Radar Fundamentals

A Tutorial Presented to the

12th Annual International Symposium on
Advanced Radio Technologies (ISART)

July 27, 2011

Dr. Gregory A. Showman

404-407-7719
greg.showman@gtri.gatech.edu

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 1

2011 Greg Showman
 Rules of Engagement

This tutorial is radar according to Greg

Based on my experiences and understanding
Tailored to ISART-11

This tutorial is not exhaustive

There are always exceptions
Shooting for the 90th-percentile

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 2

2011 Greg Showman
 Outline

Background and Range Measurement

SNR and the Matched Filter
Radar Range Equation
Detection in Noise
Pulse Compression
Multiple Pulses
Antenna Effects

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 3

2011 Greg Showman
 Radar Applications and Functions

Point Targets
Detection
Estimation
Tracking
Air-to-Ground Surveillance
Targets: Cars (police radar),
Airborne interceptor aircraft (air traffic control),
reentry vehicles (ballistic
missile early warning)

Continuum Targets
Real-Beam Imaging
Synthetic Aperture Imaging
Targets: 1-D target (range
profile), 2-D clutter (terrain)
and 3-D clutter (weather)"
Anti-Air Warfare

Air Defense

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 4

2011 Greg Showman
 Electromagnetic (EM) Spectrum
f (MHz)
Radio Telegraphy
0.3 1 km
Radar Applications / Bands Broadcast
3
HF = 3 - 30 MHz 30 Short Wave
Long Range VHF = 30 - 300 MHz 300 1m
UHF = 300 - 1000 MHz Conventional Radar
Search
L-Band = 1 - 2 GHz
Millimeter Radar
Short Range S-Band = 2 - 4 GHz 3 x 105 1 mm
C-Band = 4 - 8 GHz
Infrared
Fire Control X-Band = 8 - 12 GHz
(Trackers)
Ku-Band = 12 - 18 GHz 1
Visible
Ka-Band = 27 - 40 GHz Ultra Violet
Seekers
W-Band = 75 - 110 GHz

X-Rays 1
f=c
f=frequency (cycles per second)
=wavelength (m) Gamma Rays
c= speed of light (3x108m/s)

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 5

2011 Greg Showman
 Continuous Wave (CW) vs. Pulsed
Continuous Wave (CW) operation properties
Simultaneous TX and RX
Simple TX and RX hardware
Good Doppler measurements
BUT, operation is limited to
Low power short ranges
Or bistatic complicated implementation
Pulsed operation properties
Time multiplexing of high-power TX and sensitive RX
Sharing of TX and RX apertures
Good range measurements
ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 6
2011 Greg Showman
 Waveform Hierarchy
Low Power High Power
or Radar Waveforms and
Bistatic Monostatic

CW Radars Pulsed Radars

Phase Intra-pulse Modulation Pulse to Pulse Modulation:

Frequency
Modulated CW: Frequency Agility
Modulated CW
bi-phase & poly-phase Stepped Frequency

Nonlinear FMCW,
Linear FMCW, Frequency Modulated: Phase Modulated:
Sinusoidal,
Sawtooth, or Linear FM Bi-phase
Multiple Frequency,
Triangle Nonlinear FM Poly-phase
Noise, & Pseudorandom

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 7

2011 Greg Showman
 Radar Environment
Target

EA

Radar
Clutter
EMI

Transmits: Electromagnetic wave Measures (varies with radar):

Receives: Azimuth, Elevation
Echoes from targets, clutter Range
Electromagnetic interference (EMI) Doppler shift
Electronic attack (EA) Amplitude
External environmental noise Polarization
Internal system noise
ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 8
2011 Greg Showman
 Radio Detection and Ranging
R
Round-trip c TD = 2 R
radar path length:

target Range: R = c TD / 2

TD
Tp = PRI

TD = 1 s R = 150 m
TD=Time delay between
transmission and TD = 10 s R = 1.5 km
reception of echo TD = 100 s R = 15 km

TD = 1 ms R = 150 km
ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 9
2011 Greg Showman
 Outline

Background and Range Measurement

SNR and the Matched Filter
Radar Range Equation
Detection in Noise
Pulse Compression
Multiple Pulses
Antenna Effects

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 10

2011 Greg Showman
 Signal-To-Noise Ratio
Receiver thermal noise is always present and limits radar
performance
Target detection and measurement accuracy are a
functions of target signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)
Desire is to maximize SNR

Pt 1 Probability of detection of a
PD P 1 SNR target given a desired

Received Voltage

FA
probability of false alarm

General measurement
SNR standard deviation

time

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 11

2011 Greg Showman
 Matched Filter Response
Received
pulse of Matched filter
width impulse response Filter received returns with
the matched filter
Matched Filter = the time-
reversed conjugate of the
transmitted waveform
Filtering is performed as a
convolution in time
Therefore, matched filtering =
a conjugate correlation
Output of
matched filter Maximum SNR The matched filter maximizes
vs time for occurs at this
single return : time
SNR when filter is aligned
with a point target return
2

time
ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 12
2011 Greg Showman
 Outline

Background and Range Measurement

SNR and the Matched Filter
Radar Range Equation
Detection in Noise
Pulse Compression
Multiple Pulses
Antenna Effects

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 13

2011 Greg Showman
 RADAR RANGE EQUATION (RRE):
Power Density at Range R for Isotropic Radiation

1
Disotropic Pt 2
4 R
(Watts/m2)

Area of sphere = 4R2

Pt

Pt = Radiated power (Watts)

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 14

2011 Greg Showman
 RADAR RANGE EQUATION :
Power Density at Range R for Main Beam of Directive Antenna

1
Dmainbeam PG 2
t
4 R
(Watts/m2)

G R

(For a beamwidth of q, most of the power is concentrated

in a solid angle of q2 . For an isotropic antenna, the power
Pt is spread over a solid angle of 4. The directive antenna
therefore provides a gain of approximately G=4/q2. For
example, if q=3o 0.0524 radians, G=4,584 36.6 dBi.)

Pt G = Effective radiated power (ERP) (Watts)

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 15

2011 Greg Showman
 RADAR RANGE EQUATION :
Power Captured by Target
(Watts)

2
2 Er
Power reflected by target

lim 4 R
R
Power density at target 2
Et
ERP

Radiated power

1
Pr PG 2

4 R
t

G R

Pt Radar Cross Section (RCS) is in units of area

RCS is like a capture area, converting flux
(power density) to power
This captured power is assumed to be uniformly
scattered over 4 steradians
ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 16
2011 Greg Showman
 Representative RCS Values
Mean Radar Cross Section of Typical Targets at 1.3-10 GHz
Aircraft (Nose and Tail Aspect)
Small General Aviation 0.6 - 3 m2
Small Fighters 1.5 - 4 m2
Medium Fighters (F-4, et cetera) 4.0 - 10 m2
Small Commercial (DC-9) 10 - 20 m2
Medium Commercial (707, DC-8) 20 - 40 m2
Large Commercial (DC-10, 747) 40 - 100 m2
Ships (5-10 GHz; Approximate Frequency Dependence = f1/2)
Sailboats -- Small 0.5 - 5 plus mast
Military Power Boats 20 - 500 m2
Frigates (1-2 ktons) 0.5 - 1.0 x 104 m2
Destroyers (3-5 ktons) 3.0 - 6.0 x 104 m2
Cruisers (7-20 ktons) 10 - 40 x 104 m2
Carriers (20-40 ktons) 30 - 100 x 104 m2
Tanks 20 - 200 m2
Personnel 0.3 - 1.2 m2
Birds
Sparrow and Starling 0.0003 - 0.001 m2
Pigeon (25-40 knots) 0.001 - 0.01 m2
Mallard (25-40 knots) 0.01 m2
Insects
Moths 0.0001 to 0.000001 m2 (-40 to -70 dBsm)
ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 17
2011 Greg Showman
 RADAR RANGE EQUATION :
Received Power Density at Radar Antenna
(Watts)
Power density at radar

Power reflected by target

Power density at target

ERP

Radiated power

1 1
Pr PG 2
2
4 R 4 R
t

G R

Pt

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 18

2011 Greg Showman
 RADAR RANGE EQUATION :
Peak Received Power through Radar Antenna
Power captured by radar antenna (Watts)
Power density at radar

Power reflected by target

Power density at target

ERP

Radiated power

1 1
Pr PG 2
2 e
A
4 R 4 R
t

G R
Ae

Pt

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 19

2011 Greg Showman
 RADAR RANGE EQUATION :
Peak Received Power through Radar Antenna
Power captured by radar antenna (Watts)
Power density at radar

Power reflected by target

Power density at target

ERP

Radiated power
1 1
Pr Pt G
2 2 e
A
4R 4R
P G
t 2 4 Ae
4 R
G R
Ae

Pt

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 20

2011 Greg Showman
 RADAR RANGE EQUATION :
Peak Received Power through Radar Antenna
Power captured by radar antenna (Watts)
Power density at radar

Power reflected by target

Power density at target

ERP

Radiated power
1 1
Pr Pt G
2 2 e
A
4R 4R
P G
t 2 4 Ae
4 R
G R
Ae
Pt G G2
Pr
4

G2 4 R 4
2
Pt Ae
4 Pt G 2 2

4 3 R 4
ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 21
2011 Greg Showman
 Receiver Noise

The target signal competes with receiver kTB

Bandwidth
thermal noise: (dBm)
1 Hz -174
10 Hz -164
Thermal noise power = kT0BF 100 Hz -154
1 kHz -144
k = 1.38 x 10-23 J/oK (Boltzmans constant) 10 kHz -134
100 kHz -124
T0 = 290 oK 1 MHz -114
F = receiver noise factor (noise figure) 10 MHz -104
TS = system noise temperature = T 0F 100 MHz -94
1 GHz -84
B = receiver bandwidth (Hz)

This is an average power level

Noise power randomly fluctuates above and below
this level according to its statistical properties
ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 22
2011 Greg Showman
 RADAR RANGE EQUATION:
Single Pulse Signal-to-Noise Power Ratio

S PG 2 2
t
N 4 R 4 Ls kT0 BF
3

System
losses

Note the dependence on R-to-the-4th

Doubling range decreases SNR 12 dB
100 km to 10 km is a 40 dB increase in SNR

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 23

2011 Greg Showman
 Bandwidth and Pulsewidth

The bandwidth of an
unmodulated narrow pulse
is approximately B=1/

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 24

2011 Greg Showman
 RADAR RANGE EQUATION:
Single Pulse Energy-to-Noise-Density Ratio

S E Pt G 2 2

N N 0 4 R 4 Ls kT0 F
3

SNR power looks more like energy

Form is reminiscent of Eb/No in comms

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 25

2011 Greg Showman
 Outline

Background and Range Measurement

SNR and the Matched Filter
Radar Range Equation
Detection in Noise
Pulse Compression
Multiple Pulses
Antenna Effects

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 26

2011 Greg Showman
 Detection
Radar signals and noise are random variables
Radar range equation represents mean signal-to-noise ratio
Figures of merit for radar detection are
Probability of False Alarm, Pfa
PDF of
Target plus Probability of Detection, Pd
Interference
(Ricean) Target RMS value of
signal plus
interference

Threshold level

RMS value of
interference
PDF of
Interference
Time
(Rayleigh)

(PDF = probability density function)

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 27
2011 Greg Showman
 Detection Processing
Probability Density Functions (PDFs)
Signal-plus-interference PDF

Detection declared if signal is

Interference PDF
above threshold

Area to right of threshold under

signal-plus-interference PDF is
the Probability of Detection (Pd)

Area to right of threshold under

interference PDF is the
Probability of False Alarm (Pfa)

Amplitude
Threshold

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 28

2011 Greg Showman
Radio Detection and Ranging

Non-fluctuating target
Thermal (Gaussian) noise

13.2 dB SNR provides:

90% Pd with 10-6 Pfa.

Higher SNR is required for

fluctuating target and clutter
interference.

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 29

2011 Greg Showman
 Constant False Alarm Rate (CFAR) Receiver:
Threshold Adjusts to Estimated Noise Level
Threshold

Threshold

Noise Noise Noise Noise

estimate estimate estimate estimate
Guard cells Guard cells
window window window window

Range or Doppler Range or Doppler

Radar detection theory and application is 2-step

1. Set threshold to meet false alarm requirements
2. Predict/realize detections it is what it is!
ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 30
2011 Greg Showman
 Outline

Background and Range Measurement

SNR and the Matched Filter
Radar Range Equation
Detection in Noise
Pulse Compression
Multiple Pulses
Antenna Effects

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 31

2011 Greg Showman
 Matched Filter Response
Received Two targets separated
pulse of Matched filter by time delay Matched filter
impulse response impulse response
width

Output of matched filter vs time

for two returns separated in
time by . Peak of one roughly
coincides to null of other
(Rayleigh criterion).

Output of
matched filter
vs time for
single return :

2 2

time time
ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 32
2011 Greg Showman
RANGE RESOLUTION OF UNMODULATED PULSE

Range resolution is the minimum range separation

at which two point scatterers of equal size are
distinguishable as separate scatters
Increased range resolution is desirable:
Range measurement accuracy
Multiple target detection/tracking
Clutter reduction
Target ID
EP vs certain types of jammers
For an unmodulated pulse of width , the resolution
is dR=c/2
Example:
= 1 s dR=150 m
= 0.1 s dR=15 m

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 33

2011 Greg Showman
 Competing Relationships
Pt G 2 2
SNR
kTs 4 R 4
3

Decreasing SNR, Radar Performance Increasing

Decreasing Pulse Width Increasing

Increasing Range Resolution Capability Decreasing

c
dR
2
For an unmodulated pulse there exists a coupling between
range resolution andwaveform energy

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 34

2011 Greg Showman
 Pulse Compression Waveforms

Permit
a de-coupling between range resolution and
waveform energy c
dr k SNR
2B
Resolution really depends on waveform bandwidth
SNR still depends on pulsewidth
This
de-coupling is achieved via some form of
modulation
Amplitude

Phase

Frequency
1
For pulse compression waveforms: B

35 ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 35
2011 Greg Showman
 Pulse Compression Techniques

Frequency Modulation
Linear FM
Non-linear FM

0
( t )
20
2 ( f
400 t 1
2
60
t 2
t 120
)80, [0 100 ]
f (t ) f0 t B=
Phase Code
Bi-phase (0/180)
Pseudo-random + + + - - + -
Noise (PRN)
Quad-phase
(0/90/180/270)

CHIP
0 60 120 180
B~CHIP)-1
240 300 360 420 4

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 36

2011 Greg Showman
 Pulse Compression Time Response of
Single-Point Return

Receiver Receiver output

matched filter
Received signal

(Matches
here)

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 37

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 = 0

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 38

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

-1 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 = -1

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 39

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

+1 -1 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 = 0

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 40

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

-1 +1 -1 +0 +0 +0 +0 = -1

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 41

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

-1 -1 +1 +1 +0 +0 +0 = 0

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 42

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

+1 -1 -1 -1 +1 +0 +0 = -1

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 43

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

+1 +1 -1 +1 -1 -1 +0 = 0

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 44

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

+1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 = +7

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 45

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

0 +1 +1 -1 +1 -1 -1 = 0

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 46

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

0 +0 +1 -1 -1 -1 +1 = -1

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 47

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

0 +0 +0 -1 -1 +1 +1 = 0

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 48

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

0 +0 +0 +0 -1 +1 -1 = -1

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 49

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +1 -1 = 0

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 50

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 -1 = -1

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 51

2011 Greg Showman
 7-BIT BARKER CODE PULSE COMPRESSION

+ + + - - + -
+ + + - - + -

0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 = 0

8
7
6
(Magnitude)
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 52

2011 Greg Showman
 Outline

Background and Range Measurement

SNR and the Matched Filter
Radar Range Equation
Detection in Noise
Pulse Compression
Multiple Pulses
Antenna Effects

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 53

2011 Greg Showman
 Pulsed Waveform Parameters
Td
Tp

= Pulse Width
Tp = Inter-Pulse Period
= Pulse Repetition Interval (PRI)
fp = Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF)
= 1/Tp
Td = Coherent dwell time
0 5 T0
10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75

To = RF Carrier Period f0 = 1 GHz = .3 m

f0 = Carrier frequency = 1/To f0 = 10 GHz = .03 m
= Wavelength = cTo = c/fo
c = Speed of light in vacuum = 3x108 m/s
ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 54
2011 Greg Showman
 Noncoherent vs Coherent Radar
Noncoherent radar uses amplitude
only to process returns
Transmitter
Reference
Duplexer oscillator

Receiver Detector
Non-coherent

Coherent
Pulsed CW
Amplifier Oscillator

Duplexer

Doppler
Receiver Detector
Analyzer
Specifically, radar uses
time variation of phase
Coherent radar uses both amplitude to infer target motion.
and phase to process returns.

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 55

2011 Greg Showman
Notional Pulse-Doppler Radar Block Diagram
RF IF Baseband Digital

Pt cos(2f0 t)
BPF 4f0R(t ) 4R(t )
(t )
cos(2(f1)t) c
Pulse
Mod

Data
Duplexer STALO COHO Processor
sQ (t) A(t) sin[ (t)]

90o Quadrature (Q)

cos(2(f0-f1)t)
LPF A/D
Signal
Processor
Receiver
BPF LPF A/D
Protect

A(t) cos(2f0 t (t)) A(t) cos(2f1t (t)) In-phase (I)

sI (t) A(t) cos[(t)]
STALO and COHO remove carrier frequency, fc.
Baseband is DC except for phase/amplitude
variation of target (plus noise).
ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 56
2011 Greg Showman
 RADAR RANGE EQUATION:
Multiple-Pulse Energy-to-Noise-Density Ratio

E Pt dTd G 2 2

N 0 4 R 4 Ls kT0 F
3

Presumes coherent integration

Extend pulswidth to
CPI integration time Td
But reduce by the TX duty factor d = /Tp

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 57

2011 Greg Showman
 RADAR RANGE EQUATION:
Multiple-Pulse Energy-to-Noise-Density Ratio

E PdG Td 2
Pavg G Td
2 2 2

t

N 0 4 R Ls kT0 F 4 R 4 Ls kT0 F
3 4 3

Pt G n
2 2

4
3 4
R Ls kT0 F
Variations
Pavg is average TX power
n = number of pulses coherently integrated

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 58

2011 Greg Showman
 Motivations for Coherent Integration
(Doppler Processing)

Efficient increase in target SNR

Ability to measure range rate

Separation (by Doppler frequency) of

ground clutter and moving targets
Fine-resolution imaging via SAR and ISAR

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 59

2011 Greg Showman
 Pulse-Doppler Waveform Concept
1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 K-2 M-2 K-1 M-1 K M
Coherent pulse train
of M pulses.

PRI
1 2 3 4 K-2 K-1 K
1 2 3 4 N-2 N-1 N
Collect digital
I/Q samples Pulse 1
1 2 3 4 K-2 K-1 K
from each of N
range gates for
M pulses.
1 2 3 4 N-2 N-1 N

Pulse M
1 2 3 4 N-2 N-1 N
1 2 3 4 M-2 M-1 M

For each of N range

N Range
gates, perform M-point
FFT to obtain Doppler Maritime Radar -- Use of Doppler Frequency
spectrum. 1 2 3 4 M-2 M-1 M
1 2 3 4 M-2 M-1 M

M filters for RG 1
(etc.) M Doppler
Maritime Radar -- Use of Doppler Frequency Maritime Radar -- Use of Doppler Frequency
Maritime Radar -- Use of Doppler Frequency
ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 60
2011 Greg Showman
Air-to-Air Range-Doppler Maps

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 61

2011 Greg Showman
 GMTI Range-Doppler Map

Example of a 64-
pulse GMTI range-
Doppler map
Note substantial
exo-clutter extent
(boxes) for moving
target detection
(Courtesy Raythoen
Corporation)

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 62

2011 Greg Showman
 Range-Doppler Map

Example of a DBS
range-Doppler map
DBS (Doppler Beam
Sharpening) is a
crude form of SAR
Note small exo-
clutter extent
(Courtesy Raythoen
Corporation)

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 63

2011 Greg Showman
Fine-Resolution SAR Image

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 64

2011 Greg Showman
 Outline

Background and Range Measurement

SNR and the Matched Filter
Radar Range Equation
Detection in Noise
Pulse Compression
Multiple Pulses
Antenna Effects

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 65

2011 Greg Showman
 Antenna Gain and Area
W

Azimuth beamwidth q AZ
H W

Elevation q EL
beamwidth H
Antenna
4 4A
G 2
/ W / H
Antenna gain
Area A=W H

Large antennas provide

High gain on TX
Large collection area on RX
Low energy on TX to other users outside the mainbeam
Reduced power on RX from sidelobe returns
Improved angle resolution against multiple targets
Increased angle measurement accuracy on one target
ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 66
2011 Greg Showman
 RADAR RANGE EQUATION:
Search Version

E PdA e
T frame
t

N0 4 R Ls kT0 F search
4

Search parameters
Tframe = frame time, time between revisits
search = search volume (steradians)
Search is all about power-aperture
High average power
Large antenna area

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 67

2011 Greg Showman
 Outline

Background and Range Measurement

SNR and the Matched Filter
Radar Range Equation
Detection in Noise
Pulse Compression
Multiple Pulses
Antenna Effects

ISART: Radar Fundamentals Slide 68

2011 Greg Showman