A team from University of Oklahoma's Advanced Radar Research Center (ARRC) is developing a new antenna and related technologies for U.S. Navy next-generation radar systems. The center has got a two-year, $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research. The ARRC research and development program under way is designed to improve the agility and multi-functionality of radio frequency sensors and communication systems, while enabling future implementation on a variety of surfaces and platforms.
The ARRC team is developing agile sensors that can effectively maneuver in frequency and space while retaining the ability to avoid and cancel interference. Multi-function capability will also reduce the number of individual systems needed during deployment, improving mobility and operational agility. Their tunable, integrated antenna designs will allow agile RF sensor implementation on smaller platforms.
The ARRC program will focus on four major areas of research: research on integrated filter-antennas that provide frequency tunability with reduced size and weight; a state-of-the-art, all-digital phased array antenna and electronics that will be synchronized with another all-digital phased array system already under development at the ARRC; implementation of dual-band, dual-polarized antennas; and algorithms for using and exploiting the agility enabled by these hardware technologies.
The ARRC team endeavors to demonstrate important technologies, such as tunable antenna arrays capable of handling high power; synchronized all-digital systems that can be used for a variety of experiments on waveforms, interference cancellation, coexistence of multiple systems and other important technologies; and state-of-the-art algorithms for controlling agile sensors. Click here to learn more about ARRC.
