The signal processor system for the NASA Dual-Frequency Dual-Polarized Doppler Radar

NASA Dual-Frequency Dual-Polarized Doppler Radar (D3R) is a ground-based system developed to enable ground validation for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission. The radar makes measurements at both Ku- and Ka-band frequencies in order to gain higher sensitivity towards light rain, drizzle and snow. D3R capitalizes on a solid-state transceiver which can considerably enhance the sensitivity of the radar by allowing implementation of pulse compression waveforms. However, the use of pulse compression techniques is accompanied by challenges to mitigate the blind zone, suppress range side-lobes and unavailability of wider bandwidth. D3R therefore employs a programmable wideband multi-channel digital receiver which implements a novel waveform to check the undesired consequences of pulse compression and meet unique requirements of D3R system. This paper discusses various considerations and challenges for design and realization of system requirements for the D3R system by employing several novel radar signal processing algorithms.