From phased array to holographic radar

Abstract

A new radar system named holographic radar is proposed in this paper. The new radar records the transmission pattern of the electromagnetic wave instead of the directed amplitude and phase information from individual target, which is utilized by the traditional electronic scanning radar. The recorded pattern can then be studied for target detection or for radar imaging. The advantages of the new radar system are multi-folds: a. the receiver elements do not need to be synchronized in sampling, b. radar system can resolve the ranges of interested targets using a single frequency waveform instead of a wide bandwidth signal, and c. the single frequency waveform reduces the complexity of the microwave circuits which build up the radar system.