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White Paper: Technical Contact

This white paper from Microwave Packaging Technology compares analog and digital beam forming for Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar systems. Analog beam forming uses phase shifters at each transmit/receive module to steer radar beams, while digital beam forming samples signals digitally at each antenna element. Digital beam forming allows tracking more targets simultaneously but generates significantly more data and requires more processing power. Key challenges for digital beam forming include handling large data rates from analog-to-digital converters and the high power needs of field programmable gate arrays and other processors used to combine and process channel signals. Despite the challenges, digital beam forming is attractive for military systems that must track increasing numbers of targets.

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112 views4 pages

White Paper: Technical Contact

This white paper from Microwave Packaging Technology compares analog and digital beam forming for Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar systems. Analog beam forming uses phase shifters at each transmit/receive module to steer radar beams, while digital beam forming samples signals digitally at each antenna element. Digital beam forming allows tracking more targets simultaneously but generates significantly more data and requires more processing power. Key challenges for digital beam forming include handling large data rates from analog-to-digital converters and the high power needs of field programmable gate arrays and other processors used to combine and process channel signals. Despite the challenges, digital beam forming is attractive for military systems that must track increasing numbers of targets.

Uploaded by

Alex Yang
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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White Paper

Analog Versus Digital Beam Forming

Technical Contact:
Rick Sturdivant, President
Microwave Packaging Technology, Inc.
Mobile: 310-980-3039
[email protected]
Business Contact:
Craig Parrish, VP Strategic Business Development
Microwave Packaging Technology, Inc.
310-696-9066
[email protected]

Company Name: Microwave Products and Technology (mptcorp.com)


White Paper: Analog Versus Digital Beam Forming
Introduction
Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar has been proposed for many
Department of Defense (DoD). While an AESA is likely the best solution, there is another level
of options for the AESA. This is because they can be realized using analog beam steering or
digital beam steering. Figure 1(a)
Active Electronically
illustrates a simplified block diagram of
Scanned Array (AESA)
an AESA using analog beam steering. It
uses individual transmit/receive modules
with phase shifter to achieve beam
steering. This type of radar is state of the
art for radars that are deployed on
T/R
T/R
T/R
T/R
numerous platforms. Figure 1(b) shows
Power Divider Network
(Ma ni fold)
the AN/APG-77 radar which is an analog
AESA.
The benefits of this type of radar
TX RX
are significant since it has no moving
(b)
(a)
parts. This means that it is much more
Figure 1. Analog AESA used for fighter radar (a) simplified
reliable than prior generations of radars
block diagram [1], and (b) image of the AN/APG-77 radar.
that used mechanical steering to for
search and tracking of targets. Also, this type of radar allows for tracking of several targets by
using complex beam forming methods. However, a significant disadvantage is that it has a limit
on the number of target that it can simultaneously track.
Switch

Switch

Switch

Switch

Digital Beam Forming


One method to improve the ability of an AESA to track multiple simultaneous targets is
to use digital beam forming. Digital beam forming uses circuitry that is a departure from the
normal T/R module. Instead of using phase shifters at each element in the phased array, the radar
beam is steered digitally since the digital functions are pushed forward into the system. The
digital sampling occurs at the antenna element on
F
LO
both transmit and receive.
Antenna
RX
s

Out

BPFrx LNA Mixer

ADC

To Digital
Processing

In the simplest case, the digital beam


Circulator
TX
forming T/R module consists of front filtering, low
HPA BPF Mixer DDS
noise amplifier, high power amplifier, and mixing
along with analog to digital conversion. In a Figure 2. Simplified block diagram of a digital
beam forming AESA front end.
practical system, the block diagram will be more
complicated. For instance, the LNA and HPA will likely be multistage and there may be
additional filters and other components in the system. A simplified block diagram of one element
in a digital beam forming array is shown in Figure 2. Note that this block diagram is repeated for
each element in the array.
In

tx

MPT, Inc. | www.mptcorp.com | Page 2

Company Name: Microwave Products and Technology (mptcorp.com)


White Paper: Analog Versus Digital Beam Forming
Challenges with Digital Beam Forming
There are several challenges with using digital beam forming. The first is the amount of
data that is generated. Considering the receive portion of the digital receiver, one of the most
important points to consider the data rate out of the ADC. This is important since it impacts the
digital interface requirements and processing power requirements of the digital portion. The data
rate at the point RXout is given by
Data Rate at RXout = FS N + Control Bits + Status Bits

(10.1)

Where:
Fs = sample rate of the ADC (MSPS)
N = number of bits in the ADC
ADC = analog to digital converter
Control Bits = the data rate of the control bits that control the function of the ADC
Status Bits = the data rate of the status bits out of the ADC such as the over range bit
In most applications the data rate of Control Bits and Status Bits will be much lower than the
Data Rate at RXout and so we will neglect their contribution to the overall data bandwidth.
Consider an example where the ADC has 16 bits and a sample rate of 100 MSPS. In this case,
the Data Rate at RXout will be equal to 100 x 16 = 1.6GSPS per element in the array. This
means that for an 8 x 8 array, the total data rate out of the RXout ports will be 1.6 GSPS/element
x 64 elements = 102.4 GSPS. This illustrates one of the important design considerations for
digital beam forming which is the handling of the data. While it is true that some systems can
achieve performance with few bits in the ADC, and some systems do not need to sample at 100
MSPS, the trend in radar systems is more bits for increased resolution and higher sampling rate
for increased bandwidth.
Another concern about digital beam forming is the power consumption required by the
processing. While it is possible to procure ADCs with reasonable power dissipation, the FPGA
and other processors require significant power. The FPGA and processors perform the important
function of combining the signals from multiple elements, processing of the signals, and data
packaging for transport to the next level in the system (additional processing and signal
analysis). Because of the limitation in data bandwidth, there is a practical limit on the number of
elements (channels) in the array that a FPGA can handle. For instance, if a FPGA is used to
capture data from four elements in an array with 16 bit ADCs running at 100MSPS, then the data
rate out of the FPGA will be 1.6GSPS x 4 = 6.4GSPS. While the FPGA may be able to handing
pumping out that data rate, the digital interface to the next level becomes a concern even if high
speed interfaces are used.

MPT, Inc. | www.mptcorp.com | Page 3

Company Name: Microwave Products and Technology (mptcorp.com)


White Paper: Analog Versus Digital Beam Forming
Conclusions
Despite the data handling concerns, the possibility of tracking multiple targets makes the digital
beam forming approach very attractive for some applications. This is especially true for military
systems which must track an increasing number of targets.
On transmit, a fully digital beam formed array requires the use of waveform generators at each of
the elements. This can create complications in the design of the array, though some have
attempted to achieve this using direct digital synthesis of the waveforms at each element and
then using a frequency mixer to up convert the waveform to the desired transmit frequency.
References
[1] Used with permission from: R.L. Sturdivant, Mike Harris, Transmit Receive Modules for
Radar and Communication Systems (Norwood, MA: Artech House, 2015).

MPT, Inc. | www.mptcorp.com | Page 4

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