Conceptual design of a dual-use radar/communication system based on OFDM

The paper describes a novel system which can be used interchangeably as a radar sensor and communication device. The system is being developed at Miami University using COTS components and its digital part is based on OFDM architecture. Arbitrary waveform generator with high-speed DSP capabilities is being used to create either random or deterministic OFDM waveforms and a high-speed ADC board is used in the receiverpsilas baseband portion to recover the incoming signals. OFDM technique is already widely used in broadband communications; however it is shown that system architecture based on this method of data coding and modulation can also be used in radar with minimum modifications. Indeed, modeling study shows that OFDM radar signals perform well in presence of jamming and interference and possess noise-like qualities making them good candidates for low probability of detect/intercept (LPI/LPD) system implementation. The system concept and design are discussed and LPI/LPD features of OFDM signals are illustrated via spectrogram. Experimental data from a baseband radar/communication digital system transceiver link operating at 300 MHz bandwidth are presented.