Concept of a Simple Phase Array Receiver

Josef Sypniewski SypTech, Co., San Antonio, TX, <www.syptech.com> Tomasz Klaput Polytechnic of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland, <www.eti.pg.gda.pl.edu> ABSTRACT An active phase array receiver has many applications in areas of EM imaging (radar), advanced sonar and RF target tracking, among others. For example, phase array radar for the "Patriot" missile can steer the beam electronically, without moving parts, and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) can obtain a nearly photographic image of a surveyed area. The phase array receiver can form a very large aperture sensor (antenna), significantly enhancing the spatial resolution of the system. A phase array system can be used in applications outside high performance radar as well. The systems are employed in point-to-point communication in situations where jamming or noisy signals require a high gain and optimized spatial characteristics. Another important application is use as a target tracking device, where phase array systems can resolve the position vector of a tracked object. This paper proposes a simple phase array receiver that can be used in communications, to steer a directional antenna electronically, to track radio tagged objects and in building VHF radar. INTRODUCTION Contrary to most passive phase array sensors (antennas), an active equivalent can change the angular properties very quickly and adopt spatial characteristics to variable environments. An active phase array used to be quite expensive, but recent developments make this approach a very attractive option. The conventional Active Phase Array Receiver (APAR) consists of an array of

Figure 1. Functional block diagram of Active Phase Array Receiver (APAR). sensors; the signal from each sensor passes through the adjustable time delay stage. The APAR's synthetic aperture is formed by combining signals from all the sensors. The spatial characteristic of the APAR can be adjusted arbitrarily by changing the delays for each signal. The conventional APAR requires a large number of elements to obtain satisfactory spatial properties. The recent increases in cost

Figure 2. Covered air defense warning and tracking system - concept .

effectiveness and performance of Digital Signal Processors (DSP) have increased the feasibility of correlation technique in the fields of position tracking and EM imaging. The proposed architecture of APAR differs from its conventional equivalent (Fig.1). Contrary to the conventional design, the proposed APAR forms a correlation matrix S, which allows it to resolve the position of signal sources. This architecture is especially attractive in situations when the research area consists of a limited number of sources, or when the low scattering approximation applies. If these conditions apply, the proposed APAR's architecture provides a significant advantage over the conventional one, and allows it to use a much lower number of elements than required by the conventional equivalent.

The most important application of the proposed system is for use in position tracking of active radio-tagged objects. The problem of creating a tracking device with at least three degrees-of-freedom is a long-standing one. There have been a variety of original attempts to determine the position and movement of a target. A recent example is the Global Positioning System (GPS), in which the signal received from at least four satellites can determine the position of a target. Alternatively, the proposed APAR concept allows the local RF tracking device to be built with many advantages over the GPS. Generally, the local RF method is not subject to line-of-sight restrictions, nor is the tracked unit restricted to certain (generally upright) orientations. However, the biggest advantage is the ability of the device to deploy locally. Locally deployed RF tracking systems can track an object, independently of GPS, inside buildings and through walls [1]. The next important application of the proposed APAR is in the tracking of passive, non-cooperative objects, such as in air defense warning systems. Territorially small countries have particular requirements for their air defense warning equipment, and the traditionally designed devices do not adequately address these requirements. A conventional air defense warning system consists of a few concentrated radar stations which scan the airspace of the country. These radar stations are easily detectable via aerial photography, intelligence information and radar signal tracing. In many cases, the radar's signatures are known, and they are easy to jam or destroy using a radar-seeking missile. Due to the short distances, the airspace can be overrun quickly by an enemy air force, and these concentrated stations can be easily put out of operation. The proposed concept addresses these

Figure 3. a) Cross correlation of the DSSS signal. b) Cross correlation of the DSSS signal after 8-tap FIR filter OP was applied. c) Image of a single source obtained using narrow bandwidth signal without OP. d) Same image with OP employed.

problems. The new warning system would consist of many small sensors scattered across the country. Each sensor would be smaller than a can of beer, and cost less than one thousand dollars each. Most of the sensors would be receivers not emitting any EM radiation. Either existing commercial stations or small VHF spread spectrum transmitters could be used for transmission. The proposed application has the following advantages over the conventional system: - Due to the spread spectrum and low power of a single transmitter, it would be difficult-- or even impossible-- to detect and destroy this device. - Due to a very low cost and small size, it would be possible to establish redundant stations across the country, so that even if a single station was destroyed, the cost of detecting and destroying it would greatly exceed the cost of the station. The proposed APAR is ideally suited for this application. SPACE AND TIME SIGNAL PROCESSING The APAR consists of multiple sensors-elements. Let us assume that each element is based on perfectly omnidirectional sensors whose source is a single point radiator yo(t,3) . For free space and non dispersive r propagation, the received signal from each n-th element can be shown as: xn t,3n
r In 4% 3o 3n r r yo t 3o 3n r r c (1)

The receiver correlates the signal from each element, forming this correlation matrix: Ssmn! where: smn
xm xn (2)

- convolution. The signal source yo(t,3o) must be r carefully selected, as the signal's orthogonality has a profound influence on the quality of the image created by APAR. The proposed system uses Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS), in which pseudo-random m-sequences employ bi-phase shift keying (BPSK) to modulate a carrier. Contrary to its name, the bandwidth of the DSSS signal is a small percentage of the carrier frequency and the signal does not fulfill the orthogonality condition. The reconstructed images created with the narrow bandwidth signal characteristically have artifacts in the form of speckles (Fig.3). Orthogonalization Procedure (OP) can "focus the picture" and greatly improve the resulting image. The authors have tried a number of adaptive algorithms, but even a simple 8-tap FIR filter is able to effectively "focus" the S-matrix. The reconstruction procedure builds the image yo(t,3o) from a set of signalsr 3 r r projections dn
3 3n which define the 3 3 3 3 base d
dn! . If this base d
dn! is complete or overcomplete, than it is possible to remap 3 the space d into r . APAR geometry can be 3 configured easily into linear, planar, conformal or arbitrary [2]. Lately, pseudo-random spacing has been gaining popularity. The geometry of the system must be carefully selected, as the singularity of 3 3 the d into r transform can leave blind spots on the surveying area. Research into spacing geometry extends beyond the scope of this paper.

I n - n-th complex receiver coefficient, usually known. rn - position vector of n-th element. 3 c - speed of light (for EM propagation) .

To reconstruct the image, one must remap 3 into r space and solve a matrix equation d 3 [3], [4]: dm,n
3o 3m 3o 3n r r r r (3)

For 3D and single source systems, four sensors are adequate to create a complete base. Larger numbers of sensors will form an overcomplete base, adding multiple measurements of the signal to the given source position vector. For example, an eight element system will generate 28 data points for a given source coordinate. This condition is particularly atractive when tracking multiple sources or when multipath propagation corrupts the measurement.

A SIMPLE ACTIVE PHASE ARRAY RECEIVER (APAR). The receiver consists of three main blocks (Fig.4). The first block is the simplified RF front end of the system. The signal from the antenna is amplified (LNA) and mixed. The IF block is comprised of a logarithmic amplifier, and only initial bandwidth selection is

conducted at this block. From the IF amplifier, the signal passes through the array of base-band A/D converters. The second block is built around a standard Programmable Logic Device (PLD). Inside this block, the signal is split into two I and Q components and the signal is digitally mixed with the sequence from the state machine sequencer (the digital equivalent of a local oscillator.) From the digital mixer, a signal passes through a conventional band limited IIR digital filter. This block is the digital equivalent of the 2nd IF track, and contains a main band forming procedure of the receiver. The third block is built using a standard DSP processor. The main procedure of the S matrix calculation is conducted at this point. The authors have built several versions of the receivers, employing both fixed and floating point DSP processors.

There are two popular methods for obtaining the S matrix. The first method is based on direct application of cross-correlation definition and employs the system memory to store the delayed signal. The second method uses the Fourier transform

Figure 4. Block diagram of APAR [5] (only two channels are shown).

(or some other integral transform) to calculate the S matrix indirectly. These two methods are well suited to the general type of received signal. However, in most cases, the system can be further simplified. The authors employ a combination of direct definition and Fourier transform method to design a very simple eight channel, all-digital phase array receiver. CONCLUSION Recently SypTech has built several RF and VHF receivers. For example, the ARM008 is an eight-channel APAR that utilizes a 16 bit fixed point DSP. This and earlier versions of SypTech's APAR receiver have operated on the RF and VHF bands. We have conducted research which determined that it is possible to track a 30MHz RF carrier through walls of some residential and commercial buildings [1], [6]. The 30 MHz RF signal can penetrate brick and concrete walls (without steel reinforcement). The APAR working at these frequencies is suitable for security applications to trace radio tagged objects inside the buildings. Generally, when using an RF tracking device, line of sight is not necessary if the size of an obstacle is less than the average wavelength of the carrier. The accuracy of tracking depends on the environment and the carrier frequency used. For better resolution higher frequencies can be utilized if conditions permit. SypTech has researched many antenna systems. These include omnidirectional, directional, as well as antennas with linear and circular polarization. Experiments have demonstrated that selection of the optimal antenna system depends on the particular application. An omnidirectional antenna is well suited for small area tracking. The side lobes of directional antennas can significantly influence the phase distribution of the received signal reducing its performance in

small area tracking. On the other hand, the high gain of directional antennas can be helpful in long range tracking. Circular polarization antennas were used to research multipath propagation. Circular polarization antennas can be useful in applications where polarization of the transmitter cannot be determined. SypTech is currently conducting extensive research in applications of the ARM008 for tracking both tagged and non-cooperative objects. The findings will be published when final data is available. REFERENCES [1] http://www.syptech.com [2] W.H. Kummer, Basic Array Theory, Proc. IEEE, vol. 80, pp. 127-140, Jan. 1992. [3] N.I. Ackiezer and I.M. Glazman, Theory of Linear Operators in Hilbert Space, Ungar, New York, 1961. [4] R.J. Milliken and C.J. Zoller, Principle of Operation of NAVSTAR and System Characteristic, Global Positioning System, Papers, vol. 1, pp. 3-14, 1980 [5] U.S. Patent 5,790,076. [6] L.M. Frazier, Surveliance Through Walls and Other Opaque Materials, Proceedings of 1996 IEEE National Radar Conference. CONTACTS Josef Sypniewski, - SypTech Co., P.O.Box 762561, San Antonio, TX 78245 <sypniew@ieee.org> Tomasz Klaput, - Polytechnic of Gdansk, ETI Dpt., Narutowicza 11/12; 80-952 Gdask Wrzeszcz; POLAND <tk@ue.eti.pg.gda.pl>