Sandia Labs FY22 Laboratory Directed Research & Development Annual Report

ADMMA PROJECT ENABLES BEAM-AGILE RF SENSING AND PROMISES UNPRECEDENTED FLEXIBILITY AND PERFORMANCE.

The Advanced Digital Multi-Mission Aperture (ADMMA) project tackled the technical challenge of radio frequency (RF) device physics limiting ultra-wide-band (UWB) antenna electronic beam steering performance. It does this by implementing real-time UWB digital-signal-processing algorithms using state-of-the-art RF System-on-Chip devices to achieve unparalleled

for radar and high-bandwidth data/communication links. This project created a high-power antenna aperture prototype utilizing emergent high efficiency gallium nitride devices and developed novel digital beam formation/processing/calibration techniques that enabled UWB electronic beam steering for next-generation multi-mission RF sensing. ADMMA’s flexibility and resiliency improves our nation’s ability to achieve RF superiority/ dominance in complex electromagnetic contested environments. (PI: Jacques Loui)

beam, frequency, and signal agilities. Such an approach not only increases system resistance to electronic jamming but also reduces probability of interception

A computer-aided design rendering of the ADMMA prototype.

PI Jacques Loui, left, and a firmware developer are part of a team redesigning high-performance radar as a flexible, multipurpose sensor. (Photo by Craig Fritz)

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LABORATORY DIRECTED RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT