Lincoln Laboratory's R&D in adaptive antenna arrays is applied to the sensing of high-frequency communication signals.

For 30 years, Jay Sklar was involved in Lincoln Laboratory's work on applying adaptive antenna array technologies to the sensing of high-frequency (HF) communication signals. In the new book, "Modern HF Signal Detection and Direction Finding," he shares his experience.

"After retiring from program management in 2006, I thought it would be fun — and perhaps useful — to organize the theoretical underpinnings for the sensor developments I had been managing over the previous 20 years," Sklar said, adding that his "struggles to piece together the theory behind HF sensing from a large collection of disjoint journal articles and texts suggested there was a need for a thorough and coherent presentation."

Photo of Jay Sklar
Jay Sklar is adding a new book on high-frequency communications to the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Series published by MIT Press. Photo: Glen Cooper

In the book, after reviewing HF propagation phenomenology, communication signal formats, and HF receiver architectural approaches, Sklar introduces modulation approaches and signaling protocols used at HF and discusses HF receiver system architectural features. He then presents the technical foundation for the book: the vector model for a signal received at an adaptive array antenna. He provides detailed descriptions of signal processing techniques for detection and direction finding, including specific direction-finding algorithms, geolocation techniques, and signal estimation.

The book, the seventh in the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Series, is a resource for engineers developing RF communication systems and a comprehensive text for advanced undergraduate and graduate engineering students. The series, which is published by MIT Press, is authored by Lincoln Laboratory experts and presents the Laboratory's fundamental research into technologies that support national security.

The book is now available for purchase at MIT Press and other online booksellers.