Solid-state active array feed source and power amplifier feed integrated pulse measurement radar

Abstract

The invention discloses a solid-state active array feed source and power amplifier feed integrated pulse measurement radar, and relates to the technical field of radar measurement. The solid-state active array feed source comprises a feed source array which is composed of a plurality of radiation units and is used for transmitting pulse signals; the distributed solid-state power amplification system is used for amplifying and outputting pulse signals; the distributed solid-state power amplification system comprises a final-stage power amplification assembly which integrates the functions of power amplification, digital phase shift, digital time delay, switch isolation and beam control and is connected with a feed source array; the preceding-stage driving amplification assembly provides an excitation signal for the final-stage power amplification assembly and amplifies a control clock signal and a local oscillation clock signal respectively; the array integrated network is used for distribution and transmission of excitation signals, control signals and local oscillator clock signals; and the rectification power supply module supplies power to the distributed solid-state power amplification system. The transmitter and the feed source are integrally designed, so that the working reliability of the radar system is improved, and the system composition scale is simplified; feeder line loss is eliminated, and detection power is increased.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of radar measurement technology, and in particular to a pulse measurement radar integrating a solid-state active array feed source and a power amplifier feed. Background Art

[0002] Pulse measurement radar is an important equipment for aerospace measurement and control, and aircraft test and measurement. The system is generally composed of parabolic antenna, feed source and feed line, antenna base and angle servo, transmitter, receiver, signal processing, data processing, control display and other subsystems. Among them, the parabolic antenna, feed source and feed line and transmitter subsystem are important devices for pulse signal power amplification, transmission, radiation or reception, which determine the basic performance of radar such as detection power and measurement accuracy.

[0003] At present, the parabolic antenna and transmitter of the pulse measurement radar are arranged separately. The parabolic antenna is placed outdoors and the transmitter is placed in the machine room. The two are connected by a waveguide feeder to achieve high-power pulse signal transmission, which is radiated into space through the horn feed placed at the center of the parabolic antenna. The transmitter uses electric vacuum devices such as traveling wave tubes or klystrons for final power amplification. The equipment is large in scale and low in reliability. The path from the feeder to the antenna feed is long and the transmission loss is high. Summary of the invention

[0004] 1. Technical issues to be solved

[0005] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides a pulse measurement radar integrating a solid-state active array feed source and a power amplifier feed, which solves at least one technical problem raised in the background technology.

[0006] (II) Technical solution

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0008] In a first aspect, a solid-state active array feed is provided, the solid-state active array feed comprising:

[0009] A feed array, composed of multiple radiating units, is used to transmit pulse signals;

[0010] Distributed solid-state power amplification system, used for amplifying and outputting pulse signals;

[0011] The distributed solid-state power amplification system comprises:

[0012] The final power amplifier component integrates power amplification, digital phase shifting, digital delay, switch isolation and beam control functions, and is connected to the feed source array;

[0013] The front-stage driving amplifier component provides an excitation signal for the final-stage power amplifier component and amplifies the control and local oscillator clock signals respectively;

[0014] Array integrated network, used for distribution and transmission of excitation signals, as well as control and local oscillator clock signals;

[0015] Rectifier power module, providing power for distributed solid-state power amplifier system.

[0016] Preferably, the rectifier power supply module is divided into a plurality of independently working modules, and each module is independently powered.

[0017] Preferably, each module is composed of a series power supply link of a multi-channel power supply filter, a rectifier power supply module, and an output energy storage capacitor, and adopts an N+1 redundant parallel design to power the distributed solid-state power amplifier system.

[0018] Preferably, the solid-state active array feed is integrated in the feed cabin, the feed array is placed at the front side of the feed cabin, and the cloth-type solid-state power amplifier system is placed at the rear side of the feed cabin; the transmitting front stage and the rectifier power supply module are installed in the central body below the feed cabin;

[0019] The feed source array is connected to a distributed solid-state power amplification system via a radio frequency cable.

[0020] Preferably, it also includes a feed cover, which is arranged at the front end of the feed cabin.

[0021] Preferably, the aperture size D of the feed array is F , scanning angle β, number of units N F The following conditions are met:

[0022] Feed array aperture size D F :

[0023]

[0024] Where: K F is the normalized feed aperture coefficient;

[0025] λ is the radar operating wavelength;

[0026] f e is the antenna equivalent parabola focal length coefficient;

[0027] A M is the diameter of the main reflector surface of the antenna;

[0028] Feed array scanning angle β:

[0029]

[0030] Where: θ is the antenna beam scanning angle;

[0031] A Mis the diameter of the main reflector surface of the antenna;

[0032] A C is the diameter of the antenna sub-reflector;

[0033] Minimum number of feed array elements N F :

[0034]

[0035] Preferably, the final-stage power amplifier component adopts a microwave semiconductor solid-state power amplifier device.

[0036] In a second aspect, a pulse measurement radar is provided, wherein the solid-state active array feed is installed at the center of the main reflecting surface of the radar parabolic antenna, and the main surface, the secondary surface and the central axis of the solid-state active array feed of the radar parabolic antenna coincide with each other.

[0037] Preferably, the solid-state active array feed source is installed at the center of the main reflecting surface of the radar parabolic antenna through an intermediate flange.

[0038] (III) Beneficial effects

[0039] The present invention provides a pulse measurement radar with a solid-state active array feed source and a power amplifier feed integrated therein, which has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0040] The present invention uses a multi-channel parallel solid-state power amplifier component to achieve power amplification. Compared with the traditional pulse measurement radar that uses a set of transmitters and a horn illuminator to centrally amplify the transmission signal, the present invention is a distributed solid-state power amplifier system. The transmitter and the feed source are designed as an integrated whole, and the electric vacuum tube device is replaced by a highly integrated microwave semiconductor solid-state power amplifier component. The antenna array with limited beam scanning capability is used as the feed source illuminator. The feed source and transmitter that were originally arranged separately are integrated into a solid-state active array feed source, and the original horn feed source is replaced in situ. At the same time, the waveguide feed line is eliminated, and the output of the solid-state power amplifier component is directly fed to the antenna array to radiate into space. This solution can greatly improve the working reliability of the radar system and simplify the scale of the system composition; and because the feed line loss is eliminated, the detection power can be increased, which is of great significance for improving the overall performance of the pulse measurement radar. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0042] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0043] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the solid-state active array feed;

[0044] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of solid-state active array feed and radar combination;

[0045] Figure 3 The first-person side view of the feed cabin;

[0046] Figure 4 Side view of the feed cabin from the second perspective;

[0047] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the working principle of solid-state active array feed;

[0048] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the light path of a parabolic antenna when illuminated by a plane wave;

[0049] Figure 7 Simulation results of the focal plane field amplitude of the solid-state active array feed plane (incident angle is 0°);

[0050] Figure 8 Simulation results of the focal plane field phase of the solid-state active array feed plane (incident angle is 0°)

[0051] Fig. 9 Simulation results of the focal plane field amplitude of the solid-state active array feed plane (incident angle is 1°);

[0052] Fig.10 The simulation results of the focal plane field phase of the solid-state active array feed plane (the incident angle is 1°);

[0053] Among them, there are feed cover 1, feed array 2, feed cabin 3, components and integrated network 4. Specific implementation methods

[0055] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0056] In order to better understand the above technical solution, the above technical solution will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods:

[0057] A solid-state active array feed source, consisting of a feed source array, a final-stage power amplifier component, a pre-stage drive amplifier component, an array integrated network, a rectifier power supply, etc. The feed source array and the final-stage power amplifier component are placed in the feed source cabin, connected by a radio frequency cable, and the front end is covered with a feed source cover; the array integrated network, the rectifier power supply, etc. are placed in the central body below the feed source cabin. The layout of the feed cabin is as follows Figure 1 As shown. Specifically:

[0058] The solid-state active array feed includes a feed array 1, a distributed solid-state power amplification system and a rectifier power supply module. The feed array 1 is composed of a plurality of radiation units and is used to transmit pulse signals.

[0059] The distributed solid-state power amplifier system is used for amplifying and outputting pulse signals. Specifically, the distributed solid-state power amplifier system includes a final-stage power amplifier component, which is used to integrate power amplification, digital phase shifting, digital delay, switch isolation and beam control functions, and is connected to the feed source array; the pre-stage driver amplifier component provides an excitation signal for the final-stage power amplifier component, and amplifies the control and local oscillator clock signals respectively; the array integrated network is used for the distribution and transmission of the excitation signal, and the control and local oscillator clock signals;

[0060] The rectifier power module supplies power to the distributed solid-state power amplifier system.

[0061] Specifically, Figure 5 As shown, the above-mentioned array integrated network includes a transceiver feed network, a monitoring network, a clock local oscillator network, a control network and a power supply network. The transceiver feed network adopts a flexible cable design to complete the distribution of transmission signals and the synthesis of reception signals of each component in the feed array. The monitoring network is a set of equipment and cables that regularly monitor the signals of the feed components. It is mainly used for amplitude and phase monitoring of the feed components, and to detect faulty components and replace them in time to ensure that the feed array is in the best working state. The clock local oscillator network is mainly used to distribute the amplified clock and local oscillator signals output by the pre-transmitter stage to each feed component. The control network is mainly used for the control and protection of the cooling equipment of the feed array. The power supply network supplies power to all active devices in the feed array, and is mainly composed of branch lines and power supply cables.

[0062] The transmitting front stage amplifies the RF excitation signal, RF monitoring signal and clock local oscillator signal sent by the frequency synthesizer respectively to meet the power requirements of driving the array. It is mainly composed of an excitation monitoring amplifier, a clock local oscillator amplifier and a front stage power supply.

[0063] The present invention uses multi-channel parallel solid-state power amplifier components to achieve power amplification. Compared with the traditional pulse measurement radar that uses a set of transmitters and a speaker illuminator to centrally amplify the transmission signal, the present invention is a distributed solid-state power amplifier system. The working process is that when the signal is transmitted, the excitation signal sent by the frequency synthesis is distributed to several driving amplifier components through the array synthesis network for amplification, and then amplified, phase-shifted, and filtered by the final power amplifier component, and then a transmission beam is formed in space through the antenna unit.

[0064] The multi-channel parallel working final power amplifier components in the above embodiment, together with the pre-stage drive amplifier components, array integrated network and other components, constitute a distributed solid-state power amplifier system to achieve the amplified output of high-power pulse radiation. The specific technical implementation approach is consistent with the conventional solid-state active phased array radar antenna. Among them, the final power amplifier component integrates power amplification, digital phase shifting, digital delay, switch isolation, beam control and other functions; the pre-stage drive amplifier component provides a low-power excitation signal for the final power amplifier component, and amplifies the control and local oscillator clock signals respectively, generally working in a duplex hot backup mode; the array integrated network is used for the distribution and transmission of the excitation signal, as well as the control and local oscillator clock signals.

[0065] The final power amplifier component adopts microwave semiconductor solid-state power amplifier devices, replaces electric vacuum tube devices with highly integrated microwave semiconductor solid-state power amplifier components, uses an antenna array with limited beam scanning capability as a feed illuminator, integrates the feed and transmitter that were originally arranged separately into a solid-state active array feed, and replaces the original horn feed in situ. At the same time, the waveguide feed line is eliminated, and the output of the solid-state power amplifier component is directly fed to the antenna array to radiate into space. This solution can greatly improve the working reliability of the radar system and simplify the scale of the system composition; and because the feed line loss is eliminated and the detection power is increased, it is of great significance to improve the overall performance of the pulse measurement radar.

[0066] Furthermore, the rectifier power supply is used to power the power amplifier components of the entire solid-state active array feed source. The rectifier power supply can be divided into multiple independently working modules according to the array arrangement, and each module is independently powered, that is, each module supplies power to a part of the components.

[0067] According to the output power requirement of the entire feed rectifier power supply, the rectifier power supply is divided into four modules according to the array quadrant according to the array arrangement. The rectifier power supply module with rated output power is selected, and each module independently supplies power to the array in each quadrant. Each module consists of a series power supply link of a multi-channel power filter, a rectifier power module, and an output energy storage capacitor. The entire link is connected by a cable and works in parallel in an N+1 manner. N power supply links work as the main part and 1 power supply link works as a backup. That is, an N+1 redundant parallel design is adopted to power the distributed solid-state power amplifier system to improve the reliability of power supply operation. The rectifier power module converts the AC power input from the external power supply system into DC power that meets the working requirements of the array components and has control and protection functions; the power filter and the output energy storage capacitor provide input filtering and output energy storage for the rectifier power module.

[0068] At present, the parabolic antenna and transmitter of the pulse measurement radar are arranged separately. The parabolic antenna is placed outdoors and the transmitter is placed in the machine room. The two are connected by a waveguide feeder to achieve high-power pulse signal transmission, and radiate to space through the horn feed placed at the center of the parabolic antenna. After adopting the solid-state active array feed that integrates power amplification and radiation feeding, the power amplification and radiation output of the pulse signal are completed in one device. The solid-state power amplifier component directly feeds the transmission signal to the feed array to radiate outward, realizing the integration of the radar transmitter and feed line functions. At the same time, after adopting the solid-state transmission technology, the pulse waveform design is more flexible, the working mode of the radar system is more diverse, and more functions can be realized.

[0069] To achieve integrated integration, such as Figure 1 , 3 As shown in Figure 4, in the embodiment of the present invention, the feed cabin 3 has a front cabin and a rear cabin, the feed array 2 is installed in the front cabin of the feed cabin 3, that is, the front side of the feed cabin 3, and is blindly connected to the components of the rear cabin through the winding layer; the components and integrated network 4, namely the final power amplifier components, the front drive amplifier components and the array integrated network, are installed in the rear cabin of the feed cabin 3, that is, the rear side of the feed cabin 3, the transmitting front stage and the rectifier power supply module are installed in the central body below the feed cabin 3, and the main body of the feed cabin 3 is welded with aluminum alloy. The rear end of the feed array 2 is connected to the RF winding layer to realize the transition from the rear end port of the feed array to the front end port of the component.

[0070] A feed cover 1 is also included and is arranged at the front end of the feed cabin 3 as a protective shell.

[0071] The feed array radiates the transmit pulse signal output by the final power amplifier component into space, which is reflected by the antenna sub-reflector and illuminates the main reflector to form a transmit beam. F , scanning angle β, number of units N FParameters such as the radar operating wavelength and antenna beam scanning angle are related to the radar operating wavelength, antenna beam scanning angle, and the design parameters of the radar parabolic antenna. And the single-channel output power P of the final power amplifier component Et It can be estimated as follows. (Under typical application conditions of the Cassegrain antenna, the antenna beam scanning angle is within a few degrees, and the relevant formula is reasonably simplified.)

[0072] Feed array aperture size D F , scanning angle β, number of units N F The following conditions are met:

[0073] Feed array aperture size D F :

[0074]

[0075] Where: K F is the normalized feed aperture coefficient;

[0076] λ is the radar operating wavelength;

[0077] f e is the antenna equivalent parabola focal length coefficient;

[0078] A M is the diameter of the main reflector surface of the antenna;

[0079] Feed array scanning angle β:

[0080]

[0081] Where: θ is the antenna beam scanning angle;

[0082] A M is the diameter of the main reflector surface of the antenna;

[0083] A C is the diameter of the antenna sub-reflector;

[0084] Minimum number of feed array elements N F :

[0085]

[0086] The above formula is the mouth surface size D F The minimum number of units required for the feed array to scan at an angle of β without grating lobes. In practical applications, the number of units should be increased as much as possible to improve the transmission power of the feed array, provided that the electrical performance, structure, and heat dissipation design requirements of the feed array are met.

[0087] Figure 6 The figure shows the optical path diagram when the plane wave illuminates the antenna. Figure 7-Figure 8The figure shows the amplitude and phase distribution of the feed array when the incident angle of the electromagnetic wave is 0°. Figure 9-10 Shown is the amplitude and phase distribution at the location of the feed array when the incident angle of the electromagnetic wave is 1°.

[0088] At present, pulse measurement radar generally adopts a two-stage master oscillator amplifier transmitter, with a solid-state amplifier in the front stage and an electric vacuum tube amplifier in the final stage. The entire transmitter subsystem includes a front-stage amplifier, a final amplifier, a high-voltage power supply, a pulse modulator, a filament power supply, a magnetic field power supply, a titanium pump power supply, a control circuit, a cooling system, etc. The equipment is large in scale and generally requires at least two standard cabinets to be assembled. It must occupy a certain installation space and is usually placed in a machine room. The high-power radio frequency signal output by the transmitter is transmitted to the speaker illuminator through a waveguide for radiation. The embodiment of the present invention realizes power amplification by adopting a multi-channel parallel solid-state power amplifier component, which can greatly reduce the volume and weight of the transmitter.

[0089] The core device of the array feed proposed in the present invention is a solid-state power amplifier component, which has the advantages of small size, light weight, and high power density. The feed can replace the traditional master oscillator amplifier transmitter and be placed on the antenna reflector at the position of the original horn illuminator, which is equivalent to reducing the transmitter to the size of a parabolic antenna horn illuminator, and can be adapted to the reflector antenna, thereby greatly reducing the equipment size and weight of the transmission system.

[0090] On the premise that the pulse measurement radar achieves the same performance indicators, the scheme proposed in the embodiment of the present invention reduces the transmitter to a size that is basically equivalent to the horn feed of the parabolic antenna, and can be adapted to the reflector antenna. At the same time, due to the use of multi-channel parallel solid-state power amplifiers, the mission reliability of the radar system can be improved several times.

[0091] Radar antenna and transmitter are the hardware foundation for achieving radar functional performance indicators. Using arrayed solid-state transmission feeding technology, the traditional pulse measurement radar feed source is composed of a transmitter and a feed horn, and the transmission power is centrally amplified by a feed source. The array used in the present invention is a plurality of small solid-state power amplifiers and radiation units to form an array feed source, and the power is radiated by each unit in the array to form a transmission beam in space. On the one hand, the solid-state power amplifier can be used to conveniently set working parameters, making the pulse waveform design more flexible and the working mode of the radar system more diverse; on the other hand, the array feed source has phase scanning capability, which enables the antenna to have a certain small-angle beam scanning performance, thereby greatly improving the radar system's ability to search and discover high-dynamic targets, and supporting and ensuring that the radar system can achieve more functions.

[0092] Furthermore, the embodiment of the present invention also provides a pulse measurement radar with integrated power amplifier and feed, specifically, the solid-state active array feed source is installed at the center of the main reflector of the radar parabolic antenna, and the main surface, sub-surface and central axis of the solid-state active array feed source of the radar parabolic antenna coincide. When the radar system is working, the transmission excitation signal generated by the frequency source is amplified by the front-stage power amplifier component and distributed to the final power amplifier component after network power division. The final power amplifier component amplifies the transmission excitation signal to the peak power and adjusts the phase shift according to the wave control code. Then, the feed source array is used to illuminate the antenna sub-reflector, and the sub-reflector is reflected to the main reflector of the antenna and radiates to the space, realizing the complete process of power amplification, transmission and feeding radiation of the radar system pulse transmission signal.

[0093] The entire solid-state active array feed source has an approximately circular appearance and is installed at the center of the main reflector of the radar parabolic antenna through the middle flange mounting surface. Figure 2 As shown. The center body adopts a conical structure, which has good rigidity and is easy to connect with the antenna seat connector below. The center body is a closed cavity for installing electronic equipment such as the pre-transmitter cabinet, rectifier power cabinet, and frequency source cabinet. The top flange of the center body provides a positioning reference and foundation for installing the feed source. A transition section is set between the center body and the feed source to ensure installation and maintenance space.

[0094] In summary, the embodiment of the present invention integrates the transmitter and feed source into an integrated design, replaces the electric vacuum tube device with a highly integrated microwave semiconductor solid-state power amplifier component, uses an antenna array with limited beam scanning capability as a feed illuminator, and integrates the feed source and transmitter that were originally arranged separately into a solid-state active array feed source, replacing the original horn feed source in situ. At the same time, the waveguide feed line is eliminated, and the output of the solid-state power amplifier component is directly fed to the antenna array to radiate into space. This solution can greatly improve the working reliability of the radar system and simplify the scale of the system composition; and because the feed line loss is eliminated, the detection power can be increased, which is of great significance for improving the overall performance of the pulse measurement radar.

[0095] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "comprises", "includes" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or apparatus that includes a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or apparatus.

[0096] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, a person skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments may still be modified, or some of the technical features may be replaced by equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A solid-state active array feed, characterized in that: The solid-state active array feed comprises: A feed array, composed of multiple radiating units, is used to transmit pulse signals; Distributed solid-state power amplification system, used for amplifying and outputting pulse signals; The distributed solid-state power amplification system comprises: The final power amplifier component integrates power amplification, digital phase shifting, digital delay, switch isolation and beam control functions, and is connected to the feed source array; The front-stage driving amplifier component provides an excitation signal for the final-stage power amplifier component and amplifies the control and local oscillator clock signals respectively; Array integrated network, used for distribution and transmission of excitation signals, as well as control and local oscillator clock signals; Rectifier power module, providing power for distributed solid-state power amplifier system.

2. The solid-state active array feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rectifier power supply module is divided into a plurality of independently working modules, and each module is independently powered.

3. The solid-state active array feed according to claim 2, characterized in that: Each module consists of a series power supply link of a multi-channel power filter, a rectifier power module, and an output energy storage capacitor, and adopts an N+1 redundant parallel design to power the distributed solid-state power amplifier system.

4. The solid-state active array feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: A solid-state active array feed is integrated in a feed cabin (3), the feed array is placed at the front side of the feed cabin (3), and the cloth-type solid-state power amplification system is placed at the rear side of the feed cabin (3); a transmitting front stage and a rectifier power supply module are installed in a central body below the feed cabin (3); The feed source array is connected to a distributed solid-state power amplification system via a radio frequency cable.

5. The solid-state active array feed according to claim 4, characterized in that: It also comprises a feed cover (1), wherein the feed cover (1) is arranged at the front end of the feed cabin (3).

6. The solid-state active array feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: Feed array aperture size D F , scanning angle β, number of units N F The following conditions are met: Feed array aperture size D F : Where: K F is the normalized feed aperture coefficient; λ is the radar operating wavelength; f e is the antenna equivalent parabola focal length coefficient; A M is the diameter of the main reflector surface of the antenna; Feed array scanning angle β: Where: θ is the antenna beam scanning angle; A M is the diameter of the main reflector surface of the antenna; A C is the diameter of the antenna sub-reflector; Minimum number of feed array elements N F :

7. The solid-state active array feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The final stage power amplifier component adopts a microwave semiconductor solid-state power amplifier device.

8. A pulse measurement radar, characterized in that: The solid-state active array feed described in any one of claims 1-7 is installed at the center of the main reflecting surface of the radar parabola antenna, and the main surface, sub-surface and center axis of the solid-state active array feed of the radar parabola antenna coincide with each other.

9. The pulse measurement radar according to claim 7, characterized in that: The solid-state active array feed source is installed at the center of the main reflecting surface of the radar parabolic antenna through the middle flange.

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