Photonic Radar Systems

The objective of this project is to develop new concepts and approaches in integrated radar system technology utilizing photonic elements to achieve significantly greater systems performance. This effort will focus on the study of new hybrid digital/photonic radar architectures to achieve the desired performance improvements. Phase I will concentrate on evaluation of performance requirements such as bandwidth and computiational goals, define candidate hydrid radar architectures, identify enabling photonic technologies for inclusion into the selected system, define and model wide bandwidth antenna concepts, and develop risk reduction plans for follow-on phases of the project. The output of this phase will be the development and selection of the most feasible design approach which can be further developed and demonstrated in Phases II and III. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS: This technology will benefit both government and civilian industry. While the result of this work will enable much higher performing radar systems for the department of defense, it will also benefit the medical field by allowing much higher resolution real-time imagery.