Adaptive beamforming using frequency invariant uniform concentric circular arrays

This paper proposes new adaptive beamforming algorithms for a class of uniform concentric circular arrays (UCCAs) having near-frequency invariant characteristics. The basic principle of the UCCA frequency invariant beamformer (FIB) is to transform the received signals to the phase mode representation and remove the frequency dependence of individual phase modes through the use of a digital beamforming or compensation network. As a result, the far field pattern of the array is electronic steerable and is approximately invariant over a wider range of frequencies than the uniform circular arrays (UCAs). The beampattern is governed by a small set of variable beamformer weights. Based on the minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) and generalized sidelobe canceller (GSC) methods, new recursive adaptive beamforming algorithms for UCCA-FIB are proposed. In addition, robust versions of these adaptive beamforming algorithms for mitigating direction-of-arrival (DOA) and sensor position errors are developed. Simulation results show that the proposed adaptive UCCA-FIBs converge much faster and reach a considerable lower steady-state error than conventional broadband UCCA beamformers without using the compensation network. Since fewer variable multipliers are required in the proposed algorithms, it also leads to lower arithmetic complexity and faster tracking performance than conventional methods. © 2007 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Shaped Pupil Lyot Coronagraphs: High-Contrast Solutions for Restricted Focal Planes

Coronagraphs of the apodized pupil and shaped pupil varieties use the Fraunhofer diffraction properties of amplitude masks to create regions of high contrast in the vicinity of a target star. Here we present a hybrid coronagraph architecture in which a binary, hard-edged shaped pupil mask replaces the gray, smooth apodizer of the apodized pupil Lyot coronagraph (APLC). For any contrast and bandwidth goal in this configuration, as long as the prescribed region of contrast is restricted to a finite area in the image, a shaped pupil is the apodizer with the highest transmission. We relate the starlight cancellation mechanism to that of the conventional APLC. We introduce a new class of solutions in which the amplitude profile of the Lyot stop, instead of being fixed as a padded replica of the telescope aperture, is jointly optimized with the apodizer. Finally, we describe shaped pupil Lyot coronagraph (SPLC) designs for the baseline architecture of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope-Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (WFIRST-AFTA) coronagraph. These SPLCs help to enable two scientific objectives of the WFIRST-AFTA mission: (1) broadband spectroscopy to characterize exoplanet atmospheres in reflected starlight and (2) debris disk imaging.Comment: 41 pages, 15 figures; published in the JATIS special section on WFIRST-AFTA coronagraph

Orbital Angular Momentum Waves: Generation, Detection and Emerging Applications

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) has aroused a widespread interest in many fields, especially in telecommunications due to its potential for unleashing new capacity in the severely congested spectrum of commercial communication systems. Beams carrying OAM have a helical phase front and a field strength with a singularity along the axial center, which can be used for information transmission, imaging and particle manipulation. The number of orthogonal OAM modes in a single beam is theoretically infinite and each mode is an element of a complete orthogonal basis that can be employed for multiplexing different signals, thus greatly improving the spectrum efficiency. In this paper, we comprehensively summarize and compare the methods for generation and detection of optical OAM, radio OAM and acoustic OAM. Then, we represent the applications and technical challenges of OAM in communications, including free-space optical communications, optical fiber communications, radio communications and acoustic communications. To complete our survey, we also discuss the state of art of particle manipulation and target imaging with OAM beams

Reconfigurable Reflectarrays and Array Lenses for Dynamic Antenna Beam Control: A Review

Advances in reflectarrays and array lenses with electronic beam-forming capabilities are enabling a host of new possibilities for these high-performance, low-cost antenna architectures. This paper reviews enabling technologies and topologies of reconfigurable reflectarray and array lens designs, and surveys a range of experimental implementations and achievements that have been made in this area in recent years. The paper describes the fundamental design approaches employed in realizing reconfigurable designs, and explores advanced capabilities of these nascent architectures, such as multi-band operation, polarization manipulation, frequency agility, and amplification. Finally, the paper concludes by discussing future challenges and possibilities for these antennas.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figure

Calculation of Nonlinear Optical Damage from Space-time-tailored Pulses in Dielectrics

Control of the time duration of a laser pulse as it focuses spatially in a material provides a means for delaying the onset of nonlinear e↵ects during propagation. We investigate simultaneous space-time focusing (SSTF) of femtosecond radially-chirped annular pulses in Kerr dielectrics. The energy and temporal chirp of pulses incident upon a grating-grating-lens system are varied in simulations that solve the unidirectional pulse propagation equation. This system is modeled by inserting transformations that act on the electric field obtained from propagation from one component to the next. The propagation is coupled to the time evolution of the free charge density as a function of space. The resulting “ionization tracks” are taken as a metric for predicting material modification and/or damage in bulk fused silica. As expected from linear-optical considerations, the temporal pre-chirp determines the overall pulse duration as the focusing annulus closes. We find in addition that, for a given pulse energy, the temporal pre-chirp also determines the on-axis intensity distribution as energy collapses onto the propagation axis. This e↵ect determines how the local ionization-induced decrease in refractive index shifts energy in time relative to energy arriving on-axis from the spatially collapsing beam. The magnitude of the pre-chirp can thus control the spatial structure of ionization that may lead to material modification and/or damage

Planar Thinned Arrays: Optimization and Subarray Based Adaptive Processing

A new approach is presented for the optimized design of a planar thinned array; the proposed strategy works with single antenna elements or with small sets of different subarray types, properly located on a planar surface. The optimization approach is based on the maximization of an objective function accounting for side lobe level and considering a fixed number of active elements/subarrays. The proposed technique is suitable for different shapes of the desired output array, allowing the achievement of the desired directivity properties on the corresponding antenna pattern. The use of subarrays with a limited number of different shapes is relevant for industrial production, which would benefit from reduced design and manufacturing costs. The resulting modularity allows scalable antenna designs for different applications. Moreover, subarrays can be arranged in a set of subapertures, each connected to an independent receiving channel. Therefore, adaptive processing techniques could be applied to cope with and mitigate clutter echoes and external electromagnetic interferences. The performance of adaptive techniques with subapertures taken from the optimized thinned array is evaluated against assigned clutter and jamming scenarios and compared to the performance achievable considering a subarray based filled array with the same number of active elements

Gap Processing for Adaptive Maximal Poisson-Disk Sampling

In this paper, we study the generation of maximal Poisson-disk sets with varying radii. First, we present a geometric analysis of gaps in such disk sets. This analysis is the basis for maximal and adaptive sampling in Euclidean space and on manifolds. Second, we propose efficient algorithms and data structures to detect gaps and update gaps when disks are inserted, deleted, moved, or have their radius changed. We build on the concepts of the regular triangulation and the power diagram. Third, we will show how our analysis can make a contribution to the state-of-the-art in surface remeshing.Comment: 16 pages. ACM Transactions on Graphics, 201

NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 40)

Abstracts are provided for 181 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1991 through December 1991. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application