New Methods for the Detection and Interception of Unknown, Frequency-Hopped Waveforms

Three new methods for the detection and interception of frequency-hopped waveforms are presented. The first method extends the optimal, fixed-block detection method based on the likelihood ratio to a sequential one based on the Sequential Probability Ratio Test (SPRT). The second method is structured around a compressive receiver and is highly efficient yet easily implemented. The third method is based on the new concept of Amplitude Distribution Function (ADF) and results in a detector that is an extension of the radiometer. The first method presents a detector structured to make a decision sequentially, that is, as each data element is collected. Initially, a purely sequential test is derived and shown to require fewer data for a decision. A truncated sequential method is also derived and shown to reduce the data needed for a decision while operating under poor signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). A detailed performance analysis is presented along with numerical and Monte Carlo analyses of the detectors. The second method assumes stationary, colored Gaussian interference and presents a detailed model of the compressive receiver. A locally optimal detector is developed via the likelihood ratio theory and yields a reference to which previous ad hoc schemes are compared. A simplified, suboptimal scheme is developed that trades off duty cycle for performance, and a technique for estimating hop frequency is developed. The performance of the optimal and suboptimal detectors is quantified. For the suboptimal scheme, the trade-off with duty cycle is studied. The reliability of the hop frequency estimator is bounded and traded off against duty cycle. In the third method, a precise definition of the ADF is given, from which follows a convolutional relationship between the ADFs of signal and additive noise. A technique is given for deconvolving the ADF, with which signal and noise components can be separated. A detection statistic characterized, yielding a framework on which to synthesize a detector. The detector's performance is analyzed and compared with the radiometer

Multipath/modulation study for the tracking and data relay satellite system Final report, 14 Apr. 1969 - 12 Jan. 1970

Multipath modulation study of tracking and data relay satellite syste

The acquisition of direct sequence spread spectrum communication systems

This Paper surveys different techniques of acquiring Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum Systems. It classifies different systems, indicates the strongpoints and weakness of each, along with some applications. One method, The Single Dwell Serial PN Acquisition System is then focused on in detail. The detail includes analysis of standard version, derivation of the mean time to acquire, the variance, the probability of detection and the probability of a false alarm. In the last section of the paper the analytical results of the Single Dwell Serial PN Acquisition System shall be confirmed by computer simulation

Detection of PPM-UWB random signals

This paper focuses on the symbol detection problem of random pulse-position modulation (PPM) ultrawideband (UWB) signals in the absence of interframe interference. Particular attention is devoted to severely time-varying channels where optimal detectors are proposed for both uncorrelated and correlated scattering scenarios. This is done by assuming the received waveforms to be unknown parameters. In UWB communication systems, the assumption of unknown random waveforms is consistent with the fact that the received waveform has very little resemblance with the original transmitted pulse. In order to circumvent this limitation, a conditional approach is presented herein by compressing the likelihood ratio test with the information regarding the second-order moments of the end-to-end channel response. Both full-rank and rank-one detectors are derived. For the reduced complexity rank-one detector, an iterative procedure is presented that maximizes the J-divergence between the hypotheses to be tested. Finally, simulation results are provided to compare the performance of the proposed detectors in different propagation environments.Peer Reviewe

Study to investigate and evaluate means of optimizing the Ku-band combined radar/communication functions for the space shuttle

The performance of the space shuttle orbiter's Ku-Band integrated radar and communications equipment is analyzed for the radar mode of operation. The block diagram of the rendezvous radar subsystem is described. Power budgets for passive target detection are calculated, based on the estimated values of system losses. Requirements for processing of radar signals in the search and track modes are examined. Time multiplexed, single-channel, angle tracking of passive scintillating targets is analyzed. Radar performance in the presence of main lobe ground clutter is considered and candidate techniques for clutter suppression are discussed. Principal system parameter drivers are examined for the case of stationkeeping at ranges comparable to target dimension. Candidate ranging waveforms for short range operation are analyzed and compared. The logarithmic error discriminant utilized for range, range rate and angle tracking is formulated and applied to the quantitative analysis of radar subsystem tracking loops

A code-division, multiple beam sonar imaging system

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution August 1989In this thesis, a new active sonar imaging concept is explored using the principle of code-division and the simultaneous transmission of multiple coded signals. The signals are sixteen symbol, four-bit, non-linear, block Frequency-Shift Keyed (FSK) codes, each of which is projected into a different direction. Upon reception of the reflected waveform, each signal is separately detected and the results are inverted to yield an estimation of the spatial location of an object in three dimensions. The code-division sonar is particularly effective operating in situations where the phase of the transmitted signal is perturbed by the propagation media and the target Most imaging techniques presently used rely on preservation of the phase of the received signal over the dimension of the receiving array. In the code-division sonar, spatial resolution is obtained by using the combined effects of code-to-code rejection and the a-priori knowledge of which direction each code was transmitted. The coded signals are shown to be highly tolerable of phase distortion over the duration of the transmission. The result is a high-resolution, three-dimensional image, obtainable in a highly perturbative environment Additionally, the code-division sonar is capable of a high frame rate due to the simplicity of the processing required. Two algorithms are presented which estimate the spatial coordinates of an object in the ensonified aperture of the system, and the performance of the two is compared for different signal to noise levels. Finally, the concept of code-division imaging is employed in a series of experiments in which a code-division sonar was used to image objects under a variety of conditions. The results of the experiments are presented, showing the resolution capabilities of the system