Dynamic null steering in an ultrawideband time-steered array antenna

We develop a method for forming squint-free wideband nulls in the antenna pattern of an ultrawideband array antenna. The technique uses an optical dispersive-prism beam former to provide time-delayed microwave signals to each antenna element for forming a squint-free main beam. The amplitude-modulated optical carrier is propagated through a set of optical links. Each link feeds an array element and includes an amount of dispersion proportional to element position. Tuning the wavelength of the optical carrier controls the microwave signal's arrival-time delay gradient across the array. A dispersive-prism tapped delay-line microwave filter is used to frequency shape a nulling signal. The wideband nulls do not significantly distort the main beam and are steered independently of the main beam. The technique is applied to sidelobe nulling for a transmitter and for jammer suppression for a receiver array.     

圆阵双基地声纳直达波抑制技术研究

以圆阵为双基地声纳接收阵列流形,提出了一种新的基于多重信号分类(MUSIC)技术的波束形成及零点抑制算法。在理论分析了第一类零点约束条件的基础上,提出了第二类零点(高阶零点)约束条件。给出两类零点约束条件干扰抑制能力的比较。仿真结果表明,该算法可有效接收目标回波信号且屏蔽直达波强干扰。讨论干扰达波方向(DOA)与阵元数对算法直达波抑制能力的影响,以及多源干扰条件下算法的干扰抑制能力。     

Optical BEAMTAP beam-forming and jammer-nulling system for broadband phased-array antennas

We present an approach to receive-mode broadband beam forming and jammer nulling for large adaptive antenna arrays as well as its efficient and compact optical implementation. This broadband efficient adaptive method for true-time-delay array processing (BEAMTAP) algorithm decreases the number of tapped delay lines required for processing an N-element phased-array antenna from N to only 2, producing an enormous savings in delay-line hardware (especially for large broadband arrays) while still providing the full NM degrees of freedom of a conventional N-element time-delay-and-sum beam former that requires N tapped delay lines with M taps each. This allows the system to adapt fully and optimally to an arbitrarily complex spatiotemporal signal environment that can contain broadband signals of interest, as well as interference sources and narrow-band and broadband jammers-all of which can arrive from arbitrary angles onto an arbitrarily shaped array-thus enabling a variety of applications in radar, sonar, and communication. This algorithm is an excellent match with the capabilities of radio frequency (rf) photonic systems, as it uses a coherent optically modulated fiber-optic feed network, gratings in a photorefractive crystal as adaptive weights, a traveling-wave detector for generating time delay, and an acousto-optic device to control weight adaptation. Because the number of available adaptive coefficients in a photorefractive crystal is as large as 10(9), these photonic systems can adaptively control arbitrarily large one- or two-dimensional antenna arrays that are well beyond the capabilities of conventional rf and real-time digital signal processing techniques or alternative photonic techniques.     

运动物体噪声场分解的传递路径声全息方法

声全息及波束成形技术可以通过对阵列噪声信号处理,获得运动物体表面声场的分布。如果物体中声源相距较近或声源相关性较高,该方法不能有效区分每个声源对目标表面声场的贡献。提出了一种基于声源特征的传递路径声全息方法。该方法同时采集外场阵列面信息及物体上声源参考信息,在声源识别过程中,结合声源传递路径对采样面信息分解,然后采用声全息技术重建声源,实现声源识别和声场分解。介绍了该方法的识别过程,并与传统的声全息方法进行多声源仿真对比;最后应用该方法进行了实际汽车噪声源的分解。结果表明,该方法能有效识别并分离出运动物体的噪声源。     

Spatio-temporal operator formalism for holographic recording and diffraction in a photorefractive-based true-time-delay phased-array processor

We present a spatio-temporal operator formalism and beam propagation simulations that describe the broadband efficient adaptive method for a true-time-delay array processing (BEAMTAP) algorithm for an optical beamformer by use of a photorefractive crystal. The optical system consists of a tapped-delay line implemented with an acoustooptic Bragg cell, an accumulating scrolling time-delay detector achieved with a traveling-fringes detector, and a photorefractive crystal to store the adaptive spatio-temporal weights as volume holographic gratings. In this analysis, linear shift-invariant integral operators are used to describe the propagation, interference, grating accumulation, and volume holographic diffraction of the spatio-temporally modulated optical fields in the system to compute the adaptive array processing operation. In addition, it is shown that the random fluctuation in time and phase delays of the optically modulated and transmitted array signals produced by fiber perturbations (temperature fluctuations, vibrations, or bending) are dynamically compensated for through the process of holographic wavefront reconstruction as a byproduct of the adaptive beam-forming and jammer-excision operation. The complexity of the cascaded spatial-temporal integrals describing the holographic formation, and subsequent readout processes, is shown to collapse to a simple imaging condition through standard operator manipulation. We also present spatio-temporal beam propagation simulation results as an illustrative demonstration of our analysis and the operation of a BEAMTAP beamformer.     

Extended high-frame rate imaging method with limited-diffraction beams

Fast three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound imaging is a technical challenge. Previously, a high-frame rate (HFR) imaging theory was developed in which a pulsed plane wave was used in transmission, and limited-diffraction array beam weightings were applied to received echo signals to produce a spatial Fourier transform of object function for 3-D image reconstruction. In this paper, the theory is extended to include explicitly various transmission schemes such as multiple limited-diffraction array beams and steered plane waves. A relationship between the limited-diffraction array beam weighting of received echo signals and a 2-D Fourier transform of the same signals over a transducer aperture is established. To verify the extended theory, computer simulations, in vitro experiments on phantoms, and in vivo experiments on the human kidney and heart were performed. Results show that image resolution and contrast are increased over a large field of view as more and more limited-diffraction array beams with different parameters or plane waves steered at different angles are used in transmissions. Thus, the method provides a continuous compromise between image quality and image frame rate that is inversely proportional to the number of transmissions used to obtain a single frame of image. From both simulations and experiments, the extended theory holds a great promise for future HFR 3-D imaging.     

Stress field forming of sector array transducers for vibro-acoustography

This paper presents a study of the stress field forming of sector array transducers for vibro-acoustography applications. The system point-spread function (PSF) is given in terms of the dynamic radiation stress exerted on a point target by a dual ultrasound beam with slightly different frequencies. The radiation stress is calculated by assuming that the resulting ultrasound beam is a plane wave. The stress is proportional to the product of the velocity potential of each incident ultrasound beam. The beamforming and stress field forming of sector array transducers are analyzed through linear acoustics. An expression for the velocity potential produced by sector array transducers is derived. The vibro-acoustography PSF is evaluated numerically. A comparison between the PSF of a sector array and a confocal transducers is presented. The compared characteristics of the PSF are sidelobe levels, transverse, and in-depth spatial resolution. Indeed, one motivation to study sector transducers is the fact the depth-of-field of these transducers should be smaller than that of same size confocal transducers. An experimental setup was used to validate the theoretical PSF of sector array transducers. Results show that the measured PSF is in good agreement with the theoretical predications. Vibro-acoustography images of a breast-phantom by both transducers are presented and discussed.     

Real-time signal classification with an acousto-optic triple-product processor cascaded into a volume holographic classifier

An all-optical generalized linear machine applied to a high-bandwidth temporal signal-classification problem is demonstrated. The classifier consists of a dimensional increasing acousto-optic triple-product processor feature extractor cascaded through an optically addressed spatial light modulator into a volume holographic implementation of a linear classifier. Multiple-expo sure implementations of learning are used to train the classifier interconnection weights in a photorefractive crystal for a training set of wide-bandwidth temporal signals input to the acousto-optic triple-product processor. Experimental implementation of high-speed, time-shift and Doppler invariant, wide-bandwidth signal identification is demonstrated.     

Combination of free-space and guided-wave optical interconnects for angularly multiplexed multiwavelength holographic memory

We propose and test experimentally a new scheme to implement spatially multiplexed multiwavelength holographic memory. An electro-optically modulated phase grating array on LiNbO(3) substrate is used as a guided-wave interconnect to activate the reconfigurable reference beam. The object beam is provided by free-space interconnect. An electro-optic modulation efficiency of 18 +/- 2.5% is achieved with an applied voltage of 100 V. The reference beams with different diffraction angles can implement the angle-multiplexing holographic recording. We believe this is the first report of the implementation of guided-wave electro-optic interconnect together with free-space interconnect in holographic memory applications.     

Hardware-assisted initialisation for constant modulus algorithm adaptive antenna

A cost-effective approach for initialisation of an adaptive antenna based on the constant modulus algorithm (CMA) is proposed. The technique utilises 1 bit phase shifters and a power detector, which are normally integrated with a multibeam antenna, to determine the maximum power beam direction. Consequently, the beam is exploited as an initial beam for CMA. Development of hardware-assisted initialisation is discussed. In addition, field programmable gate array implementation of a CMA processor and associated control circuitry is presented. Several simulations are performed to evaluate the performance of the proposed initialisation technique. In addition, the developed prototype is tested with a phase array antenna designed for operation at the IMT2000 frequency of 1.95 GHz. Experimental results confirm superiority of the proposed technique.     

Phase-only adaptive nulling with neural networks for antenna array synthesis

A new approach to adaptive phase-only nulling with phased arrays is described. An efficient method is presented to synthesise directive beam and multi-beam patterns and create adaptive nulls in interference direction. The proposed method is based on iterative minimisation of a function that incorporates constraints imposed in each direction with respect to excitation phases and neural network technique. Various results are presented to show the advantages and limitations of this approach. The back-propagation algorithm proves to be better than previous phase-only adaptive algorithms. To verify the performances of the proposed technique, an eight-element array has been realised and tested for various types of beam configurations.     

Photorefractive processing for large adaptive phased arrays

An adaptive null-steering phased-array optical processor that utilizes a photorefractive crystal to time integrate the adaptive weights and null out correlated jammers is described. This is a beam-steering processor in which the temporal waveform of the desired signal is known but the look direction is not. The processor computes the angle(s) of arrival of the desired signal and steers the array to look in that direction while rotating the nulls of the antenna pattern toward any narrow-band jammers that may be present. We have experimentally demonstrated a simplified version of this adaptive phased-array-radar processor that nulls out the narrow-band jammers by using feedback-correlation detection. In this processor it is assumed that we know a priori only that the signal is broadband and the jammers are narrow band. These are examples of a class of optical processors that use the angular selectivity of volume holograms to form the nulls and look directions in an adaptive phased-array-radar pattern and thereby to harness the computational abilities of three-dimensional parallelism in the volume of photorefractive crystals. The development of this processing in volume holographic system has led to a new algorithm for phased-array-radar processing that uses fewer tapped-delay lines than does the classic time-domain beam former. The optical implementation of the new algorithm has the further advantage of utilization of a single photorefractive crystal to implement as many as a million adaptive weights, allowing the radar system to scale to large size with no increase in processing hardware.     

Novel optical photorefractive storage-retrieval system using speckle coding technique in beam-fanning geometry

Abstract

An encoding technique based on speckle random patterns as carrier together with the beam-fanning concept is introduced to realize photo-refractive optical volume holographic memory. The set-up is based on beam-fanning geometry employing a single input beam in a BaTiO₃ crystal. Retrieval of information from this kind of memory system is very sensitive to code matching. Therefore, in the case of multiple storage, the cross-talk is minimized. The preliminary experimental results are presented with their possible applications in increasing the information storage capacity of volume holographic memories, with resultant reduced cross-talk. A dual-channel optical processor has also been realized wherein object information together with its contrast reversed version are obtained at the output channels simultaneously.     

行驶车辆噪声辐射研究进展及展望

综述了行驶车辆辐射噪声研究的实验方法、实验系统，介绍、分析了目前两种应用于运动声源辐射声场分析的算法——声全息方法和阵列信号处理方法及其研究应用，并对其进行了总结比较，探讨了这两种方法在运动声源研究领域今后的研究方向和发展趋势。     

Implementation of broadband low-sidelobe beamforming in time domain

In modern active and passive sonar systems, broadband beamforming for acoustic arrays is widely used to suppress unwanted interference and to detect target signals of interest. A broadband low sidelobe beamforming scheme in time domain is proposed in this paper. The first step of this scheme is to delay the outputs of each element in the acoustic array by a tapped-delay-line (TDL) to accomplish the integer part of the time delay need to form a beam. Then, finite impulse response (FIR) digital filters are used to implement the fractional part of the time delay. The weighting coefficients for all array elements at different frequencies to realize the low sidelobe beams are also implemented with the FIR digital filters. Finally, the outputs of the digital filters are summed up to yield the time domain beam output. The design of low sidelobe beam pattern and that of the FIR digital filters are two crucial technical issues in this beamforming procedure. The low sidelobe beams of each sub-band are designed using the optimized beam synthesis approach based on the principle of MVDR beamforming. An improved adaptive approach are used for the design of FIR digital filters, and the design requirements of these filters were specified by the weights of low sidelobe beams of each sub-band over the broad frequency band. Results of computer simulation for a twelve-element arc array show that the beamforming scheme is very effective in forming low sidelobe broadband beam.     

固态拖线阵和液态拖线阵的试验分析

拖曳线列阵声纳以低频、大孔径等特点而受到关注。作为湿端的主要组成部分,拖线阵的发展也比较迅速。由于应用较早,液态拖线阵技术已经比较成熟。相比于液态拖线阵,固态拖线阵具有自身的特点,因此近年来对固态拖线阵的研究也逐渐增多。为了比较两种成阵工艺对拖曳线列阵性能的影响,进行了湖试,通过对湖试数据进行分析,比较两种拖线阵中阵元一致性和拖线阵波束形成性能的差异。结果表明,在阵元一致性方面,液态拖线阵和固态拖线阵的性能基本相似;在波束形成性能方面,静态时两者性能无明显的差别;在拖曳状态下,固态拖线阵对拖曳时产生的噪声敏感性低,因而具有更好的波束形成性能。     

Optical Edge Enhancement Applied to Scenes with Natural Vegetation Backgrounds

Edge enhancement of images performed by optical subtraction using multiple holographic diffraction gratings mounted in the Fourier plane of an optical processor has been found to be advantageous in enhancing the images of vehicles photographed against natural vegetation backgrounds. The grating method has been used with a liquid crystal light valve at the input to the processor and edge enhancement can be performed in near real time using a television input to the liquid crystal light valve.     

Distortionless interferogram recording by use of holographic field lenses for fluid velocimetry

Two optical systems based on holographic field lenses are presented. They have been specifically designed for the CCD camera acquisition of the interferograms obtained from a fluid plane, when one uses holographic interferometry to measure fluid velocities. The use of these systems allows for easy recording of interferograms, all having the same size and position on the CCD, independent of the fluid-plane observation direction. The holographic lenses act as directional field lenses; they change the divergent beam that reaches the lens into a convergent beam that focuses on the camera aperture. These distortionless interferogram recording systems have been demonstrated in a Rayleigh-Bénard convective flow.     

线阵相控换能器阵列参数对聚焦性能的影响分析

针对超声相控阵检测中广泛使用的一维线阵换能器,通过建立其声场数学模型和引入指向性函数,仿真分析了阵列参数对声束聚焦性能的影响,提出了改善换能器声场性能的措施。最后对优化参数的阵列换能器声场进行实验测试,测试结果表明其具有良好的声束聚焦性能,为超声相控阵缺陷检测中换能器的选择提供了参考。     

Simultaneous multidimensional deformation measurements using digital holographic moiré

This paper proposes an elegant technique for the simultaneous measurement of in-plane and out-of-plane displacements of a deformed object in digital holographic interferometry. The measurement relies on simultaneously illuminating the object from multiple directions and using a single reference beam to interfere with the scattered object beams on the CCD plane. Numerical reconstruction provides the complex object wave-fields or complex amplitudes corresponding to prior and postdeformation states of the object. These complex amplitudes are used to generate the complex reconstructed interference field whose real part constitutes a moiré interference fringe pattern. Moiré fringes encode information about multiple phases which are extracted by introducing a spatial carrier in one of the object beams and subsequently using a Fourier transform operation. The information about the in-plane and out-of-plane displacements is then ascertained from the estimated multiple phases using sensitivity vectors of the optical configuration.