New approach to spectrum and emitter simulation: For the evaluation of radar and electronic warfare systems

Abstract

Radar and electronic warfare (EW) systems operate in an increasingly cluttered electro-magnetic (EM) environment. Evaluating system hardware with a variety of spectral and emitter scenarios helps characterize system performance in the presence of multiple emitters of interest and potential interferers that can be either non-intentional or intentional. DAC technology has evolved to the point where wide instantaneous bandwidths and high resolution is available with the current generation of arbitrary waveform generators (AWG). The true power of an AWG is in its ability to generate virtually any waveform downloaded into its memory making it easy to create radar and communications emitters scattered across a synthetic test range that simulates thousands of cubic miles of airspace. This paper will propose new approaches to spectrum and emitter simulation using high precision AWGs and investigate their use in applications which in the past have required a much more complicated, costly and multi-instrument solution. It will explore unique methods for baseband waveform creation, extending scenario length through the efficient use of memory, and upconversion of wideband composite signals to RF and microwave frequencies.