Microwave Photonics Beamformer for Spaceborne SAR
Conference: EUSAR 2022 - 14th European Conference on Synthetic Aperture Radar
07/25/2022 - 07/27/2022 at Leipzig, Germany
Proceedings: EUSAR 2022
Pages: 3Language: englishTyp: PDF
Authors:
Otto, Tobias; Gabrielli, Simone (OHB System AG, Bremen, Germany)
Ghelfi, Paolo; Serafino, Giovanni; Reza, Manuel (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, TeCIP Institute, Pisa, Italy)
Mohammad, Ahmad; Roeloffzen, Chris; Van Dijk, Paul (LioniX International, Enschede, The Netherlands)
Mohammadhosseini, Hakimeh (Antwerp Space, an OHB Company, Antwerp, Belgium)
Saladukha, Dzianis; Floris, Francesco (Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland)
Roggan, Ricardo (Astro- und Feinwerktechnik Adlershof GmbH, Berlin, Germany)
Abstract:
Advanced SAR imaging modes benefit from the implementation of beamsteering capabilities in the SAR instrument. Beamsteering is typically achieved by RF analog, digital or hybrid approaches. With the latest advances of microwave photonics, specifically the photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology, beamsteering implementations in the photonics domain offer an attractive alternative. Here, an innovative radar receiver based on PIC technology will be presented. The PIC implements precise, continuous beamforming-on-receive of wideband signals from a 12 antenna elements array, synthesising up to three simultaneous beams. The PIC also implements frequency-agnostic photonic down-conversion so that the synthesised beams can be directly digitized.