1. A compact reconfigurable and fully scalable antenna beam steering controller comprising:
a housing, wherein the housing is a ruggedized mechanical enclosure which encloses a two-tier PCB;
the two-tier PCB configuration with a front-panel and base card, wherein the front panel PCB has incorporated with set of group controllers combined and their corresponding data/control signals are routed through one rugged mil-grade connectors, where the connectors are mounted on a front-panel PCB with the controller electronics housed on the PCB base card for connecting control/data/timing signals to downstream group controllers.
2. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller hardware is employed with high speed SMT connectors for blind mating the two PCB’s for reliable communication of the beam steering/control parameters from BSC to group controllers, and thereby from each of the "M" group controller to "N" sub-array controller.
3. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two-tier PCB configuration is very compact in size and it is very much scalable in architecture to accommodate arbitrary number of antenna elements.
4. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the BSC receives beam steering/timing information from RC (Radar controller) and generates timing and control signals required for TR modules integrated in the antenna array and also performs the antenna calibration, power supply control and health status monitoring for the entire array.
5. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the BSC hardware has slot for Radar controller interface which is a generic network link (Ethernet/fibre optic) fully parameterized for the line rate and the protocol stack required.
6. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the beam steering controller has tight hand shaking mechanism with Radar controller, where each command from Radar controller is acknowledged by the beams steering controller (BSC) with appropriate packets (message header, the packet ID, status ID followed by the type of status information being conveyed (temperature, health, powers supply, link status etc...).
7. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the beam steering hardware is fully scalable to control arbitrary number of group controllers connected in the phased array antenna which in turn be connected to arbitrary number of antenna elements.
8. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the beam steering controller with set of group controllers provides unique combination of point-to-point and point-to-multi point serial connectivity scheme for data, control and timing signals routing to group controllers controlling the antenna elements.
9. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the configuration of controller hardware provides beam switching time of the order of ~150 u sec ( total time for overall calculation of beam steering parameters, including the actual communication delays from BSC to group controllers and thereby to antenna elements).
10. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller hardware employs CRC (Cyclic redundancy check) checksum for reliable data communications from BSC to downstream connected antenna elements.
11. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the BSC hardware is incorporated with seamless remote configuration and debugging of BSC hardware even when the antenna array is on and fully operational.
12. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the BSC hardware is enclosed in ruggedized conduction cooled mechanical enclosure fully qualified for harsh military environments. .
13. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the BSC hardware is compatible to Ethernet network with custom hardware IP stack in contrast to conventional processor based soft IP stack.
, Description:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10, rule 13)
“A compact reconfigurable and fully scalable antenna beam steering controller“
By
Bharat Electronics Limited,
Corporate Office, Outer Ring Road,
Nagavara, Bangalore - 560045

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

Field of the invention
The present invention mainly relates to a beam steering controller and more particularly to a compact reconfigurable and fully scalable antenna beam steering controller for active phased array radar.
Background of the invention
A beam steering controller is well known in the art which receives the beam steering/timing information from RC and generates timing and control signals required for antenna elements integrated in the antenna array. The routing of timing and control signals for controlling the phase, attenuation and other control parameters of the antenna elements is very crucial for the successful operation of the beam steering functionality
For example, in document US 8149166 B1 describes scalable phased array beam steering control system. The prior art describes design of entire phased array antenna right from the bottom level (MMIC based antenna element) to the top level beam steering controller. The hierarchy mentioned in the beam steering architecture is common with phased array radars with FPGA based digital controllers used at every level in the hierarchy as shown in the figure 1. The routing of timing and control signals for controlling the phase, attenuation and other control parameters of the MMIC based antenna elements is very crucial for the successful functioning of the beam steering function. Daisy chained configuration is reported to be used for interfacing signals across the hierarchy levels in this prior art to reduce the signal routing. This scheme is suitable for smaller antenna arrays and there can be significant delay/timing issues in communicating the control signals down the hierarchy in this configuration. With increasing number of antenna elements integrated in the array this can affect the overall beam switching rate.
Another document, US 6587077 B2 describes a phased array antenna providing enhanced element controller data communication and related methods. Further, the prior art describes the distributed beam steering architecture and in detail the distribution of beam steering parameters from sub-array controller to element controller. Each element controller is connected 12 antenna elements. Element controllers 9 no’s are connected in 3x3 array of rows and columns to each sub-array controller. Row-wise parallel data including message header, data common to all three columns, and end of message are consolidated in a frame and sent to all three rows simultaneously. Column wise selection of element controllers is enabled by precise time-offset (edge-triggered) signals for latching the column wise data. This precise timing-offset is very crucial for latching data and it is more prone to drift or delays encountered in wired connections. However further since each element controllers is connected to 12 antenna elements, individual antenna level element control and distribution is not mentioned clearly.
Further document, US 5539413 A describes Integrated circuit for remote beam control in a phased array antenna system. The reported work describes the hardware controller for controlling set of antenna elements. It receives the global commands from central processing unit over distributed serial bus and communicates the parameters/control signals to one or more antenna elements. With provision of ID memory, this controller will recognize the addressed commands and communicates to the corresponding antenna elements. In addition it is reported that there is temperature sensor in the hardware which will be used to monitor and set threshold level for controlling the elements.
In active phase array radar systems, it is desirable to generate and steer antenna beam in space by adjusting the phase of each antenna element feed relative to the others. To perform this beam steering function as well as other functions, it is preferable to have flexible and fully reconfigurable hardware to control of the individual antenna elements. However, practical antenna arrays typically include hundreds, or even thousands, of individual antenna elements, and precise timing and control of these antenna elements is very crucial and cumbersome. In addition with restrictions in the antenna array size and bulk cabling requirements for interconnecting the associated control hardware is also required. Further since the phase and amplitude characteristics of MMIC based antenna elements are frequency and temperature sensitive and usually drift with component ageing, the phased array antennas need to be calibrated periodically. The status and health monitoring of the complete system including the individual antenna elements is mandatory for the overall operation of the radar system.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a compact re-configurable and fully scalable antenna beam steering controller for phase array radar applications and to solve the above mentioned limitations.
Summary of the Invention
An aspect of the present invention is to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below.
Accordingly, in one aspect of the present invention relates to a compact reconfigurable and fully scalable antenna beam steering controller comprising: a housing, wherein the housing is a ruggedized mechanical enclosure which encloses a two-tier PCB, the two-tier PCB configuration with a front-panel and base card, wherein the front panel PCB has incorporated with set of group controllers (M) combined and their corresponding data/control signals are routed through one rugged mil-grade connectors, where the connectors are mounted on a front-panel PCB with the controller electronics housed on the PCB base card for connecting control/data/timing signals to downstream group controllers.
Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.
Brief description of the drawings
The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows a hierarchical beam steering architecture of Phase array antenna.
Figure 2 shows a functional block diagram of beam steering controller (BSC) according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 shows a two-tier configuration of beam steering controller (BSC) according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 shows a ruggedized mechanical enclosure of beam steering controller (BSC) according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 shows a command structure of the communication between radar controller and of beam steering controller (BSC) according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may have not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figure may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.
Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures.
Detailed description of the invention
The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments of the invention as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in the understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.
The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.
By the term “substantially” it is meant that the recited characteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations or variations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those of skill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was intended to provide.
Figures discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way that would limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged communications system. The terms used to describe various embodiments are exemplary. It should be understood that these are provided to merely aid the understanding of the description, and that their use and definitions in no way limit the scope of the invention. Terms first, second, and the like are used to differentiate between objects having the same terminology and are in no way intended to represent a chronological order, unless where explicitly stated otherwise. A set is defined as a non-empty set including at least one element.
The present invention describes architecture of compact scalable hardware of beam steering controller for active phased array radar. The present invention design is in-system fully re-configurable hardware at the top level of beam steering hierarchy of conventional phased array antenna. The BSC receives the beam steering/timing information from RC and generates timing and control signals required for TR modules integrated in the antenna array. In addition to these functions (BSC) performs the antenna calibration, power supply control and health status monitoring for the entire array. The present invention BSC hardware is compact in size, fully qualified, housed within mechanical enclosure designed for rugged military applications. It is fully scalable to adaptable to varying number of antenna elements in the antenna array.
Further, the present invention incorporates different routing mechanism which includes combination of point-to-point as well as point-to-multipoint distribution for controlling 2048 elements in array. The PCB design approach as well as complexity of signal routing in the BSC hardware is the crux of the present invention.
The present invention also employs FPGA based Ethernet hardware IP stack in contrast to processor based software IP stack which leads to achieve fully configurable network based BSC with faster beam switching time. CRC calculation is also implemented in the present invention, for serial data communication. The present invention also incorporates innovative status monitoring and reporting scheme of the entire antenna array which is very crucial for antenna operation and maintenance.
The scope and features of the present invention is much more advanced and explicit. Moreover it is meant to be used at top level for controlling multiple controllers in the present invention. In addition to sensing its own temperature, the disclosed top level controller is also capable of consolidating temperature information from all the lower level controllers and report to a centralized beam scheduling computer.
The figure 1 shows a hierarchical beam steering architecture of Phase array antenna. Conventional hierarchical beam steering architecture for a typical phased array antenna is shown in the fig 1.
Figure 2 shows a functional block diagram of beam steering controller (BSC) according to one embodiment of the present invention.
The figure shows a functional block diagram of beam steering controller (BSC). The Radar controller interface is based on generic network link (Ethernet/fibre optic) fully parameterized for the line rate and the protocol stack required. This BSC hardware is fully network compliant and can be easily configured to communicate to Radar beam scheduler to receive beam scheduling parameters by implementing fully VHDL based hardware IP stack (Ethernet). This approach of hardware IP stack will achieve faster network access times and thereby reduces beam switching as well status reporting time of the entire antenna array. The data communicated on the link includes the timing/control/status information of various antenna sub-systems.
The figure 3 shows a two-tier configuration of beam steering controller (BSC) according to one embodiment of the present invention.
The figure 4 shows a ruggedized mechanical enclosure of beam steering controller (BSC) according to one embodiment of the present invention.
The figure shows a two-tier configuration of beam steering controller enclosed in a ruggedized mechanical enclosure. The present invention describes the design of centralized controller (BSC) controlling multiple sub-array controllers. In the context of the overall system design, each sub-array in the disclosure is controlling 8 element controllers which in turn controlling 4 antenna elements in turn. The centralized (BSC) decodes the beam steering commands from beam scheduler and individually route the steering/timing parameters to each of sub-array controllers over point-to-point links. The present invention design is very reliable and incorporates individual element level addressing in the array through innovative signals routing and addressing mechanism.
The present invention relates to the design of the hardware for beam steering controller (BSC) of active phased array antenna. BSC is at the top-level of conventional hierarchical beam steering architecture of phased array antenna. The top level of hierarchy is the (BSC) based re-configurable hardware. The BSC provides a unified interface to beam scheduler/radar controller for communicating the timing/beam steering antenna parameters over network link. It also provides means of monitoring status of the entire array of antenna elements along with its associated sub-systems over network link. Down the stream controllers (group and sub-array controllers) are connected over distributed serial lines for communicating the timing, control, phase and amplitude values up-to individual antenna elements.
The antenna array architecture which is referred in the design of the BSC is configured as (M x N x P). The total array consists of plurality of antenna elements arranged as "M" group controllers with each controlling "N" sub-array controllers and each sub-array controlling "P" no of MMIC based antenna elements. With rapid advancements in field of re-configurable FPGA based hardware, controllers based on FPGAs are used at each level for control/timing/status signals distribution.
(a) BSC at top level of hierarchy controlling "M" group controllers
(b) Each group controller consists of "N" sub-array controllers
(c) Each sub-array controller has "P" interconnected antenna elements load phase/gain parameters.
The present invention is related to design of BSC hardware the design philosophy involved in the distribution of the control/timing signals including the mechanical design aspects. Applicability of this design to suit the requirements of any phased array antenna platform independent of the frequency of operation and arbitrary number of antenna elements should be considered in its totality. For the distribution of control/data/timing signals between BSC and each of "M" group controllers, and thereby from each of the "M" group controller to "N" sub-array controller unique hybrid point-to-point and point-to-multi-point connectivity scheme is employed.
Although the complexity of the signal routing mechanism increases with number of antenna elements, the two-tier printed circuit board approach for BSC makes it compact, light weight and easily scalable to arbitrary number of antenna elements. The overall beam switching time of the order of ~150 u sec is achieved with the present invention scheme is very crucial since it determines the beam switching time for antenna array. The BSC hardware is network configurable sub-module, fully adaptable to (Ethernet/fibre optic) network. The network protocol stack is implemented in hardware compared to conventional software stack used in prior-art work.
The BSC module is generally housed in enclosure along with the antenna platform atop the Radar platform. Remote configuration and de-bugging of BSC hardware claimed in the design disclosure is desirable feature since it may not be feasible every time to power down the entire array for fault checking and diagnosis. The design of the ruggedized, conduction-cooled mechanical enclosure suitable for harsh military environments is also one more feature which should be considered as part of the total design disclosure.
BSC hardware communicates the control/data/timing signals to each of the external "M" group controllers over rugged mil-grade connectors with cabling. Set of group controllers are combined and their corresponding data/control signals are routed through one rugged mil-grade connector. These connectors are mounted on front-panel PCB with the controller electronics housed on the base card PCB. The two PCB’s are blind mated with high speed industry standard SMT connectors. This blind mating approach will support high speed data transfer of signals without any complex cabling required for connectivity.
This two-tier PCB configuration is very compact in size and, it’s very much scalable in architecture to accommodate arbitrary number of antenna elements. Also the entire module will be capable of withstanding shock and vibration in the harsh operating environment. Novel techniques are used in the placement/routing and signal integrity of the control/data/timing signals on the both the PCB’s.
The power supply for the entire array including the other sub-systems including RF manifold is controlled by BSC based on the user defined threshold settings of temperature and other health status parameters. First BSC hardware is powered and the Radar controller checks for the initialization of the BSC and once it is complete it gives the appropriate commands to power on the antenna array.
The complete BSC hardware is enclosed in ruggedized mechanical enclosure shown in the figure 4. Since it is conduction cooled system with no provision of forced air cooling, novel techniques are employed for power dissipation and the complete system is qualified as per the MIL-STD-2164(EC) specifications.
Remote configuration and debugging is another innovative feature of BSC hardware which is very desirable since antenna array will not be accessible during operational mode. Any changes or fault checking in the hardware requires the entire array to be powered off frequently and the hardware accessed through FPGA debug port. This feature incorporates appropriate hardware for running FPGA debug port lines over twisted pair cables employing industry standard protocol RS422.
The architecture of the present invention’s design can be configured based on speed (beam update rate) and area (minimizing routing complexity), and can be adaptable for controlling a variety of phased array antenna structures. Scalability aspect of the design is derived from design approach followed to support plurality of controllers controlling antenna elements from top to down the hierarchy.
In one embodiment, the present invention relates to a compact reconfigurable and fully scalable antenna beam steering controller comprising: a housing, wherein the housing is a ruggedized mechanical enclosure which encloses a two-tier PCB, the two-tier PCB configuration with a front-panel and base card, wherein the front panel PCB has incorporated with set of group controllers (M x N) combined and their corresponding data/control signals are routed through one rugged mil-grade connectors. Whereas the total number of connectors "G" are mounted on a front-panel PCB with the controller electronics housed on the PCB base card for connecting control/data/timing signals to downstream group controllers. The controller hardware is employed with high speed SMT connectors for blind mating the two PCB’s for reliable communication of the beam steering/control parameters from BSC to group controllers, and thereby from each of the "M" group controller to "N" sub-array controller (each sub array controller connected to "P" antenna elements). The BSC hardware is fully scalable to control arbitrary number of group controllers connected in the phased array antenna which in turn can be connected to arbitrary number of antenna elements.
The BSC receives beam steering/timing information from RC (Radar controller) and generates timing and control signals required for TR modules integrated in the antenna array and also performs the antenna calibration, power supply control and health status monitoring for the entire array. The BSC hardware has slot for Radar controller interface which is a generic network link (Ethernet/fibre optic) fully parameterized for the line rate and the protocol stack required.
In the present invention’s configuration, the overall antenna array size is in the order of more than 2048 elements based on MMIC based antenna elements. The design is fully scalable and adaptable to any frequency band of operation of interest. The BSC hardware has unique combination of point-to-point and point-to-multi point serial connectivity scheme for data, control and timing signals routing to group controllers controlling the antenna elements.
The BSC hardware has typical beam switching time of the order of ~150 u sec is achieved for overall calculation of beam steering parameters, including the actual communication delays from BSC to group controllers and thereby to antenna elements.
The BSC hardware is employed with CRC checksum for reliable data communications from BSC to downstream connected antenna elements.
The present invention BSC hardware has innovative design of conduction cooled mechanical enclosure housing the electronics. The power dissipation management without any forced air cooled mechanism within the housing is employed in the present invention.
The remote configuration and debugging of the BSC hardware is another feature incorporated which is extremely crucial since beam steering controller is always in the close proximity of antenna array. The seamless configuration and debugging of BSC hardware is possible even when the antenna array is on and fully operational.
Modern active phased array radars employ network configurable sub-systems for controlling and communicating over Ethernet/fiber optic network. The BSC hardware is fully network configurable with configurable protocol as well as line rate. The BSC hardware is compatible to Ethernet network with custom hardware IP stack in contrast to conventional processor based soft IP stack implemented in prior-art work. The BSC hardware has compact size (350x150x45) mm with overall weight of 5.5Kg is achieved with the design which is well within the limited space allocated for the antenna array unit. The complete BSC hardware is enclosed in ruggedized conduction cooled mechanical enclosure for harsh military environments, remote configuration and debugging.
Figure 5 shows a command structure of the communication between radar controller and of beam steering controller (BSC) according to one embodiment of the present invention.
The figure shows a command structure of the communication between radar controller and of beam steering controller (BSC). The data structure and the command packet format are shown in the fig 5. The commands are classified by different modes of operation i.e., operational, calibration and maintenance. Each mode is identified by unique header followed by network packet ID, array address for each of the group controller followed by the data. The beam steering controller has tight hand shaking mechanism with Radar controller wherein each command from Radar controller is acknowledged by the beams steering controller (BSC) with appropriate packet as shown in the fig: format is similar with its own message header, the packet ID, status ID followed by the type of status information being conveyed (temperature, health, powers supply, link status etc...).
The beam steering parameters (phase, attenuation, frequency, array addressing, transmit/receive calibration) over Ethernet network are buffered and communicated to command decoder logic which interprets the command structure (operational/status/calibration). Based on the commands, the parameters (phase, attenuation, control, and calibration data) are serialized and sent to group controller in serial protocol. Timing and control signals are distributed and used by the down the lane controllers to synchronously latch the parameters.
Full data reliability is ensured by checking CRC at every level, BSC to Group controller level and down to element level. At beam steering controller (BSC) level CRC checksum is calculated for all outgoing commands to group controller appended at the end of the command. Similarly all status information received from group controllers are checked for the correct checksum and errors reported.
Sequencing and timing control block in the fig 5 is implemented as finite state machine which will sequence the commands received from Radar controller. The data to be sent to group controller with is formatted with header, element address, and command data appended with checksum and serialized in Parallel-input serial output (PISO) block dedicated to each of the group controller.
The commands sent to group controller are serialized and sent at configurable data rate in source synchronous serial peripheral interface (SPI). The interface is easily configurable to asynchronous mode of operation there by reducing the dedicated clock lines to each of the group controller.
Status monitoring and data control logic receives the status data from the each element level on dedicated serial lines via group controller in the same format as mentioned. Beam steering controller consolidates data and reports it to the Radar controller over network link. This BSC hardware acts as a single point interface for the beam scheduler to monitor the health status of all the radiating elements as well as other sub-systems.
Figures are merely representational and are not drawn to scale. Certain portions thereof may be exaggerated, while others may be minimized. Figures illustrate various embodiments of the invention that can be understood and appropriately carried out by those of ordinary skill in the art.
In the foregoing detailed description of embodiments of the invention, various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments of the invention require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description of embodiments of the invention, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.
It is understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. It is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein,” respectively.

We Claim:
1. A compact reconfigurable and fully scalable antenna beam steering controller comprising:
a housing, wherein the housing is a ruggedized mechanical enclosure which encloses a two-tier PCB;
the two-tier PCB configuration with a front-panel and base card, wherein the front panel PCB has incorporated with set of group controllers combined and their corresponding data/control signals are routed through one rugged mil-grade connectors, where the connectors are mounted on a front-panel PCB with the controller electronics housed on the PCB base card for connecting control/data/timing signals to downstream group controllers.
2. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller hardware is employed with high speed SMT connectors for blind mating the two PCB’s for reliable communication of the beam steering/control parameters from BSC to group controllers, and thereby from each of the "M" group controller to "N" sub-array controller.
3. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two-tier PCB configuration is very compact in size and it is very much scalable in architecture to accommodate arbitrary number of antenna elements.
4. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the BSC receives beam steering/timing information from RC (Radar controller) and generates timing and control signals required for TR modules integrated in the antenna array and also performs the antenna calibration, power supply control and health status monitoring for the entire array.
5. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the BSC hardware has slot for Radar controller interface which is a generic network link (Ethernet/fibre optic) fully parameterized for the line rate and the protocol stack required.
6. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the beam steering controller has tight hand shaking mechanism with Radar controller, where each command from Radar controller is acknowledged by the beams steering controller (BSC) with appropriate packets (message header, the packet ID, status ID followed by the type of status information being conveyed (temperature, health, powers supply, link status etc...).
7. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the beam steering hardware is fully scalable to control arbitrary number of group controllers connected in the phased array antenna which in turn be connected to arbitrary number of antenna elements.
8. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the beam steering controller with set of group controllers provides unique combination of point-to-point and point-to-multi point serial connectivity scheme for data, control and timing signals routing to group controllers controlling the antenna elements.
9. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the configuration of controller hardware provides beam switching time of the order of ~150 u sec ( total time for overall calculation of beam steering parameters, including the actual communication delays from BSC to group controllers and thereby to antenna elements).
10. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller hardware employs CRC (Cyclic redundancy check) checksum for reliable data communications from BSC to downstream connected antenna elements.
11. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the BSC hardware is incorporated with seamless remote configuration and debugging of BSC hardware even when the antenna array is on and fully operational.
12. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the BSC hardware is enclosed in ruggedized conduction cooled mechanical enclosure fully qualified for harsh military environments. .
13. The controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the BSC hardware is compatible to Ethernet network with custom hardware IP stack in contrast to conventional processor based soft IP stack.

Abstract
The present invention mainly relates to a beam steering controller and more particularly to a compact reconfigurable and fully scalable antenna beam steering controller for active phased array radar. In one embodiment, the beam steering controller comprising: a housing, wherein the housing is a ruggedized mechanical enclosure which encloses a two-tier PCB, the two-tier PCB configuration with a front-panel and base card, wherein the front panel PCB has incorporated with set of group controllers M combined and their corresponding data/control signals are routed through one rugged mil-grade connectors, where the connectors are mounted on a front-panel PCB with the controller electronics housed on the PCB base card for connecting control/data/timing signals to downstream group controllers.
Figure 4 (for publication)