Harmonic Phase Response Of Nonlinear Radar Targets
Open Access
Author:
Mcgowan, Sean Francis
Area of Honors:
Electrical Engineering
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Dr. Ram Mohan Narayanan, Thesis Supervisor Jeffrey Scott Mayer, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
radar harmonic nonlinear phase response
Abstract:
One of the latest challenges being investigated by the U.S. Army Research Lab’s Electronics & RF Division is the development of a radar system that can accurately detect and range an electronically nonlinear target, such as a detonator of an IED. Previous nonlinear radar systems detect targets via transmission of a single frequency ω, stepping (incrementally increasing) this frequency through a wide bandwidth, then listening for a response of the second harmonic 2ω; however, the phase information that this harmonic contains and its relationship to target distance has been largely assumed and unconfirmed. Our most recent experimental tests, both wired and wireless, have confirmed that this harmonic phase response is constant versus frequency at the target. Using inverse Fourier transforms, the range of an electronic nonlinear target can be determined from that phase.
