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Spread Spectrum Digital Beamforming for Millimeter Wavelengths (MMW-SSDBF)

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Army
Contract: W31P4Q-11-C-0236
Agency Tracking Number: A111-006-1451
Amount: $99,998.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: A11-006
Solicitation Number: 2011.1
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2011
Award Year: 2011
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2011-06-01
Award End Date (Contract End Date): N/A
Small Business Information
315 Commerce Park Road
North Kingstown, RI -
United States
DUNS: 041546834
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Marcos Bergamo
 Vice President of Technology
 (401) 295-0062
 mbergamo@appliedradar.com
Business Contact
 Michael Sherry
Title: President
Phone: (401) 295-0062
Email: msherry@appliedradar.com
Research Institution
 Stub
Abstract

Key to phased arrays that can scale to high frequencies, bandwidth and large apertures is an architecture that enables full digital beamforming and large-array performance with minimum electronics per element. Out of the three proven beamforming methods for phased arrays: analog, conventional digital and spread spectrum digital beamforming (SSDBF), just the latter scales well to large arrays at high frequencies-and-bandwidth while being supportive of"one-shot"area search and simultaneous multiple-target tracking. SSBDF flexibility and scalability to MMW frequencies result from five complementary capabilities that will be included in the proposed MMW-SSDBF: (1) phase shifters used not for beamforming but for return signal multiplexing; (2) full-quality digital beamforming with one-bit phase shifters and single up/down converter and Nyquist rate DAC/ADC for the array; (3) orthogonal codes to detect cross-polarizations; (4) virtual array technologies supportive of high-resolution beamforming with spaced transmitters and receivers; (5) software-define radar implementation. Applied Radar proposes to develop the system architecture, design phase shifters and simulate the performance of a SSDBF system that will scale in frequency (e.g., up to 300 GHz) and to large virtual arrays in Phase I, and develop a prototype radar system and demonstrate its performance at 100 GHz in Phase II.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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