Two applications of HTS technology on an airborne platform
- E-Systems Inc., Greenville, TX (United States). Greenville Division
This paper describes two applications for HTS technology on an airborne platform. The first application is a RF front-end for an 8 to 40 GHz microwave/ millimeter-wave ESM system. The second application is a 2 to 4 GHz HTS Spiral Antenna Array System. The HTS microwave front-end unit consists of an HTS diplexer, and two low noise preamplifiers. The design demonstrates the benefits of HTS technology while providing a near-term insertion on a military airborne platform. The HTS Spiral Antenna Array System utilizes a 4 element conical spiral array (conventional technology) and a beamforming network consisting of a HTS power combiner, a HTS bandpass filter, HTS coupler, and a conventional technology low noise preamplifier. Both applications utilize low insertion loss HTS devices coupled with the cryogenic cooling of conventional low noise preamplifiers to lower the overall noise figure of the systems. The HTS Spiral Antenna Array System provides a 3 dB improvement in SNR over the best available conventional technology system. A 3 dB improvement in SNR can be compared to the doubling of the antenna aperture which provides a 3 dB gain increase, but at the expense of a decreased field of view. A 3 dB increase in SNR can also be viewed as a 41% increase in usable target range. The HTS antenna system maintains a wide field of view with a performance that approaches a steerable beam antenna. This is a cost effective approach for improving the collection capability of a system without the expense of developing a steerable beam antenna and the associated beam control hardware (tracker) and software.
- OSTI ID:
- 61228
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940142--; ISBN 0-8194-1451-4
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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