Distributed High Speed Optical Network for Digital Radar Systems

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel distributed high-speed optical network architecture for digital radar systems, leveraging optical communication advances and FPGA technology to handle high data throughput and reduce design complexity.

Contribution

It introduces a new distributed optical interface network scheme utilizing high-speed optical transport and FPGA integration for digital radar data distribution.

Findings

Achieves high data throughput over optical links.

Reduces complexity in element-level digital beamforming.

Utilizes FPGA and optical communication advances.

Abstract

Modern Digital radar systems with multiple digital beamforming capability are built of a large number of receivers and requires high-speed data interface links for transmission of receiver baseband data to processor units. High data throughput (>250Mbyte/sec) from typical eight-channel receivers will be transmitted to Digital beamformer over high-speed serial interface links over an optical channel. Currently for digital radar systems with sub-array level beam former distribution of receiver data is through point to point optical interface links. For the modern element-level digital beamforming radars the distribution of baseband data increases the design complexity. In this paper novel scheme of usage of distributed optical interface network is discussed using high-speed optical transport networks, FPGAs as well as distributed techniques to over the above problem. The recent advances in optical communication and feature of FPGA devices are utilized in the implementation of optical distribution networks and these schemes are covered in this paper.