Digital beamforming receiver architectures for microwave remote sensing applications

Abstract

Digital beamforming radar systems, capable of generating multiple antenna beams simultaneously, are now being used for high spatial resolution studies of the ocean surface and atmospheric boundary layer. This paper describes several receiver architectures applicable to digital beamforming systems and compares their relative merits. The simplest and lowest-cost architecture, comprised of a single receiver sampling a large array of antenna elements, is applicable to situations where some receiver inefficiencies can be tolerated. The second architecture described attaches a complete low noise receiver to each antenna element in the array to achieve the highest possible sensitivity. The turbulent eddy profiler (TEP) utilizes this architecture to study clear air turbulence intensity and motions within the atmospheric boundary layer. A third architecture, employing a high accuracy digital receiver to sample each antenna output, is applicable to systems requiring the highest degree of antenna pattern control.