Low Cost Multifunction Phased Array Radar Concept

J. Herd1, S. Duffy1, D. Carlson2, M. Weber1, G. Brigham1, C. Weigand2, D. Cursio2

MIT Lincoln Laboratory 244 Wood St. Lexington MA USA 02420 M/A-Com Technology Solutions 100 Chelmsford St. Lowell, MA USA 01851
Abstract - MIT Lincoln Laboratory and M/A-COM are jointly conducting a technology demonstration of affordable Multifunction Phased Array Radar (MPAR) technology for Next Generation air traffic control and national weather surveillance services. Aggressive cost and performance goals have been established for the system. The array architecture and its realization using custom Transmit and Receive Integrated Circuits and a panel-based Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) will be presented. A program plan for risk reduction and system demonstration will be outlined. Index Terms Radar, Phased Array, T/R Module, Multifunction, Low Cost.
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Fig 1. Conceptual Drawing of Multifunction Radar. Table 1 Top Level MPAR Definition

I. INTRODUCTION The U.S. Government currently operates seven distinct radar networks providing weather and air traffic surveillance supporting air traffic control and homeland defense missions. Many of these Systems are approaching end of life. A Multifunction Phased Array Radar (MPAR) system has been proposed as the next generation solution for the Nations weather and air surveillance needs (Fig 1 and Table 1). Full system implementation will result in the deployment of approximately 350 radars. To effectively compete with current mechanically scanned solutions, the MPAR system must achieve an aggressive cost goal of $50k/m2 of array face, while equaling or bettering current performance metrics. To achieve the ambitious cost targets, highly integrated ICs and commercial manufacturing practices are being implemented. MIT Lincoln Laboratory and M/A-COM are jointly conducting a technology demonstration of MPAR to: 1) define and retire technical risk, 2) establish measured performance capability, and 3) provide realistic system cost models.

Active Array (planar, 4 faces) Diameter: 4m T/R elements/face: ~ 5,000 Dual polarization Beamwidth: 1.2 (broadside) 2.0 (@ 45) Gain: > 40 dB Transmit/Receive Elements Wavelength: 10 cm (2.72.9 GHz) Bandwidth/channel: 1 MHz Pulse length: 80 s (1 s fill) Peak power/element: 8 W linear pol 16 W circular pol Architecture Overlapped subarray beamformers: Number of subarrays/face: 24 Maximum # concurrent beams/face: 24 II. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS The multi-mission requirement places unique performance specifications on the radar system (Table 2). The aircraft surveillance mode normally operates in single linear polarization. If there is heavy precipitation, a circularly polarized mode is preferred for aircraft surveillance to mitigate depolarization losses. The weather surveillance mode utilizes dual linear polarization. The dual

*This work was sponsored by the FAA under Air Force Contract FA8721-05-C-0002. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations are not necessarily endorsed by the United States Government. Distribution A: Distribution unlimited.

978-1-4244-5128-9/10/$26.00 2010 IEEE

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simultaneous polarization components provide critical information such as differential reflectivity, differential phase, and cross-polarization correlation coefficients. These metrics are used to discriminate the scattering properties of hail and rain, and enables the radar to rapidly identify severe flight hazards. Table 2 Aircraft and Weather Surveillance Modes
Surveillance Type Position Maximum Maximum Accuracy Minimum Update Range Altitude Sensitivity Interval Lateral Vertical 60 nm 5 nm 20 nm 60 nm 20,000 Surface Surface 20,000 600 < 750 < 750 600 N/A N/A 1 m2 0 dBZ 0 dBZ 30 dBZ < 4.8 s 60 s
(surface scan)

Fidelity Horizon Weather Scan, and High Fidelity 3D Volume Weather Scan. Each of these modes has a scan update interval set by the minimum revisit time. The timing diagram in Fig. 3 shows an example of these three modes operating simultaneously. The volume aircraft scan takes 2.9 seconds, leaving 1.9 seconds in each period to be used towards the slower weather scans. In the future, it is expected that adaptive scan strategies will reduce these timelines even further.
Mode scheduling example:
High fidelity 3D volume weather scan update period High fidelity horizon weather scan update period

Aircraft Weather Microburst Gust Front Storm Structure

Aircraft and rapid update weather scan update period 2.9 0 .3 1.6 4.8 2.9 .3 1.6 9.6 55.2 2.9 .3 1.6 60 2.9 .3 1.6 72 2.9 .3 1.6 Time, sec

60 s
(surface scan)

< 8500 < 8500

72 s
(volume scan)

Function Aircraft Track While Scan High Fidelity Horizon Weather Scan

Scan Update Period (sec) 4.8 60 72

Challenging time lines have resulted in the adoption of a beamforming architecture that provides multiple simultaneous beam clusters. At the low elevation angles, the radar has no excess energy, and the surveillance is done with single narrow beams, as shown in Fig. 2a. At the higher elevation angles, the slant ranges to targets of interest becomes significantly shorter, and the radar has excess energy to utilize. By broadening the transmit beam and receiving with multiple simultaneous beam clusters, as shown in Fig. 2b, it is possible to greatly accelerate the volume scan rate. With two independent beam clusters and selectable polarization for each cluster, it is possible to operate the radar with two linear polarized beam clusters (24 beams) or dual linear polarization (12 beams).

High Fidelity 3D Volume Weather Scan

Fig. 3. MPAR Mode Scheduling. III. POLARIZATION RECONFIGURABLE T/R MODULE The multi-mission requirement places unique performance specifications on the radar system components. To achieve the required performance, a unique T/R module architecture [1] with two independent transmit channels and two independent receive channels with switchable beamformer paths has been implemented (Fig. 4).
HVAntenna

Low Elevation
2
Aircraft (linear pol) Weather (dual pol)

TR

Limiter HPA LNA 2:1 split SPDT HPA

(a)
High Elevation
12
Spoiled Transmit

6
Phase Shifter Attenuator

2
Aircraft (up to 24 linear pol beams) Weather (up to 12 dual pol beams)

2:1 split

(b)

From Transmit To Receive

Fig. 2. Overlapped Subarray Digital Beam Clusters. The radar performs four simultaneous functions: Aircraft Track While Scan, Rapid Update Weather Scan, High

Fig.4. T/R Module Block Diagram.

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Fig. 6. Polarization Reconfigurable T/R Module. Fig. 5. T/R Board Top Level Layout. The T/R Module block diagram has been partitioned into a RxIC, a TxIC, HPA, a switch IC, control IC and COTS filters. The Tx IC, Rx IC and HPA are being realized in M/A-COMs PH4 high performance 0.5 m pHEMT process. This process shares >80% of its process modules with M/A-COMs high volume commercial pHEMT process while utilizing optical lithography for the 0.5 m T-Gate structure to achieve high performance while maintaining low cost. The process has been optimized for power performance while maintaining good noise performance This process allows the integration of all required receive functionality: 6-bit phase shifters, 4-bit attenuators, limiter, switches and LNAs to form a single Rx IC. On the transmit side, the driver amplifiers, phase shifter, and attenuator have been be integrated. An 8 Watt HPA forms the final output stage of the Tx chain. Logic control of the individual components will be accomplished with a CMOS ASIC. The use of CMOS for logic, while increasing the chip count compared to the integration of the logic on the GaAs ICs has two compelling advantages: 1) it lowers the current consumption of the T/R module and 2) dramatically lowers the cost of this functional block without sacrificing performance. The RFICs, control IC and band pass filters are integrated onto a single multi-layer printed circuit board using best commercial practices. The layout of the T/R board is shown in Fig. 5 To aid in thermal management, an array of vias thermally connect the heat sink of the HPAs package to a COTS heat sink mounted on the backside of the board, Fig. 6. Solder pads at the periphery of the T/R Board are used to connect to the next level assembly. The various solders used have been selected to facility the multiple attachments which must be conducted to realize the full aperture board. IV. MULTIFUNCTION ARRAY PANEL The T/R modules are integrated into an array panel, which consists of the radiating elements, the overlapped subarray beamformer, and DC and RF distribution networks. Fig. 7 shows the dual polarized stacked patch antenna. The patch radiator is fed with a balanced feed to provide a low cross polarization response, which is required for accurate dual polarized weather radar measurements. The overlapped subarray beamformer layout is shown in Fig. 8. The beamformer is fabricated on multiple stripline layers, which are integrated with the printed circuit antenna elements and the RF and DC distribution networks to form the array panel. Fig. 9 shows the assembled array panel under test in the MIT LL near field test chamber.

Fig. 7 Dual Polarized Stacked Patch Antenna.

Fig. 8. Overlapped Subarray Beamformer.

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Backplane PCB Heat Exchanger Aperture PCB Ring Frame

DC/DC Converters

T/R Elements

Fig. 11. Line Replaceable Unit Conceptual Drawing Fig. 9. Assembled Array Panel in Near Field Chamber. Figure 10 shows the measured elevation patterns (copolarized and cross-polarized) on receive. A full characterization of the panel on transmit and receive is in progress. In future work, the aperture board will be integrated with a heat exchanger and backplane PCB as indicated in Fig. 11. The heat exchanger will be air cooled for simplicity and cost. The backplane PCB will contain all required power conditioning and may integrate the required digital receivers and wave form generators. This unit will form the building block for a highly scalable array architecture. IV. SUMMARY MIT Lincoln Laboratory and M/A-COM are collaborating to demonstrate an affordable approach to realizing a multifunction phased array radar system. This approach leverages commercial RFIC manufacturing coupled with commercial PCB design and manufacturing to realize an aperture panel containing an array of 8x8 elements.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The MIT LL M/A-COM team would like to acknowledge W. Benner, and G. Torok of the FAA for their ongoing support of this program.

REFERENCES [1] Technical Requirements Document for Multifunction Phased Array Radar (MPAR) Multi-mode Transmit/Receive Module, V8, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, August 2008.

Copol Crosspol

Fig. 10. Measured Elevation Pattern (E-plane)..

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