Digital Antenna Array Heterodyne Signal Distribution System

One of the main differences between radar systems based on receiving APAA and DAA is signal processing. While APAA demodulates the summary of all signals received from antenna array, DAA demodulates and digitizes each received signal before the forming of radiation pattern. The problem in signal demodulation in DAA is supplying the receiving channels with reference signal. Placing heterodynes in each receiving channel is not optimal for a few reasons - the high price of components, high power drain and generation of high excessive heat. The method proposed in this paper is appliance of the heterodyne signal distribution block that distributes the signal from a single heterodyne to each receiving channel of radar system with required power level. The architecture and characteristics of the proposed block are also described in this paper.