Militari

Introduction to Radar System
and Component Tests

White Paper
This White Paper provides a general

overview of different military and
commercial radar systems. It also covers
some typical measurements on such
systems and their components.
Roland Minihold / Dieter Bues

Application Note
08_2012-1MA207_0e
Contents
Table of Contents
1 Abstract .................................................................................. 3
2 Overview of Typical Radar Applications and Common Radar

Types....................................................................................... 4
2.1 Typical radar applications ...........................................................................4
2.2 Radar Frequencies, - Bands, Wavelength and Applications ...................5
3 Radar Equation....................................................................... 6
4 Common Radar Types ........................................................... 9

4.1 CW (Doppler) and FMCW (Doppler (Speed)/Range) Radar) .....................9
4.2 Simple Pulse (Range) and Pulse Doppler (Speed/Range) Radar ..........11
4.3 Pulse Doppler radar ...................................................................................12
4.4 Pulse Compression Radar (FM Chirp and Phase Coded) ......................13
4.5 Frequency-Agile Radar (FAR) - Suppression of Jamming and Improved
Clutter Rejection.........................................................................................14
4.6 Stepped-Frequency Radar (Imaging Application)...................................14
4.7 Moving-Target Identification (MTI) Radar ................................................15
4.8 Monopulse Radar (Phase or Amplitude Comparison) / (Range and Angle
Measurement) .............................................................................................16
4.9 Phased-Array Radar, Digital Beamforming .............................................17
4.10 Synthetic-Aperture Radar (SAR)...............................................................20
4.11 Bistatic, Multistatic Radar .........................................................................21
4.12 Passive Radar .............................................................................................21
4.13 Multimode Radar ........................................................................................22
4.14 The Future of Radar Developments..........................................................24
5 Common Radar Abbreviations............................................ 25
6 Literature............................................................................... 28
7 Additional Information......................................................... 28
1MA207_0e Rohde & Schwarz Introduction to Radar System and Component Tests 2
1 Abstract
It was German engineer Christian Huelsmeyer who first used the radar principle to
build a simple ship detection device intended to help avoid collisions in fog
(Reichspatent Nr. 165546).
First widely used radar technology was developed for military purpose during World
War II. Today, more than half a century later, there is a much wider radar application
area beyond the military one. Radar is needed for weather forecast, airport traffic
control and automotive applications such as car distance surveillance and pedestrian
detection. Additionally radar technology today is affordable on a mass production basis
due to highly integrated signal processing components which make it possible to detect
even low power signals in applications where at former times much more RF energy
was needed. Low power radar components automatically mean savings in costs and
size. In addition there are a lot of CAD tools available for the development of such
systems and to deal with higher frequencies up to 110 GHz and beyond.
R&S created two complementary papers, application note 1MA127 and white paper
1MA207 regarding current radar technology in order to demonstrate its contribution to
test and measurement of radar systems and components. The white paper gives an
overview on radar Systems and important measurements on them. The corresponding
application note 1MA127 goes into details in explaining radar test technology along
with the specific products needed to perform the tests. Both documents, 1MA127 and
1MA207 are addressing students who want to become familiar with radar issues as
well as radar professionals who want to solve certain test and measurement tasks.
2 Overview of Typical Radar Applications
and Common Radar Types
2.1 Typical radar applications

Typical radar applications are listed here to give an idea of the huge importance of
radar in our world.
Surveillance
Military and civil air traffic control, ground-based, airborne, surface coastal, satellite-
based
Searching and tracking

Military target searching and tracking
Fire control
Provides information (mainly target azimuth, elevation, range and velocity) to a fire-
control system
Navigation
Satellite, air, maritime, terrestrial navigation
Automotive
Collision warning, adaptive cruise control (ACC), collision avoidance
Level measurements
For monitoring liquids, distances, etc.
Proximity fuses
Military use: Guided weapon systems require a proximity fuse to trigger the explosive
warhead
Altimeter
Aircraft or spacecraft altimeters for civil and military use
Terrain avoidance
Airborne military use
Secondary radar
Transponder in target responds with coded reply signal
Weather
Storm avoidance, wind shear warning, weather mapping
Space
Military earth surveillance, ground mapping, and exploration of space environment
Security
Hidden weapon detection, military earth surveillance
2.2 Radar Frequencies, - Bands, Wavelength and
Applications
Radar Bands, -Frequencies, -Wavelengths and their Applications
Band Frequency Wavelength Application
HF 3 to 30 MHz 10 m to 100 m Coastal radar systems, over-the-horizon (OTH) radars; 'high frequency'
P 30 to 300 MHz 1m to 10 m 'P' for 'previous', applied retrospectively to early radar systems
UHF 300 to 1000 MHz 0.3 m to 1 m Very long range (e.g. ballistic missile early warning), ground penetrating, foliage
penetrating; 'ultra high frequency'
L 1 to 2 GHz 15 cm to 30 cm Long-range air traffic control and surveillance; 'L' for 'long'
S 2 to 4 GHz 7.5 cm to 15 cm Terminal air traffic control, long-range weather, marine radar; 'S' for 'short'
C 4 – 8 GHz 3.75 cm to 7.5 cm Satellite transponders; a compromise (hence 'C') between X and S bands; weather
radar
X 8 – 12 GHz 2.5 cm to 3.75 cm Missile guidance, marine radar, weather, medium-resolution mapping and ground
surveillance; in the USA the narrow range 10.525 GHz ± 25 MHz is used for airport
radar. Named X band because the frequency was kept secret during World War 2.
Ku 12 – 18 GHz 1.67 cm to 2.5 cm High-resolution mapping, satellite altimetry; frequency just under K band (hence 'u')
K 18 – 27 GHz 1.11 – 1.67 cm K band is used by meteorologists for detecting clouds and by police for detecting
speeding motorists. K band radar guns operate at 24.150 ± 0.100 GHz. Automotive
radar uses 24 – 26 GHz.
Ka 27 – 40 GHz 0.75 cm to 1.11 cm Mapping, short range, airport surveillance; frequency just above K band (hence 'a');
photo radar, used to trigger cameras that take pictures of license plates of cars
running red lights, operates at 34.300 ± 0.100 GHz
mm 40 to 300 GHz 1 mm to 7.5 mm Millimeter band, subdivided as below. The letter designators appear to be random,
and the frequency ranges dependent on waveguide size. Multiple letters are
assigned to these bands by different groups.
Q 40 to 60 GHz 5 mm to 7.5 mm Used for military communications
V 50 to 75 GHz 4 mm to 6 mm Very strongly absorbed by the atmosphere
W 75 to 110 GHz 2.7 mm to 4 mm 76 GHz LRR and 79 GHz SRR automotive radar, high-resolution meteorological
observation and imaging
3 Radar Equation
The acronym RADAR stands for RAdio Detection And Ranging. Figure 1 shows the
basic principle.
Figure 1: Basic principle of Radar and its parameters
An electromagnetic wave of power Pt is transmitted to a flying object, for example to a

plane and is partly reflected back to the antenna with the receiving power Pr. From the
time delay between the transmitted and received signal the distance to the plane can
be calculated. Additional information can be gained from the frequency shift of the
received signal, which is proportional to the speed of the plane.
Receiving a signal of sufficient power by an adequate power to noise ratio is the

biggest challenge of radar systems. The so called “Radar Equation” gives hints on the
power relations within the system as indicated in Figure 1.
The Radar Equation delivers the received power Pr as result. According to the Radar
Equation following independent parameters determine the received power Pr :
Pt  G 2  2 *
Pr  (Formula 1)
(4 )3 * R 4
Pt: The power transmitted by the antenna, dimension is dBm. Numeric examples :
63 dBm for real world Radar applications, 13 dBm for laboratory tests
G: Gain of the transmitting antenna, dimension in dBi. The parameter determines

how much the radiation beam of the antenna is focused toward the direction of the
target. Numeric examples are 12 dBi for a BiQuad antenna and 70 dBi for a highly
focusing parabolic antenna.
: The wavelength of the transmitted signal, dimension in meter. The wavelength
can be directly calculated from the frequency. Numeric examples: 0.03 m for a 10
GHz signal and 0.12 m for a 2.54 GHz signal
: Radar cross section, RCS, is a virtual area representing the intensity of the
reflection. Not all of the radiated power is reflected back to transmitting antenna, as
indicated by the small waves close to the plane in Figure 1. The “Sigma” ( ) of the
objects determines the virtual area of the reflecting object (plane) from which all of
the incoming radiation energy is reflected back to the antenna. The dimension is
2 2
square meter, “m ” in short. Practical examples are 12 m for a commercial plane,
2 2
1 m for a person or 0.01 m for a bird. Refer to [18], page 6665 for further
examples.
R: Distance between the transmitting antenna and the reflecting object. Dimension
in m. Numeric examples are 8000 m for real world applications or 5 m for
laboratory conditions. It has to be stressed that this parameter reduces the result,
i.e. the received signal by the power of 4, with the effect that far distant objects are
providing only a small amount of received power.
Example
Parameter Abbreviation Value, Example 1 Value Example 2 Unit
Transmitted power Pt 63 13 dBm
Gain of transmit antenna G 28 12 dBi
Wavelength (frequency)  (f) 0.03 (10*109) 0.12 (2.5*109) m(Hz)
Radar cross section  12 0,3 m2
Distance R 8114 5 m
Received power, linear Pr 1 17.4*103 pW
Received power, logarithmic Prlog -90 -48 dBm
Table 1: Parameters of Radar Equitation and two examples
Example 1 shows a a real world example, derived from [Pozar], example 2 shows
a radar application which can be realized under laboratory conditions for example
in an anechoic chamber.
Example 1 read in clear text : A radar transmitting antenna with gain of 28 dBi is
transmitting an electromagnetic wave at 10 GHz with a power of 63 dBm to a plane
2
in a distance of about 8000 m. The plane has a radar cross section of 12 m . By
means of the Radar Equation the received power back at the antenna is calculated
to -90 dBm.
Example 2 read in clear text: In a radar test laboratory implemented in an

anechoic chamber a test transmitter provides 13 dBm to a matched antenna of
12 dBi with a frequency of 2.5 GHz. The reflecting object with a cross section of
2
0.3 m is located in 5 m distance from the transmitting antenna. According to the
Radar Equation the test receiver is going to receive a reflected signal of -48 dBm.
When comparing example 1 to example 2 we can conclude that despite much
bigger transmitting power, better transmit antenna gain and bigger radar cross
section in example 1 the received reflected power of example 1 is almost 50 dB
lower than the received signal of example 2. The reason is the smaller wavelength
lambda which affects the result by a power of 2 and especially the bigger distance
R of example 1 which affects the result by a power of 4. Small wavelengths, i.e.
high frequencies are aimed for in most radar systems, especially in antenna
arrays, because of the resulting small antenna size. It is obvious also, that in radar
technology one has to deal with very small receiving power especially for far
distant objects.
4 Common Radar Types
This section lists the most common types of radar systems with brief explanations of how they
work.
4.1 CW (Doppler) and FMCW (Doppler (Speed)/Range)

Radar)
A continuous wave (CW) radar system with a constant frequency can be used to measure speed.
However, it does not provide any range (distance) information. A signal at a certain frequency is
transmitted via an antenna. It is then reflected by the target (e.g. a car) with a certain Doppler
frequency shift. This means that the signal's reflection is received on a slightly different
frequency. By comparing the transmitted frequency with the received frequency, we can
determine the speed (but not the range). Here, a typical application is radar for monitoring traffic.
Radar motion sensors are based on the same principle, but they must also be capable of
detecting slow changes in the received field strength due to variable interference conditions that
may exist.
Radar speed traps operated by the police use this same technology. Camera systems take a
picture if a certain speed is exceeded at a specified distance from the target.
Figure 2: Mobile traffic monitoring radar MultaRadar CD - Mobile speed radar for speed enforcement from
Jenoptic
There are also military applications:
CW radars are also used for target illumination. This is a straightforward application: The radar
beam is kept on target by linking it to a target tracking radar. The reflection from the target is then
used by an antiaircraft missile to home in on the target.
CW radars are somewhat hard to detect. Accordingly, they are classified as low-probability-of-
intercept radars.
CW radars lend themselves well to detecting low-flying aircraft that attempt to overcome an
enemy's air defense by "hugging the ground". Pulsed radar has difficulties in discriminating
between ground clutter and low-flying aircraft. CW radar can close this gap because it is blind to
slow-moving ground clutter and can pinpoint the direction where something is going on. This
information is relayed to co-located pulse radar for further analysis and action. [7]
FMCW radar
The disadvantage of CW radar systems is that they cannot measure range due to the lack of a
timing reference. However, it is possible to generate a timing reference for measuring the range
of stationary objects using what is known as "frequency-modulated continuous wave" (FMCW)
radar. This method involves transmitting a signal whose frequency changes periodically. When
an echo signal is received, it will have a delay offset like in pulse radar. The range can be
determined by comparing the frequency. It is possible to transmit complicated frequency patterns
(like in noise radar) with the periodic repetition occurring at most at a time in which no ambiguous
echoes are expected. However, in the simplest case basic ramp or triangular modulation is used,
which of course will only have a relatively small unambiguous measurement range.
Figure 3: Basic principle of FMCW radar. The target’s velocity is calculated based on the measured delay t
between the transmit signal and the received signal, whereas the frequency offset f gives the range
This type of range measurement is used, for example, in aircraft to measure altitude (radio
altimeter) or in ground tracking radar to ensure a constant altitude above ground. One benefit
compared to pulse radar is that measurement results are provided continuously (as opposed to
the timing grid of the pulse repetition frequency).
FMCW radar is also commonly used commercially for measuring distances in other ways, e.g.
level indicators.
Automotive radar is in most cases FMCW radar too.
4.2 Simple Pulse (Range) and Pulse Doppler (Speed/Range)
Radar
Figure 4: Basic principle of a simple pulse radar system
A simple pulse radar system only provides range (plus direction) information for a target based
on the timing difference between the transmitted and received pulse. It is not possible to
determine the speed. The pulse width determines the range resolution.
Figure 5: Direction information with azimuth angle determination in a radar system with a rotary antenna
The direction information (azimuth angle ) is determined from the time instant of the receive
pulse with reference to the instantaneous radiation direction of the rotating antenna.
The important measurements on (non-coherent) radar equipment of this sort are the range
accuracy and resolution, AGC settling time for the receiver, peak power, frequency stability,
phase noise of the LO and all of the pulse parameters.
The AGC circuit of the receiver protects the radar from overload conditions due to nearby
collocated radars or jamming countermeasures. The attack and decay time of the AGC circuit
can be varied based on the operational mode of the radar. Since the roundtrip of a radar signals
travels approximately 150 meters per microsecond, it is important to measure the response of the
AGC for both amplitude and phase response when subject to different overload signal conditions.
The measured response time will dictate the minimum detection range of the radar.
4.3 Pulse Doppler radar
A pulse Doppler radar also provides radial speed information about the target in addition to range
information (and direction information). In case of coherent operation of the radar transmitter and
receiver, speed information can be derived from the pulse-to-pulse phase variations. I/Q
demodulators are normally used. The latest pulse Doppler radar systems normally use different
pulse repetition frequencies (PRF) ranging from several hundred Hz up to 500 kHz in order to
clarify any possible range and Doppler ambiguities.
More advanced pulse Doppler radar systems also " use "staggered PRF, i.e. the PRF changes
on an ongoing basis to get rid of range ambiguity and reduce clutter as well.
Important criteria for achieving good performance in pulse Doppler radar systems include very
low phase noise in the LO, low receiver noise and low I/Q gain phase mismatch (to avoid "false
target indication") in addition to the measurement parameters listed above.
When measuring the pulse-to-pulse performance of a radar transmitter, it is important to
understand the variables that can impact the uncertainty of the measurement system for accurate
Doppler measurements:
Signal-to-noise ratio of the signal - the better the signal to noise ratio of the signal, the lower
the uncertainty due to noise contribution.
Bandwidth of the signal - the bandwidth of the IF acquisition system must be sufficient to
accurately represent the risetime of the pulsed signal, however too much bandwidth can
result in added noise contribution uncertainty.
Reference (or timebase) clock stability.
Jitter or uncertainty due to the measurement point of the rising edge of the signal – rising
edge interpolation or signals that have changing edges impact this uncertainty.
Overshoot and preshoot of the rising and falling edges – any ringing on the rising and falling
edges can impact the measurement points adversely on a pulse to pulse basis. It is important
that the measurement point, or the average set of measurement points, are sufficiently far
away in time from the leading and falling edges of a pulse. Applying a Gaussien filter to
smooth the impact of the rising and falling edges can reduce this phenomena and is often
implemented in the Doppler measurement system of a radar receiver.
Time between measured signals – due to the PRI of the measured signal, the close-in phase
noise of the measurement system needs to be considered due to the integration time at
lower offset frequencies.
The same variables can also contribute to the uncertainty in the signal generator when
testing the receiver circuit and Doppler measurement accuracy.
4.4 Pulse Compression Radar (FM Chirp and Phase Coded)
Classic pulse and pulse Doppler radar transmits extremely short pulses. Increasing the pulse
power allows the radar system to achieve greater range results. Decreasing the duration of the
transmit pulses also decreases the pulse volume and provides better range resolution for the
radar system, i.e. closely spaced targets can be distinguished with smaller distances between
them.
Pulse compression combines the power-related benefits of very long transmit pulses (good
range) with the benefits of very short transmit pulses (high distance resolution). Lower peak
power can then be used.
By modulating the transmit pulses, a timing reference is produced within the transmit pulse,
similar to frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar systems. Several different
modulation techniques can be used. The most common are:
Linear frequency modulation (FM chirp)

Non-linear frequency modulation
Encoded pulse phase modulation (e.g. Barker code)
Polyphase modulation and time-frequency coded modulation
Although pulse compression technique has various benefits such as low pulse power with good
range and distance resolution, there is a significant disadvantage: The minimum measurement
range is degraded depending on the pulse length, since the radar receiver is blocked during the
transmit pulse. As this is a major disadvantage for radar systems used for air traffic control, they
typically use both techniques: Between the frequency-modulated pulses for the larger range,
small (very short) pulses are transmitted which only have to cover the nearby area and do not
require very high pulse power.
Linear FM is most common in older radar systems. An example is the air-defense radar RRP-
117 [4][4].
Non-linear FM (NLFM) is becoming more practical use because of its various benefits such
as inherently low range sidelobes which yields an advantage in SNR compared to Linear FM.
[16]
Encoded pulse phase modulation is very common, particularly Barker codes with lengths of
11 and 13 [15].
In advanced military radar systems, polyphase pulse compression is also used increasingly
with special codes [14].
Pulse compression radar signal require baseband IQ collection of the signal covering the BW of
the pulse risetime, wideband analog FM demodulation or vector demodulation and new displays
of the information for analysis (amplitude, frequency, and phase vs. time), and digital
demodulation/EVM measurement for BPSK/QPSK modulations.
4.5 Frequency-Agile Radar (FAR) - Suppression of Jamming
and Improved Clutter Rejection
Frequency hopping is an effective technique for a radar system to circumvent jamming and
electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM). It is typically used in military radar applications.
Clutter rejection is also possible using FAR. Sub-microsecond switching times and bandwidths
ranging from several hundred MHz in the X band to over 2 GHz at 95 GHz are typical.
Other measurement parameters that are relevant with FAR include the frequency
switching/settling time, hop sequence, switching spurious and broadband amplitude and phase
stability. This type of radar should consider the test of the radar not under static conditions, but
the hopping conditions across the BW of interest. Oscilloscopes with FFT analysis often need to
be employed to assess hopping performance and anomalies due to hopping sequences.
4.6 Stepped-Frequency Radar (Imaging Application)

Stepped-frequency radar systems are used in imaging applications. With typical bandwidths
ranging from several hundred MHz to 2 GHz, resolutions of <10 cm can be achieved.
Figure 6: Timing diagram for stepped-frequency radar
The frequency is increased by a fixed value from pulse to pulse. Typical bursts contain 128
pulses. The benefit of a stepped-frequency radar system is that one can obtain wide bandwidth
and thus good resolution without needing a large FFT capture bandwidth [17].
Due to the wide RF bandwidth of the transmitter and receiver, these subsystems must exhibit
excellent stability in order to obtain the desired high resolution. Impacted stepped frequency
radar is reduced cost of testing each pulse, but added cost of pulse to pulse coherent analysis
(magnitude and phase stability is most important). As was the case with frequency agile radar,
the settling time of the local oscillator is also an important measurement parameter.
4.7 Moving-Target Identification (MTI) Radar
The idea behind MTI radar is to suppress reflected signals from stationary and slow-moving
objects such as buildings, mountains, waves, clouds, etc. (clutter) and thus obtain an indication of
moving targets such as aircraft and other flying objects. Here, the Doppler effect is exploited,
since signals reflected by targets moving radially with respect to the radar system exhibit an
offset vs. the transmitted frequency which is proportional to their speed (e.g. in linear FM radar).
In pulse radar systems, the pulses reflected by moving objects have a variable phase from pulse
to pulse referenced to the phase of the transmitted pulses.
Figure 7: Moving target indication: Moving targets are indicated by continuously changing amplitude while fixed
targets show constant amplitude
Optimizing MTI requires the use of very sophisticated techniques such as staggered PRF (a
variable pulse interval from pulse to pulse) in order to offset "blind velocities" or make them
visible. Important measurement parameters when optimizing MTI or the clutter suppression
include the following:
Good pulse-to-pulse phase and amplitude stability for the transmit signal
Highest possible phase stability or lowest possible phase noise for the LO in the radar
system, particularly for MTI involving targets with low radial speeds
4.8 Monopulse Radar (Phase or Amplitude Comparison) /
(Range and Angle Measurement)
Figure 8: Monopulse Radar Antenna
In monopulse radar systems, at least two antenna groups arranged at spatially distinct locations
are used [13].
By comparing the summation and difference channels, it is possible to localize the reflecting
object within the radar beam.
Using counterphase coupling of the left and right antenna groups, a difference channel ( Az) is
formed ("delta azimuth"). The azimuth is determined by exploiting the fact that at this angle for a
maximum of the summation channel, the difference channel must be at a minimum. Since the
summation channel ( ) and the difference channel can be formed from just a single echo, one
pulse is enough to accurately compute the coordinates. (This is why this way of grouping
antennas is also referred to as "monopulse antenna".)
The ratio of the summation channel to the difference channel provides a measure of the offset of
the real direction from the center axis of the antenna ("boresight"). The angular difference
between the antenna boresight and the actual offset angle of the target is known as the "off-
boresight angle".
In 3D radar systems, the elevation angle is also measured as the third coordinate. The same
technique can be applied in this case too. The antenna is divided into upper and lower halves.
The second difference channel ( El) is now known as the "delta elevation".
Channel matching of the different channels is critical in monopulse radar systems and must be
measured. Multi-channel phase-coherent synthesizers with adjustable phase offsets are typically
used for this purpose. Phase coherent multichannel analysis e.g. by means of a high
performance digital oscilloscope with IQ interface becomes important for testing transmitter
coherency
4.9 Phased-Array Radar, Digital Beamforming
Radar applications normally need some kind of dynamic beam steering, because the area of a
static electromagnetic beam is normally too small for object detection, especially within A&D
applications. In classical radar systems mechanical devices have been used in order to move the
radar beam to cover a certain area. The 360-degree rotating antenna in air surveillance systems
is the best example. Older fighter planes also are using mechanically moving radar antennas.
However, mechanical systems are heavy and failure-prone which both are drawbacks for
equipment being used in safety-critical applications.
Figure 9: 360-degree rotating antenna (left) of an air surveillance system and electronically steered antenna
(right)
High performance Digital Signal Processing along with affordable and small, highly integrated
hardware systems have made possible another technique called "digital beamforming" (DBF) or
AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array). Figure 10 shows the basic principle; the literature
[2] provides detailed information.


4
4 4
2 2
0 0
-2 -2
-4 -4
Lmech
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5


4

Antenna 1 Antenna 2
Antenna 1 Antenna 2
Figure 10: Basic Principle of AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) or DBF (Digital Beamforming)
DBF always relies on antenna arrays. Modern systems sometimes include up to 1000
independent small antennas. To keep it simple, Figure 10 includes only 2 antennas. However the
operation principle is the same for all bigger systems. All subsequent discussions are related to a
single plane 2-dimensional antenna system only. The 3-dimensional real-world antenna system
behaves in a similar way.
In the example provided two sine signals of electrical energy are supplied to two isotropic
antennas. An isotropic antenna is radiating equally in all directions. The two signals are of same
phase and magnitude, so called coherent signals. The resulting power of the radiated sum beam
is the sum of the two sine signals. Figure 10 shows the relation for the perpendicular direction
with respect to our 2-Element antenna array. The behavior in this direction of transmission is
shown in the left half of Figure 10. The situation for a certain side transmission, about 45
degrees, is shown in the right half. The upper part shows signal superposition, the lower half
shows the same by using vectors. Blue and green shows the electromagnetic energy transmitted
from the two antennas. The red parts of the drawings show the two superposed antenna signals.
As indicated in the lower right, the side transmission causes a phase shift (delta) of both antenna
signals which causes the red sum signal to be reduced compared to the sum signal without
phase shift. The declined sum signal can be clearly seen in the signal representation in the upper
part of Figure 10.
It can be summarized now, that the antenna array has a specific maximum propagation direction,
which is 90 degrees, because of isotropic antennas supplied by two signals of same phase and
magnitude (= coherent signals). The resulting beam radiated to the side, for instance 45 degrees,
is smaller due to a phase shift we are getting because of different propagation path lengths. We
rd
can summarize this in following table (3 line):
Behavior of sum signals

Two antenna supply signals 90 degrees sum signal x degrees sum signal
In phase (coherent) Maximum Less than maximum
Phase locked but not in Less than maximum Maximum

phase(certain angle)
Table 2: Behavior of sum signals dependent on phase of antenna supply signals
The way in which the antenna array sum signal is declining along with the side angle depends on
the distance between the antenna elements. It is therefore a property specific to the geometry of
the antenna array. Additionally it depends on the wavelength, i.e. the frequency of the radar
signal, because the phase shift is related to the wavelength.
So far considered two antenna supply signals of same magnitude and phase have been
considered, so called coherent signals. If a small phase shift is applied now in between both
signals, we can reverse the effects so far described, i.e. decline the 90-degree beam and
increase the 45 degree side beam to a maximum. If the phase between both signals is increased
until a certain value the beam moves slowly ato 45 degree. Turning the beam by a certain angle
is one way of so called "beamforming". The results can now be summarized again in Table 2,
lowest line.
The phase shift of antenna array supply signals can be generated in different ways. The simplest
way is to use supply cables of different lengths. Another method is to implement phase-shifting
elements in the appropriate antenna supply circuits. However, both methods are static and the
phase shift can't be externally controlled. The Application Note 1MA127 related to this White
Paper, describes an integrated circuit performing digitally controlled phase shifting. It is also
shown how such phase shifters can be directly digitally controlled by test instruments, ex.
network analyzers.
A high performance digital scope can be suited to test the transmitted delay between up to 4
channels of T/R modules if the skew between the scope channels is sufficiently low (<< 1 ns).
Phased-array radar antennas have hundreds or even thousands of individual radiating elements
(as opposed to a reflector antenna with a single radiator). The magnitude and phase of the power
fed to the elements can be individually controlled, making it possible for the overall antenna to
produce wave fronts with nearly any desired shape. In real-world operation, the pattern can be
turned by about ±60°. The efficiency of the antenna drops at larger angles. Unlike a conventional
antenna that is moved mechanically, a phased array can rotate its pattern in space with
practically no delay.
Figure 11: Active Electronically Scanned Antenna Schematic Diagram (from)
Since phased-array antennas are very costly, they are used primarily in military and SAR satellite
applications. The standard is now an active phased-array radar (or active electronically scanned
array, AESA) based on many individual, small transmit/receive modules, whereas the passive
variant (PESA) uses a common RF source whose signal is modified using digitally controlled
phase shifter modules.
What is important with AESA is the uniformity of the different modules in terms of the amplitude
and phase, which involves considerable test and calibration effort. Very fast automated test
systems are required to align an array of hundreds, sometimes thousands if elements to achieve
target performance.
4.10 Synthetic-Aperture Radar (SAR)
Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR), like the related real-aperture radar (RAR; see also side-looking
airborne radar), belongs to the class of mapping radar systems. Such radar systems are
deployed in aircraft or satellites to provide a two-dimensional view of a section of terrain by
scanning the earth's surface using electromagnetic waves.
In defense industry, inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging (ISAR) of moving objects is an
important tool for automatic target recognition.
Both SAR and ISAR have the same underlying theory, the main difference is the
geometry configuration. In SAR imaging, the radar is flying in the space, and the object
is stationary, while in ISAR imaging, the object is moving and the radar is stationary. But
only the relative movement between the object and the radar is important. So the ISAR
imaging problem can be found to be equivalent to the more easily understood SAR
imaging problem.
The basic principle behind SAR involves an antenna that can be moved perpendicularly to the
radiation direction. The position must be precisely known at all times. The direction of motion is
normally referred to as the "along track" or azimuth and the related cross coordinate as the "cross
track" or range. The "footprint" is the area which the real antenna is currently covering. The
"swath" is the strip of terrain which the footprint crosses due to the ongoing motion of the real
antenna.
SAR involves replacing the instantaneous snapshot produced by a large antenna with many
snapshots produced using a small, mobile antenna. During the course of the related movement,
each object in the target area is illuminated at a different angle of view and recorded accordingly.
As long as the path of the real antenna is known with sufficient accuracy, the aperture of a large
antenna can be synthesized on the basis of the magnitude and phase of the received radar
echoes in order to attain a high spatial resolution in the direction in which the antenna is moving.
Figure 12: Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR). The SAR antenna beam is moved back and forth while traveling along
the azimuth
The best possible resolution that can be attained in the azimuth or flight direction using SAR is
equal to half the length of the real antenna, i.e. for a decrease in the azimuth antenna length LAz
(designated as L in Fig. 9) of the real antenna, its resolution capacity Az improves as follows:
L Az
 Az 
2
The resolution in the radial direction (slant range) is determined in principle by the signal
bandwidth of the transmit signal that is used:
c0
Sl  where Co is the speed of light
2 BR
For a resolution of 1 m, we thus need a signal bandwidth of 150 MHz.
Today's SAR systems use a signal bandwidth of >1 GHz (2 GHz is desirable) in order to attain a
resolution of <10 cm.
The signal bandwidth is normally attained using pulse compression techniques such as linear
frequency modulation. More advanced SAR systems also use stepped frequency, polarization
switching and other complex techniques (e.g. intrapulse beamsteering, multiaperture recording in
azimuth, spatiotemporal waveform encoding, etc., in the TerraSAR X).
[5][6] [20]
Test challenges are the bandwidth of interest for the generation and analysis tools. There is a
trade-off between tools and stepped frequency vs. single frequency e.g. higher effort for pulse to
pulse coherent analysis vs. higher analysis bandwidth needed.
4.11 Bistatic, Multistatic Radar

In most cases, the transmitter and receiver use the same antenna through time-domain
multiplexing. This type of radar system is known as "monostatic radar". A bistatic radar system
has one transmitter location and one or more receiver locations with a large distance or offset
angle between them. It is easy to turn a monostatic radar system into a bistatic radar system by
setting up additional receiving sites. A bistatic radar system can also be created using two
monostatic radar systems that operate on the same frequency.
In a bistatic radar system, the transmitter and receiver are separated by a large distance and
usually also have a large azimuth offset. This means that a signal will be received even if no
power (or only very little power) is reflected directly toward the monostatic radar system due to
the geometry of the reflecting object (stealth technology). This type of system has practical
applications in weather radar [9] and the military, e.g. to intercept “stealth” flying objects.
When using multiple spatially separated receivers, we use the term multistatic radar.
These radar have an increased importance on timebase and network synchronization.
Measurement systems must have better synchronization and lower clock jitter to for meaningful
pulse-to-pulse measurements. This is especially important in low-phase noise applications i.e.
slow moving target detection.
4.12 Passive Radar

Passive radar is a radiolocation technology which, unlike conventional radar, does not actively
transmit electromagnetic energy in order to detect and track the reflections that are produced.
Instead, reflections and the Doppler Effect are evaluated for transmissions from known broadcast
transmitters, mobile radio transmitters and other systems that produce constant signals. Passive
radar systems are difficult to locate, since they do not transmit any signals. This is a decisive
advantage in military applications. Another advantage is the ability to intercept stealth aircraft,
which is very limited with existing active radar technology.
[10]
It is also important to understand that the collection systems need to cover the BW of the signals
that need to be analyzed. For instances, 80 MHz near airports can cover each cellular
infrastructure, however new digital video signals must be collected over wider spans, or
individually over multiple analysis.
The collection of passive radar signals is continually evolving as new wireless infrastructure,
digital video, and digital audio terrestrial broadcast stations are deployed world wide.
4.13 Multimode Radar

Many of the radar systems used nowadays in military applications (e.g. in aircraft) are multimode
radar systems which must handle a wide range of tasks:
Target searching and tracking

Weapon guidance
Altimeter
High-resolution ground mapping
Bad weather and terrain avoidance
Electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM)
Different PRF modes are used in these applications, including FM chirp, Barker phase
modulation or complex modulation, AESA antennas, SAR, frequency hopping, intrapulse
polarization, etc.
Example:
Technical specifications for a military airborne data acquisition
system[8]:
Operates from airborne platforms

Multi-mode
Multi-band
Fully Coherent
Fully Polarimetric
FREQUENCY BANDS
 A, B & C 100 to 600 MHz
 F 2.9 to 3.4 GHz
 I 9.0 to 11.25 GHz
 J 15.5 to 16.0 GHz
POLARISATIONS
 Linear vertical and horizontal
 Circular left and right-hand
PEDESTALS
 Azimuth and elevation control using boresighted optical tracking system
 Sector scanning at up to 40 deg/s
ANTENNAS
 Various (to suit application)
MODES
 Frequency-agile
 Polarisation-agile
 Pulse-by-pulse data recording to Ampex DCRSi or compatible media
 User-definable transmit waveforms up to 32 k samples
 1 to 40 kHz PRF
 User-selectable range ambits (768 to 12288 cells)
 Simultaneous two-channel, co and/or cross polar receiver
 Up to 500 MHz instantaneous bandwidth (2.25 GHz using eight 500 MHz 50%
overlapped pulses)
 Data sampling at 100, 250 or 500 MHz
DATA GATHERING MODES
 High Range Resolution
0.36 m using DPDPS linear chirp modulation over 500 MHz bandwidth
768 to 12288 contiguous 0.3 m range cells


 Ultra High Range Resolution
0.1 m using DPDPS linear chirp modulation over 2.25 GHz bandwidth (eight 500
MHz 50% overlapped pulses)
3072 to 49152 contiguous 0.075 m range cells
Testing a multimode radar system of this sort is complex and costly. Fast, fully automated test
systems are needed.
4.14 The Future of Radar Developments
In the future, we can expect to encounter multisensory systems that combine radar and infrared
(or other) systems[11]. This will make it possible to combine the benefits of the different types of
systems while suppressing certain weaknesses [11].
Military onboard radar systems will be increasingly confronted with the stealth characteristics of
advanced aircraft. The contradiction between the different requirements imposed on aircraft must
be solved (i.e. planes should exhibit stealth properties while not revealing their position through
the use of onboard radar). One possibility involves the use of a bistatic radar system with a
separate illuminator and only a receiver on-board the aircraft.
In the future, radar antennas will in many cases no longer exist as discrete elements with suitable
radomes. Instead, they will be integrated into the geometrical structure of the aircraft, ship or
other platform that contains them. The next generation of AESA radars used on-board aircraft will
have more than one fixed array in order to be able to handle greater spatial angles.
Finally, the speed of the digital back-end equipment handling the radar raw data will need to
increase i.e. through parallel processing in order to handle data rates as needed for high-
resolution radar operating modes.[12]
5 Common Radar Abbreviations
Common Radar Abbreviations
Abbreviation Meaning
AESA Active Electronically Scanned Array
AEW Airborne Early Warning
AFC Automatic-Frequency-Control
AGC Automatic Gain Control
AM Amplitude Modulation
APAR Active Phase Array Radar
ASR Airport Surveillance Radar
ASR-S Airport Surveillance Radar Mode-S (Mode S is an extension to
secondary radar. Mode S makes it possible to query additional
information, e.g. the speed of the aircraft.)
ATC Air Traffic Control
BARDS Baseband Radar Detection Sensor
BSD Blind Spot Detection
BW Bandwidth (or Beamwidth)
CFAR Constant False Alarm Rate
CMOS Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
COHO Coherent Local Oscillator
DBF Digital Beam Forming
DC Direct Current ( or Discrete Circuit)
DCRSi Digital Cassette Recording System Improved
DOA Direction of Arrival
DoD Department of Defense
DPDPS Dual Purpose Digital Processing System
DSP Digital Signal Processor
DTM Digital Terrain Model
DUT Device Under Test
ECC Error Correcting Code
ECCM Electronic Counter-Countermeasures
EIRP Effective Isotropic Radiated power
ELINT Electronic Intelligence (electronic acquisition of radar parameters)
EMPAR European Multifunction Phased Array Radar
EMV Electromagnetic Vulnerability
ESA Electronically Steerable Array
ESM Electronic Warfare Support Measures
ESP Electronic Stability Program
EW Electronic Warfare
FCC Fault Collection Unit
FCC Federal Communications Commission
FCW Forward Collision Warning
FFT Fast Fourier Transform
FMCW Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave
FSK Frequency Shift Keying
FTLO Fast-Tracking Local Oscillator
GaAs Gallium Arsenide
GaN Gallium-Nitride
GCA Ground-Controlled Approach
HF High Frequency (3 - 30 MHz)
IF Intermediate Frequency
LO Local Oscillator
LO Low Observability
LPI Low Probability of Intercept
LRR Long Range Radar
LRU Line-Replaceable Unit
MMIC Microwave Monolithic Integrated Circuit
MTD Moving Target Detection
MW Megawatt
NAFTA North American market
NRIET Nanjing Research Institute of Electronic Technology
OTH Over-The-Horizon
PA Power Amplifier
PAR Phased-Array-Radar
PAR Precision Approach Radar
PDF Pulse Desensitization Factor
PESA Passive Electronically Scanned Array
PN Pseudo-Noise
PRF Pulse Repetition Rate or Frequency
PRI Pulse Repetition Interval
PRT Pulse Repetition Time
PSS Predictive Safety System
RADAR Radio Detection and Ranging
RAM Random Access Memory, Radar Absorbing Material, Rolling
Airframe Missile, or Reliability, Availability and Maintainability
RBW Resolution Bandwidth
RCS Radar Cross-Section
RDF Range and Direction Finding
RS Ramp Slope
RWR Radar Warning Receiver
RX Receive
SAM Surface-to-Air Missile
SAR Synthetic Aperture Radar
SNR Signal-to-Noise Ratio
SPI Serial Peripheral Interface
SRR Short Range Radar
SSPA Solid-State Power-Amplifier
SSR Secondary Surveillance Radar
STALO Stable Local Oscillator
STAP Space-Time Adaptive Processing
SWT Software-Timer
T/R Transmit/Receive
TBD Track-Before-Detect
TRM Transmitter-Receiver Module
TWT Traveling Wave Tube
TX Transmit
UHF Ultra High Frequency
ULA Uniform Linear Array
UWB Ultra Wideband
VCO Voltage Controlled Oscillator
VHF Very High Frequency
VSA Vector Signal Analyzer
6 Literature
[1] Merrill I. Skolnik,1990, Radar Handbook, Second Edition McGraw-Hill
[2] Merrill I. Skolnik,1990, Radar Handbook, Second Edition McGraw-Hill, Chapter 7
[3] http://www.radartutorial.eu/index.en.html
[4] http://www.radartutorial.eu/rrp.117.html
[5] http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_Aperture_Radar
[6] http://keydel.pixelplaat.de/uploads/File/vorlesung07-08/SAR.pdf
[7] http://www.h2g2.com/approved_entry/A743807
[8] http://www.armedforces.co.uk/releases/raq43f463831e0b7
[9] http://www.pa.op.dlr.de/poldirad/BISTATIC/index.html
[10] Silent Sentry™Passive Surveillance
[11] http://defense-update.com/20110721_super-hornets-future-eo-radar
[12] radar-technology-looks-to-the-future.html
[13] http://www.radartutorial.eu/06.antennas/an17.en.html
[14] http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1294551
[15] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barker_code
[16] http://prod.sandia.gov/techlib/access-control.cgi/2006/065856.pdf
[17] www.google.com/patents/US6965341.pdf
[18] David M. Pozar, Microwave Engineering, Third Edition, Wiley
[20] http://Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging.pdf
7 Additional Information
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Introduction to Radar System

and Component Tests

This White Paper provides a general

Roland Minihold / Dieter Bues

2 Overview of Typical Radar Applications and Common Radar

4 Common Radar Types ........................................................... 9

5 Common Radar Abbreviations............................................ 25

2.1 Typical radar applications

Searching and tracking

Q 40 to 60 GHz 5 mm to 7.5 mm Used for military communications

V 50 to 75 GHz 4 mm to 6 mm Very strongly absorbed by the atmosphere

Figure 1: Basic principle of Radar and its parameters

An electromagnetic wave of power Pt is transmitted to a flying object, for example to a

Receiving a signal of sufficient power by an adequate power to noise ratio is the

G: Gain of the transmitting antenna, dimension in dBi. The parameter determines

Transmitted power Pt 63 13 dBm

Gain of transmit antenna G 28 12 dBi

Wavelength (frequency)  (f) 0.03 (10*109) 0.12 (2.5*109) m(Hz)

Radar cross section  12 0,3 m2

Received power, linear Pr 1 17.4*103 pW

Received power, logarithmic Prlog -90 -48 dBm

Table 1: Parameters of Radar Equitation and two examples

Example 2 read in clear text: In a radar test laboratory implemented in an

4.1 CW (Doppler) and FMCW (Doppler (Speed)/Range)

Figure 4: Basic principle of a simple pulse radar system

Reference (or timebase) clock stability.

Linear frequency modulation (FM chirp)

4.6 Stepped-Frequency Radar (Imaging Application)

Figure 6: Timing diagram for stepped-frequency radar

Figure 8: Monopulse Radar Antenna

Behavior of sum signals

In phase (coherent) Maximum Less than maximum

Phase locked but not in Less than maximum Maximum

Table 2: Behavior of sum signals dependent on phase of antenna supply signals

Figure 11: Active Electronically Scanned Antenna Schematic Diagram (from)

4.11 Bistatic, Multistatic Radar

4.12 Passive Radar

4.13 Multimode Radar

Target searching and tracking

Operates from airborne platforms

DATA GATHERING MODES

 High Range Resolution

768 to 12288 contiguous 0.3 m range cells

3072 to 49152 contiguous 0.075 m range cells

This white paper may only be used subject

R&S® is a registered trademark of Rohde & Schwarz

Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG

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Wavelength (frequency)  (f) 0.03 (10109) 0.12 (2.5109) m(Hz)