High-Performance, Low-Cost Communications Solutions

What Is It?

The High Performance, Low Cost Communications Solutions effort within the Future Naval Capabilities program investigates innovative radio and aperture developments that are intended to reduce procurement, installation and sustainment costs. These solutions will increase the reliability and number of simultaneous wideband radio frequency (RF) data links aboard ship for both networking and persistent surveillance.

How Does It Work?

The program will develop low-cost solutions for selected RF components using new technologies in both SiGe and GaAs. It will combine low-cost components with RF circuit card technologies to develop low cost multibeam phased arrays. These solutions can reduce overwater multipath fading without growth in aperture size via digital combination of vertically separated array panels and can provide a cost reduction when the arrays are coupled with programmable open architecture radio modules.

What Will It Accomplish?

The effort will allow multiple, simultaneous surface-to-air links without taking up valuable topside real estate aboard ship. The program will afford the fleet with a cost competitive solution with the use of multiple dish antennas while also facilitating integration of flat panel arrays into topside structures.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has embarked on an effort to improve the cost and performance of wideband RF data systems operated aboard ships and to make them suitable for use in networking applications. This effort focuses on the development of modular, low-cost phased arrays and programmable radio solutions that can be distributed over the shipboard topside and connected to below-decks signal processing units.

The use of wideband RF links to support persistent surveillance missions has greatly increased for surface ships. Many platforms require multiple data links to support their surveillance requirements. This necessitates the use of separate mechanically pointed parabolic antennas for each link, resulting in excessive use of topside space.

Such antennas do not support the use of networking waveforms, which require fast pointing and tracking, and are not amenable to the use of diversity techniques that can mitigate multipath fading. The alternative is the use of electrically pointed phased array antennas that have not seen extensive use due to high procurement cost. Phased arrays have the ability to support multiple beams in a single structure, enabling the surface platform to meet multilink surveillance and communications requirements using a smaller footprint aboard ships.

ONR’s effort will result in the development of prototype multibeam arrays that employ highly integrated state-of-the-art SiGe and GaAs phase shifters, low noise
amplifiers and power amplifiers to reduce both the size and cost of these arrays.
Chips with multiple integrated components used in arrays are expected to be available
at costs approaching $5/chip. These arrays will also be capable of being used
with new high performance, programmable signal processing radio modules in the
implementation of diversity combining techniques. This will improve link performance
and potentially allow reduction of array size. The arrays developed will support fast
switching used for emerging networking waveforms, making the arrays suitable for
implementation of communications networks over high bandwidth links.

Research Challenges and Opportunities:

  • Implementation of SiGe and GaAs devices with adequate noise and distortion performance for the shipboard environment
  • Lower component cost and increase device yields in wafer runs
  • Open architecture radio and radio module architectures for use above 2 GHz that are programmable to support emerging and legacy wideband waveforms

Point of Contact

Douglas Crowder
(703) 588-0185
douglas.crowder@navy.mil

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