Spatial Array

Digital Beamforming and Filtering

Tim D. Reichard, M.S.

L-3 Communications Integrated Systems

Garland, Texas
972.205.8411
Timothy.D.Reichard@L-3Com.com

AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 1

 Spatial Array Digital
Beamforming and Filtering
OUTLINE

• Propagating Plane Waves Overview

• Processing Domains

• Types of Arrays and the Co-Array Function

• Delay and Sum Beamforming

– Narrowband
– Broadband

• Spatial Sampling

• Minimum Variance Beamforming

• Adaptive Beamforming and Interference Nulling

• Some System Applications and General Design Considerations

• Summary

AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 2

 Propagating Plane Waves
Monochromatic Plane Wave (far-field):
k 2s + 2s + 2s = 1 . 2s
x
k = Wavenumber Vector = direction of propagation
x = Sensor position vector where wave is observed
s(xo,t) = Ae j(t - k . xo)
Temporal Freq. Spatial Freq.
(|k| = )
Notation: Lowercase Underline indicates 1-D matrix (k)
Uppercase Underline indicates 2-D matrix (R)
 or H indicates matrix conjugate-transpose
AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR
Using Maxwell’s equations on an E-M
field in free space, the Wave Equation
is defined as:
x2 y2 z2 c2 t2
• Governs how signals pass from a radiating
source to a sensing array
• Linear - so many plane waves in differing
directions can exist simultaneously => the
Superposition Principal
• Planes of constant phase such that
movement of x over time t is constant
• Speed of propagation for a lossless medium
is |x|/t = c
• Slowness vector:  = k/ and || = 1/c
• Sensor placed at the origin has only a
temporal frequency relation:
s([0,0,0], t) = Ae jt
Page 3
 Processing Domains
s(x, t) = s(t -  . x)
s(x, t)

Space-Time

e-jt
ejk.x

ejt
e-jk.x
S(x, ) S(k, t)

Wavenumber -
Space-Freq Time

ejt
e-jk.x

e-jt
ejk.x (or beamspace)

Wavenumber -
Frequency

S(k, )
AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 4
 Some Array Types and
the Co-Array Function
# Redundancies
Uniform Linear Array (ULA)
Co-Array 6

m= 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 4

x 2
d
origin M=7
0 1d 2d 3d 4d 5d 6d x
2-D Array
Co-Array Function:
C() =  wm1w*m2
m1,m2
x
where; m1 and m2 are a set of
indices for xm2 – xm1 = 
d
- Desire to minimize redundancies and
- Choose spacing to prevent aliasing
Sparse Linear Array (SLA)
# Redundancies
4
m= 0 1 2 3 Co-Array 3 “A Perfect Array”
2
x
d 1
M=4
0 1d 2d 3d 4d 5d 6d x

AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 5

 Delay and Sum Beamformer
(Narrowband)
s(x,t) = e j(ot - ko . x)
k
o

y0(t) w*0
Delay
0
y1(t) w*1
Delay
. 1 . z(t)
. . 
.
.
yM-1(t) w*M-1
Delay
M-1

Time Domain:
M-1 M-1
 w*m e-j(om + ko . xm) = wHy
z(t) =m=0 w*m ym(t - m) = ejom=0
t

Freq Domain:
M-1 M-1
 w*mYm(xm) ej(ko . xm) = eHWY
=  w*mYm(xm) e-j(om) = m=0
Z() m=0

e is a Mx1 steering vector  -||ko||

let m = (-||ko|| . xm) / c
AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 6
 Delay and Sum Beamformer
(Broadband)

y1(n)
z-1 z-1 z-1
..
w*1,0 w*1,1 . w*1,L-1
...
y2(n)
z-1 z-1 z-1
z(n)
.. 
w*2,0 w*2,1 . w*2,L-1
...
.
.
.
yJ(n) J = number of sensor channels
z-1 z-1 z-1
.. L = number of FIR filter tap weights
w*J,0 w*J,1 . w*J,L-1
...

J L-1
z(n) =   w*m,p ym(n - p) = wHy(n)
m=1 p=0

AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 7

 Spatial Sampling

M-Sensor ULA Interpolation Beamformer (at location xo):

y0(n) u’0(n) w0
Delay
I 0
y1(n) w1
Delay z(n)
. I 1
.  LPF
I
. . (/I)
. . Down-sample
yM-1(n) u’M-1(n) wM-1
Delay
I M-1
Up-sample

M-1
z(n) =  wm  ym(k) * h((n-k)T-m)
m=0 k

• Motivation: Reduce aberrations introduced by delay quantization

• Postbeamforming interpolation is illustrated with polyphase filter

AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 8

 Minimum Variance (MV) Beamformer

• Apply a weight vector w to sensor outputs to emphasize a steered direction () while
suppressing other directions such that at  = o: Real {ew} = 1

Hence: min
w
E[ |wy|2] yields => wopt = R-1 e / [eR-1e ]

Conventional (Delay & Sum Beamformer) Steered Response Power:

PCONV(e) = [ eWY ] [ YWe ] = eR e for unity weights

Minimum Variance Steered Response Power:

PMV(e) = woptR wopt = [eR-1e ]-1

• MVBF weights adjust as the steering vector changes
• Beampattern varies according to SNR of incoming signals
• Sidelobe structure can produce nulls where other signal(s) may be present
• MVBF provides “excellent” signal resolution wrt steered beam over the
Conventional Delay & Sum beamformer
• MVBF direction estimation accuracy for a given signal increases as SNR increases

R = spatial correlation matrix = YY

AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 9
 ULA Beamformer Comparison

;  = o

PCONV() =
[e(R e()]

PMV() =
[e(R-1 e()]-1

AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 10

 Adaptive Beamformer Example #1 -
Frost GSC Architecture

Constrained Optimization:
min wRw subject to Cw = c

Frost GSC† Setup:

• For Minimum Variance let C = e, c = 1
w • e = Array Steering Vector cued to SOI
y0(l)
• R is Spatial Correlation Matrix = y(l)y(l)
Adaptive
Non-Adaptive wc

Algorithm • Rideal= ss + I2 = Signal Est. + Noise Est.

y1(l)
Adaptive w

. . . z(l) • Determine Step Size () using Rideal:

. . . 
 = 0.1*(3*trace[PRidealP])-1
. . .
yM-1(l) • P = I - C(CC)-1C
• wc = C(CC)-1c
• w(l=0) = wc
Adaptive (Iterative) Portion:

• z(l) = w(l)y(l)
• w(l+1) = wc + P[w(l) - z*(l)y(l)]

†
- General Sidelobe Canceller
AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 11
 Example Scenario for a Digital
Minimum Variance Beamformer
Coherent Interference Signal Signal of Interest (SOI)
(7 deg away & 5dB down from SOI) location

PMV() =
[e(R-1e()]-1 Shows Signals
Resolvable

Beam Steered to SOI with

M-1 0.4 degree pointing error
wmej(k.x)
W(k) =m=0

Setup Info used:

• N = 500 samples
• M = 9 sensors, ULA with d = /2 spacing • Aperture Size (D) = 8d
• SOI pulse present in samples 100 to 300 • Array Gain = M for unity wm m
• Co-Interference pulse present in samples 250 to 450
AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 12
 Example of Frost GSC Adaptive
†
Beamformer Performance Results

†
- via Matlab simulation
AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 13
 Adaptive Beamformer Example #2 -
Robust GSC Architecture
Constrained Optimization:
min wRw subject to Cw = c and ||Bwa||2 < 2 - ||wc||2
Robust GSC
where  is constraint placed on adapted weight vector
y0(l) Setup:
Delay w*c(0)
0 • For Minimum Variance let C = e, c = 1
y1(l) • e = Array Steering Vector cued to SOI
w*c(1)
Delay
. 1 . + z(l) • B is Blocking Matrix such that BC = 0
. .  
. _ • Determine Step Size () using Rideal:
.
yM-1(l) w*c(M-1)
Delay  = 0.1*(max BRidealB)-1
~
M-1
• wa = Bwa
~
w*a,0(l) wa
• wc = C(CC)-1c
Adaptive (Iterative) Portion:
.
. B
w*a,M-1(l)

. • yB(l) = By(l)
~
• v(l) = wa(l) + z*(l)B yB(l)
wa LMS ~
Algorithm ||v(l)||2 < 2 - ||wc||2
• wa(l+1) = v(l),

~ (2-||wc||2)1/2 v(l)/||v(l)||, otherwise

• z(l) = [wc - wa(l)]y(l)

AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 14
 Example of Robust GSC Adaptive
†
Beamformer Performance Results

†
- via Matlab simulation
AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 15
 Adaptive Beamformer
Relative Performance Comparisons

RMS Phase Noise = 136 mrad

RMS Phase Error = 32 mrad

• SOI Pulsewidth retained for both; Robust has better response

• Robust method’s blocking matrix isolates adaptive weighting to nonsteered response
• Good phase error response for the filtered beamformer results
• Amplitude reductions due to contributions from array pattern and adaptive portions
• The larger the step size (), the faster the adaptation
• Additional constraints can be used with these algorithms
• min PRP is proportional to noise variance => adaptation rate is roughly proportional to SNR
AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 16
 Applications to Passive Digital
Receiver Systems
y0(t)
DCM BPF Digitizer

Steering Vector
y1(t)
Signal
DCM BPF Digitizer Adaptive
. . Beamformer
Detection and
Parameter
. . Encoding
. .
yM-1(t)
DCM BPF Digitizer

• Sparse Array useful for reducing FE hardware

while attempting to retain aperture size ->
spatial resolution
• Aperture Size (D) = 17d in case with d = /2
and sensor spacings of {0, d, 3d, 6d, 2d, 5d}
• Co-array computation used to verify no spatial
aliasing for chosen sensor spacings
• Tradeoff less HW for slightly lower array gain
• Further reductions possible with subarray
averaging at expense of beam-steering
response and resolution performance
AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 17
 Summary

• Digital beamforming provides additional flexibility for spatial filtering and

suppression of unwanted signals, including coherent interferers
• Various types of arrays can be used to suit specific applications
• Minimum Variance beamforming provides excellent spatial resolution
performance over conventional BF and adjusts according to SNR of
incoming signals
• Adaptive algorithms, implemented iteratively can provide moderate to fast
monopulse convergence and provide additional reduction of unwanted
signals relative to user defined optimum constraints imposed on the design
• Adaptive, dynamic beamforming aids in retention of desired signal
characteristics for accurate signal parameter measurements using both
amplitude and complex phase information
• Linear Arrays can be utilized in many ways depending on application and
performance priorities

AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 18

 References

D. Johnson and D. Dudgeon, “Array Signal Processing Concepts and Techniques,”

Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1993.

V. Madisetti and D. Williams, “The Digital Signal Processing Handbook,” CRC Press,
Boca Raton, FL, 1998.

H.L. Van Trees, “Optimum Array Processing - Part IV of Detection, Estimation and
Modulation Theory,” John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, 2002.

J. Tsui, “Digital Techniques for Wideband Receivers - Second Edition,” Artech

House, Norwood, MA, 2001.

AES Brief – 25-Mar-03 TDR Page 19