The applicability of superconducting electronics to radar systems

Steady progress has been made in both theory and technology of superconductive electronics, but there has been little application to operational electronic systems. This paper, which was prepared for presentation at the 1976 Navy Summer Study on Superconductive Electronics, reviews those applications that might be of interest to radar. These applications include low-noise receivers, stable RF sources, MTI, synthetic aperture radar, and other areas of signal processing. Also included is a brief discussion of some of the potential problems associated with the use of such devices in a practical radar. Although there are areas of possible radar application of superconductive electronic devices, the burden of using cryogenics operationally as well as the availability of other competing electronic devices makes it appear unlikely that superconducting electronics will find significant application in radar in the near future.