3:45 PM - 4:00 PM
[PEM09-21] Development of the imaging receiver system for the SuperDARN Hokkaido East radar
Keywords:SuperDARN, imaging receiver
The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) is a network of High-Frequency (HF) radars located in the high- and mid-latitude regions of both hemispheres, operating continuously with a typical temporal resolution of 1 to 2 minutes. This resolution corresponds to the Nyquist frequency range of 4 to 8 mHz. In order to monitor any variations shorter than 1 min, such as Pc3 pulsations, the radar should choose a special beam scanning mode at the cost of the 1-min scanning period for the whole field of view.
In order to overcome this problem, several solutions have been proposed. One of them is the radar with imaging capability, which enables to sample data for multiple beam directions simultaneously. Several radars have adopted this method since 10 years ago. Meanwhile, traditional-style imaging radars adopted a costly A/D board so that the cost of building the radar system was high.
Software-Defined Radio (SDR), using a much less expensive A/D unit than the traditional A/D boards, is useful for the radar receiver system. A few imaging radars with the Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP), i.e., one of the SDR, are operating in the high latitude regions such as in Canada. In contrast, there is no imaging radar with the USRP in the mid-latitude region yet.
In this paper, we report on the present status and the future perspectives of an imaging receiver system that we plan to install for the SuperDARN Hokkaido East radar. We have developed a prototype (4-ch subset out of 20-ch array) of the SuperDARN imaging receiver system consisting mainly of USRP receiver units. This prototype set was attached to the SuperDARN Hokkaido East radar for testing in June-July 2020. With this 4-ch subset system, we succeeded in obtaining the data consistent with the preexisting receiver’s data. Installation of the imaging receivers can significantly improve the spatial-temporal resolution of the radar data, and make it possible to examine several phenomena such as SAPS wave structures, Pc3 pulsations, and coseismic ionospheric disturbances, which have not been captured with sufficient spatial-temporal resolution by the preexisting receiver set.
In order to overcome this problem, several solutions have been proposed. One of them is the radar with imaging capability, which enables to sample data for multiple beam directions simultaneously. Several radars have adopted this method since 10 years ago. Meanwhile, traditional-style imaging radars adopted a costly A/D board so that the cost of building the radar system was high.
Software-Defined Radio (SDR), using a much less expensive A/D unit than the traditional A/D boards, is useful for the radar receiver system. A few imaging radars with the Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP), i.e., one of the SDR, are operating in the high latitude regions such as in Canada. In contrast, there is no imaging radar with the USRP in the mid-latitude region yet.
In this paper, we report on the present status and the future perspectives of an imaging receiver system that we plan to install for the SuperDARN Hokkaido East radar. We have developed a prototype (4-ch subset out of 20-ch array) of the SuperDARN imaging receiver system consisting mainly of USRP receiver units. This prototype set was attached to the SuperDARN Hokkaido East radar for testing in June-July 2020. With this 4-ch subset system, we succeeded in obtaining the data consistent with the preexisting receiver’s data. Installation of the imaging receivers can significantly improve the spatial-temporal resolution of the radar data, and make it possible to examine several phenomena such as SAPS wave structures, Pc3 pulsations, and coseismic ionospheric disturbances, which have not been captured with sufficient spatial-temporal resolution by the preexisting receiver set.