulse amplitude and phase noise can affect the overall measurement accuracy of RCS instrumentation radars. Depending upon the measurement requirements, such noise can limit the overall performance whenever pulse-to-pulse repeatability is required in the signal processing. Radar systems using pulsed TWTAs are subject to high noise due to limitations in the performance of the TWTA modulators and power supplies. A characterization of this additive noise is important to understand the limitations in system performance. Measurements have been made on kilowatt power TWTAs at L and X band as well as 20 watt pulsed TWTAs at S, C, and X/Ku band at various duty cycles and PRFs.
The utility of wideband RCS data for characterizing scattering mechanisms of complex objects has been established by wide-spread applications. The fundamental data from which the final products are derived consist of calibrated scattered fields measured coherently as a function of frequency and aspect angle. By processing these data, one-dimensional range or cross-range reflectivity profiles can be derived; by further processing, two-dimensional images can be derived. Modern RCS instrumentation systems capable of rapidly measuring and processing wideband data provide more object information than is conveyed by the RCS pattern, which has been the traditional descriptor of scattering behavior. The procedures of one- or two-dimensional imaging inherently involve integration processes, constituting many-to-one mappings in which data from a large set are collapsed to produce an individual pixel of the image. For example, a particular pixel of a range response is derived from the total object response “integrated” over a band of frequencies; similarly, a pixel of a two-dimensional image is derived from the object response “integrated” over frequency and angle. The exposure of a local feature of the object signature, obtained by collapsing the fundamental data, comes at the cost of obscuring the global descriptor. This paper explores techniques for presenting large amounts of information on single displays which retain both global and local features of the scattering process. These tools provide to the RCS analyst options for extracting and interpreting significant information from the measured data without arbitrary degrees of integration which can mask essential details represented in the data. The display methods utilize color coding to increase the amount of information conveyed by a single plot. Because color reproduction is not available for the proceedings, the paper is to be distributed at the conference.
As the advances in silicon technology continue to redefine the realm of “practical” for scientists and engineers, traditional techniques for acquiring measurements and processing the exceedingly large data sets generated must be constantly improved, and often times discarded as new concepts replace them. The new class of SuperWorkstations available today provides a convenient means to not only maximize the performance of the compact range instrumentation, but also suggests entirely new techniques and algorithms in data acquisition, storage, processing and interpretation. In considering these advances available through SuperWorkstations, benefits in the area of measurement data acquisition and local storage are detailed, recent improvements in magnetic and visual storage techniques and their application to data archiving are considered, new and unique techniques for scattering center identification in near real time are presented, and finally a discussion of tomorrow’s computer technology and the further impact on the compact range completes the study. This paper examines the efforts currently underway to exploit one such superworkstation, the Tektronix XD88, in the compact range at the ElectroScience Laboratory. In the effort to effectively utilize the superworkstation, many disciplines are coupled together (hardware, software, graphics, video presentation, among others) to augment each other. It is this multidiscipline coupling that will serve to expand the realm and utility of SuperWorkstations in the compact range, and the goal of this brief introduction is to present some aspects of these varied areas to the reader, hopefully motivating the reader to consider further extensions of SuperWorkstations.
Today’s measurement systems are placing ever increasing demands upon the computer systems which control instrumentation and collect data. This paper investigates high speed control of instrumentation for RCS and antenna measurements. Off-loading of I/O from control and data acquisition computers is examined with a view toward improving measurement throughput and simplifying I/O control tasks. These methods are particularly important for multi-tasking systems and networked resources where high speed real time control is burdensome. Attributes of I/O enhancement architectures are examined and tradeoffs between performance and flexibility are reviewed.
This paper deals with design and evaluation of Compact Range Antenna and RCS measurement systems. Reflector subsystem and feeders design as well as quiet zone evaluation and system performance qualification are considered. Acquisition, process and presentation software to control the whole system has been developed and successfully implemented. Two systems have been designed and are now at implementation stage. A Gregorian concept Compact Range is now been constructed at RYMSA (Spain). This facility has been fully designed by IRSA and will be operative by the end of 1990. Compact Payload Test Range (CPTR) at ESTEC (ESA) is now been tested. System Instrumentation and PAMAS (Payload and Antenna Measurement and Analysis Software) have been developed.
A major objective in the design of an RCS measurement facility is to obtain the greatest possible productivity (overall measurement efficiency) while maintaining the accuracy and sensitivity necessary for low radar cross section targets. This paper will present parameters affecting the total throughput rates of an indoor facility including instrumentation, target handling, and band changes-one of the most time consuming activities in the measurement process. Sensitivity and accuracy issues to be discussed include radar capabilities, feeds and feed clustering, compact range, background levels, and diffraction control.
The Hughes Aircraft Company recently completed the design, development, and construction of a new engineering facility that is dedicated to providing state-of-the-art Radar Cross Section Measurements. The facility is located at the Radar Systems Group in El Segundo, California and consists of two secure, tempest shielded anechoic chambers, a secure high bay work area, two large secure storage vaults, a secure tempest computer facility, a secure conference room, and the normal building support facilities. This RCS measurement test facility is the result of Hughes committing the time and money to study the problems which influence user friendly RCS measurement facility design decisions. Both anechoic chambers contain compact ranges and RCS measurement data collection systems. A description of the facility layout, instrumentation, target handling capability, and target access is presented.
There are two main parts to an antenna or RCS measurement system: the measurement instrumentation, and the measurement environment or “range”. Performance of the measurement system is dependent upon both the instrumentation and the range. Developing a successful measurement system requires understanding both parts of the system. This paper describes a Compact Test Range that has been designed and built for the purpose of demonstrating antenna and RCS measurement performance of a complete measurement system. Additionally the Compact Test Range will serve as a development platform for future antenna and RCS products and systems. The purpose of the chamber, design objectives, design techniques, expected and measured performance are all discussed.
Among its different facilities, C.E.A. has an indoor range for radar cross section (RCS) measurements over a wide frequency range from 0,1 GHz to 18 GHz. The dimensions of this anechoic chamber, 45m x 13m x 12m and a quiet zone diameter of about 3m, make it one of the largest in Europe. It consists in a parabolic reflector for frequencies higher than 0,8 GHz and a system using inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) techniques for lower frequencies associated with a short pulse coherent radar instrumentation equipment. In addition to performant instrumentation and illumination systems, the main features of this installation dedicated to measure stealth objects, are low residual clutter, discrete target supports, and powerful processing software. The technical solutions adopted are described.
As the accuracy of antenna range instrumentation improves, multipath on the range is becoming the key limitation in antenna metrology. A fundamental requirement to improving range performance is the accurate and repeatable characterization of scattering on a range. A promising technique for range characterization is the planewave spectral (PWS) range probe. Earlier papers have demonstrated the ability of the PWS probe to locate multiple scattering centers on a range. Of equal importance to the user is the ability to correctly assess the magnitude of the scattering centers. This paper presents the problem of spectral peak broadening due to phase curvature from localized scatterers. Methods for improving the accuracy of scattering center estimation are presented along with numerical studies of the performance of these methods.
This paper presents the productivity improvements that are possible in complex antenna measurements using state of the art instrumentation. The productivity improvement is calculated for a hypothetical antenna, and from this productivity improvement manufacturing cost reductions and payback times are derived.
Analysis and measurement activities to quantify compact range feed/subreflector time domain response are described in this paper. Reflection properties of various components are quantified and their interaction studied. Results indicate that although the feed/subreflector interaction is a factor, reverberation is dominated by instrumentation interaction particularly in the case of small compact ranges.