Wideband range-Doppler processing and beamforming using electro-optic arrays and spectral hole burning materials

Ubiquitous radar systems look everywhere at all times and require both parallel radar processors and parallel beamformers. Current systems operate with subgigahertz bandwidths and produce a handful of angle-of-arrival (AOA) beams. We present an electro-optic radar processor that combines the multigigahertz wideband capabilities of a spectral hole burning correlator with wideband Doppler processing and the thousands of parallel channels available from an electro-optical beamformer. Preliminary experiments demonstrate 150 MHz bandwidth range correlations across 20 AOA beams. [c] 2010 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 090.4220, 280.5110, 070.4340, 070.4550, 070.0070.