First studies towards a cryo-cooled Phased Array Radar System for Space Surveillance

The amount of space debris orbiting the earth is increasing. More than 700 000 objects with critical sizes of more than 1 cm have the potential to cause severe damage to space-based infrastructure. As a consequence an improvement of the detection sensitivity of next generation phased array radar systems for space surveillance is of high importance. A key parameter for successful detection is the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The purpose of our study is to enhance the SNR of a radar system by cryogenic cooling of critical electronic devices of the receiver, contributing most to the system noise temperature. Cryo-cooling receiver systems and the underlying fundamental techniques are already known in Radio Astronomy. The Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques (FHR) has the goal to gain practical experience with low temperature techniques in order to find possibilities for implementing cryo-cooled electronics improving the SNR of phased array radar systems. Currently, the FHR team is in the early phase of adapting this technology to phased array radar systems. The final mechanical realization of a cryo-cooled antenna system for radar applications, including the corresponding electronics, will be an important contribution for future radar technologies