Distributed retrodirective array of mobile tethered elements
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsDavid D. Crouch, James J. Richardson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system includes an input configured to receive a plurality of detected scattered signals from a target. The system also includes a common ground station configured to receive the detected scattered signals, determine phase conjugations of the detected scattered signals, and generate phase-conjugated signals. The system further includes an output configured to provide the phase-conjugated signals from the common ground station to each of a plurality of array elements of a distributed retrodirective array. The phase conjugations of the detected demodulated scattered signals enable the phase-conjugated signals to arrive at the target having substantially a same phase.
Claims20
A system comprising:
- an input configured to collect a plurality of RF modulated optical signals scattered from a target;
- a common ground station configured to receive and demodulate the collected plurality of RF modulated optical signals scattered from the target and to phase conjugate the received collected plurality of demodulated RF modulated optical signals scattered from the target to generate phase-conjugated RF signals;
- and
- an output configured to provide the phase-conjugated RF signals from the common ground station to each of a plurality of array elements of a distributed retrodirective array;
- and
- wherein phase conjugation of the received plurality of demodulated RF modulated optical signals scattered from the target enable the phase-conjugated RF signals to arrive at the target having substantially a same phase.
A method comprising:
- receiving a plurality of RF modulated optical signals scattered from a target from a plurality of array elements of a distributed retrodirective array at a common ground station over a plurality of tethered connections;
- demodulating the plurality of RF modulated optical signals scattered from the target at the common ground station;
- phase conjugating the received collected plurality of demodulated RF modulated optical signals scattered from the target to generate phase conjugated RF signals at the common ground station;
- and
- transmitting phase-conjugated RF signals from the common ground station to the array elements over the tethered connections.
A distributed retrodirective array system comprising:
- a plurality of array elements configured to form a three-dimensional distributed retrodirective array, the array elements configured to collect a plurality of scattered RF-modulated optical signals from a virtual beacon modulated by a radio frequency (RF) pilot signal on a target and transmit phase-conjugated signals to the target;
- a common ground station configured to receive and demodulate the collected plurality of scattered RF modulated optical signals from the target and to phase conjugate the received collected plurality of demodulated scattered RF modulated optical signals to generate phase-conjugated RF signals;
- a plurality of tethered connections configured to connect the array elements to the common ground station and transport the collected plurality of scattered RF-modulated optical signals and the phase-conjugated RF signals between the array elements and the common ground station;
- and
- wherein conjugated phases of the collected plurality of demodulated scattered RF-modulated optical signals enable the phase-conjugated RF signals to arrive at the target having substantially a same phase.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.