Updates on the OU All-Digital Dual-Polarization Phased Array (Horus)

The University of Oklahoma’s Advanced Radar Research Center has been developing a demonstrator that will be the first fully-digital, S-band, dual-polarization radar for weather applications. The system will consist of a 1024-element array on a mobile platform, producing a roughly 4 deg. beam. Its goal is not to serve as a scientific instrument, but rather to provide substantial insight into the practical (and future) integration, power, and cost challenges associated with a larger-scale digital architecture while providing ample opportunities to explore the numerous calibration, beamforming, flexibility, and lifecycle management advantages that the architecture inherently affords.

The presentation will detail recent developments towards a line-replaceable unit (LRU), which consists of one of the 16 8x8-element sub-panels making up the overall array. These liquid-cooled sub-panels house the entirety of radiating elements, front-end/transceiver, data-converter, digital beamforming, and waveform generation hardware. System-level performance estimates, development plans, and engineering science research goals for 2018 will also be covered in the presentation.

This abstract was prepared with funding provided by NOAA/Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research under NOAA-University of Oklahoma Cooperative Agreement #NA11OAR4320072, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or the U.S. Department of Commerce.