We have built and evaluated a prototype quantum radar, which we call a quantum two-mode squeezing radar (QTMS radar), in the laboratory. It operates solely at microwave frequencies; there is no downconversion from optical frequencies.Because the signal generation process relies on quantum mechanical principles, the system is considered to contain a quantumenhanced radar transmitter. This transmitter generates a pair of entangled microwave signals and transmits one of them through free space, where the signal is measured using a simple and rudimentary receiver.At the heart of the transmitter is a device called a Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA), which generates a pair of entangled signals called two-mode squeezed vacuum (TMSV) at 6.1445 GHz and 7.5376 GHz. These are then sent through a chain of amplifiers. The 7.5376 GHz beam passes through 0.5 m of free space; the 6.1445 GHz signal is measured directly after amplification. The two measurement results are correlated in order to distinguish signal from noise.We compare our QTMS radar to a classical radar setup using conventional components, which we call a two-mode noise radar (TMN radar), and find that there is a significant gain when both systems broadcast signals at −82 dBm. This is shown via a comparison of receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves. In particular, we find that the quantum radar requires 8 times fewer integrated samples compared to its classical counterpart to achieve the same performance.
DRDC has been involved in the development of airborne SAR systems since the 1980s. The current system, designated XWEAR (X-band Wideband Experimental Airborne Radar), is an instrument for the collection of SAR, GMTI and maritime surveillance data at long ranges.VideoSAR is a land imaging mode in which the radar is operated in the spotlight mode for an extended period of time. Radar data is collected persistently on a target of interest while the aircraft is either flying by or circling it. The time span for a single circular data collection can be on the order of 30 minutes. The spotlight data is processed using synthetic apertures of up to 60 seconds in duration, where consecutive apertures can be contiguous or overlapped. The imagery is formed using a back-projection algorithm to a common Cartesian grid. The DRDC VideoSAR mode noncoherently sums the images, either cumulatively, or via a sliding window of, for example, 5 images, to generate an imagery stream presenting the target reflectivity as a function of viewing angle. The image summation results in significant speckle reduction which provides for increased image contrast. The contrast increases rapidly over the first few summed images and continues to increase, but at a lesser rate, as more images are summed. In the case of cumulative summation of the imagery, the shadows quickly become filled in. In the case of a sliding window, the summation introduces a form of persistence into the VideoSAR output analogous to the persistence of analog displays from early radars.
A new application for reflector antennas is proposed and developed. Using the aperture theory, a phase center on the reflector aperture is determined and shown that, its location is dependent on the field distribution. The proposed concept is, initially, verified by using a symmetric reflector. It is shown that the phase center is located at the aperture geometric center, when the reflector is illuminated symmetrically about its principal planes.Then, a dual mode feed, employing TE 11 and TM 01 modes, is used for generating different reflector illuminations, and causing displacement of its phase center. The concept is then extended to offset reflectors, and the influence of the reflector geometry on the phase center displacement and other reflector electrical parameters is investigated. Based on the established feed radiation pattern requirements, a feed horn is designed using circular waveguide that can propagate both modes. By modifying the amplitude and phase of the modes in the horn, a controlled asymmetric reflector aperture field is achieved. A prototype feed horn is fabricated and tested for its dual mode radiation patterns. The results are in good agreement with simulations. The reflector phase center properties are then investigated, by using the designed feed. A reflector-feed assembly, with its dual phase center capability, was developed for improving the performance of the ground moving target indicator radars. The concept allows the conversion of a single reflector to two or more reflectors, simply by modifying the mode excitation amplitudes and phases, in the feed alone.Index Terms-Beam shift, dual mode, feed horn, ground moving target indicator (GMTI) radar, multiple phase center, reflector antenna.
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