Final Report of Sea Tests of Starling Interferometer DF Receiver; Research and Development, October 1973 through May 1974

64 pages (Pre DD Form 1473). Figures. Tables. Interferometry is a family of techniques in which waves, usually electromagnetic waves, are superimposed, causing the phenomenon of interference, which is used to extract information. Interferometry is an important investigative technique in the fields of astronomy, fiber optics, metrology, oceanography, seismology, spectroscopy, quantum mechanics, nuclear and particle physics, plasma physics, remote sensing, surface profiling, microfluidics, mechanical stress/strain measurement, velocimetry, and optometry. Interferometers are used for the measurement of small displacements, refractive index changes and surface irregularities. Interferometers are used to measure lengths and the shape of optical components with nanometer precision; they are the highest precision length measuring instruments existing. In Fourier transform spectroscopy they analyze light containing features of absorption or emission associated with a substance or mixture. Tests and analyses with the Starling multichannel interferometer DOA system demonstrated that such a multichannel phase-comparison DOA system would provide azimuth and elevation accuracy in a multipath environment, does not require physical stabilization of the antenna array; that multitarget processing is with the capabilities of the system. …