7 research outputs found

    Multi-Objective Optimization of FM Noise Waveforms via Generalized Frequency Template Error Metrics

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    FM noise waveforms have been experimentally demonstrated to achieve high time bandwidth products and low autocorrelation sidelobes while achieving acceptable spectral containment in physical implementation. Still, it may be necessary to further reduce sidelobe levels for detection or improve spectral containment in the face of growing spectral use. The Frequency Template Error (FTE) and the Logarithmic Frequency Template Error (Log-FTE) metrics were conceived as means to achieve FM noise waveforms with good spectral containment and good autocorrelation sidelobes. In practice, FTE based waveform optimizations have been found to produce better autocorrelation responses at the expense of spectral containment while Log-FTE optimizations achieve excellent spectral containment and interference rejection at the expense of autocorrelation sidelobe levels. In this work, the notion of the FTE and Log-FTE metrics are considered as subsets of a broader class of frequency domain metrics collectively termed as the Generalized Frequency Template Error (GFTE). In doing so, many different P-norm based variations of the FTE and Log-FTE cost functions are extensively examined and applied via gradient descent methods to optimize polyphase-coded FM (PCFM) waveforms. The performance of the different P-norm variations of the FTE and Log-FTE cost functions are compared amongst themselves, against each other, and relative to a previous FM noise waveform design approach called Pseudo-Random Optimized FM (PRO-FM). They are evaluated in terms of their autocorrelation sidelobes, spectral containment, and their ability to realize spectral notches within the 3 dB bandwidth for the purpose of interference rejection. These comparisons are performed in both simulation and experimentally in loopback where it was found that P-norm values of 2 tend to provide the best optimization performance for both the FTE and Log-FTE optimizations except in the case of the Log-FTE optimization of a notched spectral template where a P-norm value of 3 provides the best results. In general, the FTE and Log-FTE cost functions as subsets of the GFTE provide diverse means to optimize physically robust FM noise waveforms while emphasizing different performance criteria in terms of autocorrelation sidelobes, spectral containment, and interference rejection

    Design and Optimization of Physical Waveform-Diverse and Spatially-Diverse Radar Emissions

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    With the advancement of arbitrary waveform generation techniques, new radar transmission modes can be designed via precise control of the waveform's time-domain signal structure. The finer degree of emission control for a waveform (or multiple waveforms via a digital array) presents an opportunity to reduce ambiguities in the estimation of parameters within the radar backscatter. While this freedom opens the door to new emission capabilities, one must still consider the practical attributes for radar waveform design. Constraints such as constant amplitude (to maintain sufficient power efficiency) and continuous phase (for spectral containment) are still considered prerequisites for high-powered radar waveforms. These criteria are also applicable to the design of multiple waveforms emitted from an antenna array in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) mode. In this work, three spatially-diverse radar emission design methods are introduced that provide constant amplitude, spectrally-contained waveforms implemented via a digital array radar (DAR). The first design method, denoted as spatial modulation, designs the radar waveforms via a polyphase-coded frequency-modulated (PCFM) framework to steer the coherent mainbeam of the emission within a pulse. The second design method is an iterative scheme to generate waveforms that achieve a desired wideband and/or widebeam radar emission. However, a wideband and widebeam emission can place a portion of the emitted energy into what is known as the `invisible' space of the array, which is related to the storage of reactive power that can damage a radar transmitter. The proposed design method purposefully avoids this space and a quantity denoted as the Fractional Reactive Power (FRP) is defined to assess the quality of the result. The third design method produces simultaneous radar and communications beams in separate spatial directions while maintaining constant modulus by leveraging the orthogonal complement of the emitted directions. This orthogonal energy defines a trade-space between power efficiency gained from constraining waveforms to be constant amplitude and power efficiency lost by emitting energy in undesired directions. The design of FM waveforms via traditional gradient-based optimization methods is also considered. A waveform model is proposed that is a generalization of the PCFM implementation, denoted as coded-FM (CFM), which defines the phase of the waveform via a summation of weighted, predefined basis functions. Therefore, gradient-based methods can be used to minimize a given cost function with respect to a finite set of optimizable parameters. A generalized integrated sidelobe level (GISL) metric is used as the optimization cost function to minimize the correlation range sidelobes of the radar waveform. System specific waveform optimization is explored by incorporating the linear models of three different loopback configurations into the GISL metric to match the optimized waveforms to the particular systems

    Simultaneous Positioning and Communications: Hybrid Radio Architecture, Estimation Techniques, and Experimental Validation

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    abstract: Limited spectral access motivates technologies that adapt to diminishing resources and increasingly cluttered environments. A joint positioning-communications system is designed and implemented on \acf{COTS} hardware. This system enables simultaneous positioning of, and communications between, nodes in a distributed network of base-stations and unmanned aerial systems (UASs). This technology offers extreme ranging precision (<< 5 cm) with minimal bandwidth (10 MHz), a secure communications link to protect against cyberattacks, a small form factor that enables integration into numerous platforms, and minimal resource consumption which supports high-density networks. The positioning and communications tasks are performed simultaneously with a single, co-use waveform, which efficiently utilizes limited resources and supports higher user densities. The positioning task uses a cooperative, point-to-point synchronization protocol to estimate the relative position and orientation of all users within the network. The communications task distributes positioning information between users and secures the positioning task against cyberattacks. This high-performance system is enabled by advanced time-of-arrival estimation techniques and a modern phase-accurate distributed coherence synchronization algorithm. This technology may be installed in ground-stations, ground vehicles, unmanned aerial systems, and airborne vehicles, enabling a highly-mobile, re-configurable network with numerous applications.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 201

    Design and Evaluation of Stochastic Processes as Physical Radar Waveforms

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    Recent advances in waveform generation and in computational power have enabledthe design and implementation of new complex radar waveforms. Still despite these advances, in a waveform agile mode where the radar transmits unique waveforms for every pulse or a nonrepeating signal continuously, effective operation can be difficult due the waveform design requirements. In general, for radar waveforms to be both useful and physically robust they must achieve good autocorrelation sidelobes, be spectrally contained, and possess a constant amplitude envelope for high power operation. Meeting these design goals represents a tremendous computational overhead that can easily impede real-time operation and the overall effectiveness of the radar. This work addresses this concern in the context of random FM waveforms (RFM) that have been demonstrated in recent years in both simulation and in experiments to achieve low autocorrelation sidelobes through the high dimensionality of coherent integration when operating in a waveform agile mode. However, while they are effective, the approaches to design these waveforms require optimization of each individual waveform, making them subject to costly computational requirements. This dissertation takes a different approach. Since RFM waveforms are meant to be noise like in the first place, the waveforms here are instantiated as the sample functions of an underlying stochastic process called a waveform generating function (WGF). This approach enables the convenient generation of spectrally contained RFM waveforms for little more computational cost than pulling numbers from a random number generator (RNG). To do so, this work translates the traditional mathematical treatment of random variables and random processes to a more radar centric perspective such that the WGFs can be analytically evaluated as a function of the usefulness ofthe radar waveforms that they produce via metrics such as the expected matched filter response and the expected power spectral density (PSD). Further, two WGF models denoted as pulsed stochastic waveform generation (Pulsed StoWGe) and continuouswave stochastic waveform generation (CW-StoWGe) are devised as means to optimize WGFs to produce RFM waveform with good spectral containment and design flexibility between the degree of spectral containment and autocorrelation sidelobe levels for both pulsed and CW modes. This goal is achieved by leveraging gradient descent optimization methods to reduce the expected frequency template error (EFTE) cost function. The EFTE optimization is shown analytically using the metrics above, as well as others defined in this work and through simulation, to produce WGFs whose sample functions achieve these goals and thus produce useful random FM waveforms. To complete the theory-modeling-experimentation design life cycle, the resultant StoWGe waveforms are implemented in a loop-back configuration and are shown to be amenable to physical implementation

    PCFM Radar Waveform Design With Spectral and Correlation Considerations

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