January 2011 1

Minimally Invasive Instrumentation System

MIISHPM Field-Testing Application

August 2011Dr. P. Parhami, SARA

pparhami@sara.com

2June 2011

Purpose of Our Visit

• Introduction to a new class of instrumentation system under development which can provide verification of HPM effects and M&S in operational environments– Minimally invasive– Massively parallel– ~10X lower cost per parallel channel

3June 2011

Introduction to SARA

• Diversified R&D company– DETEC: TREM, GTIM, mmTarget Board

• EMP Products and Services– Facility EMP hardening, test services

>MIL-STD-188-125

– Aircraft EMP hardening, test services >MIL-STD-3023 draft

– Instrumentation system, data management workstations

• HPM– Advanced HPM antennas

SARA is a Leading Innovator in HPM/HPRF Antennas

World’s 1st Fully-Steerable HPM Antenna

Flat Aperture Waveguide Sidewall- Emitting Antenna (FAWSEA)

Highly-Deployable, Field-Replaceable, Broad-band HPRF Antenna for Close-range DEW.Curved Aperture Waveguide Sidewall-

Emitting Antenna (CAWSEA) • Supports portal screening for human-borne IEDs.• Circularly-polarized couples to a wider variety

of Points-of-Entry (PoEs) than linear-pol antennas.• Minimizes exposure of U.S. forces to potentially

hostile bomb incidents.• Stores compactly; easily-replaceable in the field.

• Unusually low-profile allows it to fit into shallow-depth airborne platforms.

• HPM-tested 100% successful at KAFB.• Superb high-power handling and gain.• Designs adaptable to a very wide

range of aperture aspect ratios.• US Patent # 7,528,786.

• Supports engagements with moving targets• High-gain, rapidly-steerable beam• Experimentally-validated.• In use by MAXPOWER• US Patent # 6,559,807.

• This curved version of the FAWSEA enables even more conformal fits to many highly-compact airborne platforms.

• Novel feed system compensates for aperture phase error.• Superb high-power handling (like FAWSEA) and gain.• Designs adaptable to a very wide range of aspect ratios.

100+ MW class HPM

GW-class HPM

Multi-kW HPRF,CW or long pulse

GW-class HPM

5June 2011

Agenda

• A cost-effective instrumentation system is needed for operational environments– Able to measure >100 of parallel channels– Uses minimally invasive sensors

• Introducing MIIS– A new test paradigm– Under development (DTRA sponsorship)

• MIIS-HPM concept– Offering leap forward in capability in ~ 1 year

6June 2011

Need Better Understanding of HPM Coupling and Propagation

• Need to accurately estimate HPM energy at target locations in operational environment– Minimally invasive (minimal perturbation)– Correlation to laboratory effects testing– Validate M&S codes

• Candidate operational applications:– IED defeat: Impact of lossy and

inhomogeneous ground on HPM beam pattern– Counter Electronics: HPM coupling to

complex unhardened structures– Car stopping: HPM coupling to vehicle cables

7June 2011

Direction

of flight

X

Y

See for details

HPM Field Testing Shortcomings

• HPM antenna patterns are estimated through M&S and validated in anechoic chambers

• Field patterns vary greatly in presence of inhomogeneous ground, complex structures, random clutter, …

• Limited number of sensors used in today’s field testing leave many questions unanswered:– What was the actual HPM field

pattern?– Where were the sensor probes in

relation to the pattern Max, Min? – Where were the sensor probes in

relation to the rep-rate timing?– How distorted were the measured

fields due to the sensor cables?

XX

X

8June 2011

MIIS HPM Application Example

Direction

of flight

X

Y

From file: CAWSEA_groundspot_150ft_altitude.mph

Via balanced E&HStratton-Chu A.I.

Moving HPM Platform

MIIS node integrated field sensor

Wi-Fi Router

EthernetCable

ControlComputer

Sensor matrix form a wireless network

Near real-time monitoring of HPM field pattern or coupling

DigitalF.O.

9June 2011

Existing HPM Measurement Systems

• DETEC-sponsored “HPM Sensor Suite” 30 parallel channels (EG&G)– Analog fiber optics lines bring back sensed signals to a shelter

full of digitizers– Too expensive to expand beyond 30 parallel channels– Too invasive for field applications

> coax connection (sensor to analog F.O. transmitters)

– Limited to the range of analog F.O. lines– Time consuming to deploy

• DETEC-sponsored Field Strength Sensor Network (FSSN)– 8 parallel wireless nodes, developed for long term operation

> Custom node hardware

– Not cost effective for 100+ channels– Not designed for internal meaurements

10June 2011

Agenda

• A cost-effective instrumentation system is needed for operational environments– Able to measure >100 of parallel channels– Use minimally invasive sensors

• Introducing MIIS– A new test paradigm– Under development (DTRA sponsorship)

• MIIS-HPM concept– Offering leap forward in capability in ~ 1 year

11June 2011

Traditional Instrumentation Architecture

System Under Test

• • •

Sensors

Control Computer

Excitation Signal

Transmitter

Fiber Optics Analog

TransceiverFiber Optics

Analog Tansceiver

Recording Instrumentation

• • •

• • •

Shield modification

Aperture

Fiber Optics Analog

Transceiver

Fiber Optics Analog

Transceiver

12June 2011

MIIS Revolutionary Architecture

System Under Test

• • • • • •

Sensors

Interface Node 1

Wireless Router

DigitalOptical

Link

Control Computer

Excitation Signal

Transmitter

DigitalOptical

Link

Aperture

Interface Node 2

Interface Node n

13June 2011

Maximum Reusability for HPM Applications

DTRA MIISBackbone

Reusable Rapidly Deployable Digital Network

• Daisy chained digital F.O.• Wi-Fi links• Maximum use of COTS standards

and components• Common control and communication

toolbox for all applications

ApplicationsApplicationsApplicationsControl Software

Sensor HeadsSensor HeadsSensor HeadsSensor HeadsSensor Heads

• Application specific detection hardware

• Interfaces with Backbone interface

• Calls to the Backbone control and communication toolbox

• Custom needs for each class of applications

MIIS Backbone, EMP Control, and CWI sensor head currently under development (sponsored by DTRA)

14June 2011

Agenda

• A cost-effective instrumentation system is needed for operational environments– Able to measure >100 of parallel channels– Use minimally invasive sensors

• Introducing MIIS– A new test paradigm– Under development (DTRA sponsorship)

• MIIS-HPM concept– Offering leap forward in capability in ~ 1 year

15June 2011

HPM Field-Test Instrumentation System

• HPM field test requirements:– Simultaneously measure field components at

many distributed locations >~100 or more locations, spread over ~100s meters

– Reduce cost/channel by ~ 10X– Control computer placed >> 100 meters away– Measure true field versus perturbed field– Rapidly deployable sensor matrix– Survive HPM environment– GPS location and timing

16June 2011

MIIS HPM Application Example

Direction

of flight

X

Y

From file: CAWSEA_groundspot_150ft_altitude.mph

Via balanced E&HStratton-Chu A.I.

Moving HPM Platform

MIIS node integrated field sensor

Wi-Fi Router

EthernetCable

ControlComputer

Sensor matrix form a wireless network

Near real-time monitoring of HPM field pattern or coupling

DigitalF.O.

17June 2011

HPM Sensor Interface Node Concept

SARA IR&D

• Sensor node control processor:– Low Power Microprocessor– Multi-channel A/D– 16+ GB or more static memory– Wireless and digital F.O. Comm– Interface with third party current probes– Size of a deck a cards!

• Sensor node with integrated 3-axis field sensor:– Narrowband HPM envelop– Wideband HPM waveform

18June 2011

Summary/Feedback

• HPM Laboratory Effects data and M&S results need to be validated in operational environments– Radiating over lossy & inhomogeneous ground– Coupling to complex structures

• MIIS an important piece of the puzzle! – Economical (10X savings/channel)– Massively parallel– Minimally invasive, minimally intrusive– Digital backbone and EMP application under development– HPM sensor prototypes under development (SARA IR&D)

>Uses the identical digital backbone