RADAR Engineering

Chapter-1
 Introduction
 Radar is an EM system for the detection and location of objects. It operates by
transmitting a pulse modulated sine wave and detects the nature of the echo signal.
Radar is used to extend the capability of one’s senses for observing the
environment, especially, the sense of vision. The value of the radar lies not in
being a substitute for the eye, but in doing what the eye can’t do. Radar can’t
resolve in detail as well as the eye, but it is capable of recognizing the color of the
objects to the degree of sophistication of which the eye is capable.

 Radar is designed to see through those conditions such as darkness, haze, fog, rain
and snow. In addition to that radar has the advantage of being able to measure the
distance or range to the target.

 The elementary form of radar consists of a

▪ Transmitting antenna: to emit EM waves
▪ Receiving antenna : to collect the received echo signals
▪ Receiver: to detect the EM waves.

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 When a pulse is transmitted by the radar, a portion of the transmitted signal is
intercepted by the target and is reradiated in all directions. The energy reradiated in
back direction is of prime interest to the radar. The receiving antenna collects the
returned energy and delivers it to a receiver, where it is processed to detect the
presence of the target and to extract its location and relative velocity.

 The distance to the target is determined by measuring the time taken for the radar
signal to travel to the target and back. The direction and angular position of the
target may be determined form the direction of arrival of reflected wave front. If
the relative motion exists between radar and the target, the shift in carrier
frequency of the reflected wave is a measure of the targets radial velocity and may
be used to distinguish moving targets from stationery targets.

 In radars which continuously track the movement of a target, a continuous

indication of the rate of change of target position is also available. So, we can
consider the radar as a device to detect the presence of a target and measure its
range.
RADAR—Radar diction and ranging.

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 The radar waveform is a train of narrow rectangular pulses modulating a sine wave
carrier. The distance or range to the target is given by the equation
CTR
R=
2
 Since the EM energy propagates at the speed of light C = 3108 m / s. is the time
taken by the pulse to travel to the target and return. The factor 2 is due to the two-
way propagation of radar system.

 When a pulse is transmitted by the radar, a sufficient length of time must be

required to return the signal and may be detected, before the next pulse may be
transmitted.
 Therefore, the rate at which the pulses may be transmitted is determined by the
range at which the targets are expected. If the pulse repetition frequency is too
high, echo signals from some targets might arrive after the transmission of the next
pulse. It results the ambiguities in measuring range.
 Echoes that arrive after the transmission of the next pulse are called 2nd time
around echo or multiple time around echo. If it were not known as 2nd time around
echo, it appears to be a much shorter range than the actual and is could be
misleading.

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 The range beyond which targets appear as 2nd time around echoes is called
maximum unambiguous range and is given by the equation.
C
Runab =
2 fP
 Where f P is the pulse repetition frequency in Hz. The plot of maximum
unambiguous range as a function of pulse repetition frequency is given by

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 THE RADAR EQUATION
 Here a simple form of the radar equation is derived. The radar equation relates the
range of a radar to the characteristics of the transmitter, receiver, antenna, target
and environment. It is useful for determining the maximum distance from the radar
to the target and it can serve both a tool for understanding radar operation and as a
basis for radar design.
 Let be the power of the radar transmitter. If an isotropic antenna is used, then the
power density at a distance R from the radar is equal to the transmitter power
divided by the surface area of an imaginary sphere of radius R.
 The isotropic antenna is an antenna which radiates uniformly in all directions.

PT
 The power density from isotropic antenna =
4R 2

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 Radar employs directive antennas, ie antennas direct the radiated power PT in to
some particular direction. We know the gain of an antenna G. It is a measure of the
increased radiated power in the direction of the target as compared with the power
that would have been radiated by an isotropic antenna.
 The gain of an antenna is defined as the ratio of the maximum radiation intensity
from the subject antenna to the radiation intensity from the isotropic antenna with
the same power input. Radiation intensity is nothing but the power radiated per
unit solid angle in a given direction.
 The power density at the target from an antenna with a transmitting gain G ie the
power density from directive antenna = PT G
4R 2
 The target intercepts a portion of the incident power and reradiates it in various
directions. Here the radar cross section is the measure of the incident power
intercepted by the target and reradiated back in the direction of radar. It is the
characteristics of the particular target and is measure of its size as seen by the
radar.

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 Power density of the echo signal at radar = PT
G 
4R 2 4R 2

  has the units of area.

 The radar antenna captures a portion of the echo power
 If the effective area of the receiving antenna is Ae

PT 
 Power received by the radar = G Ae
4R 2 4R 2
PT GAe
=
(4 )2 R 4
• The maximum radar range Rmax is the distance beyond which the target can not be
detected. It is equal to the received (echo) power of the minimum detectable signal
S min
PT GAe PT GAe
S min = Or the maximum radar range Rmax = { } 1/4
(4 )2 R 4 (4 )2 Smin

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 Antenna theory gives the relation between transmitting gain G and the receiving
effective are Ae
2
Ae = G
4
 Using this equation the radar range equation can also be expressed as
1
 PT G   
2 2 4
Rmax =  
 (4 ) S min 
3

And
1
 PT Ae  
2 4
Rmax =  
 42
S min 

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 RADAR BLOCK DIAGRAM AND OPERATION
The block diagram of the pulsed radar is

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 In general the transmitter that is used for radar may be an oscillator such as
magnetron. It is turned ON and OFF by the modulator to generate a repetitive train
of pulses.

 A typical radar for the detection of aircraft at ranges 100-200 nmi might employ an
average power of several kilo watts, a pulse width of a several micro seconds, and
a PRF of several hundred pulses per second.

 The waveform generated by the transmitter travels via a transmission line to the
antenna where it is radiated into space. A single antenna may be used for
transmitting and receiving. The received must be protected from damage during
transmission due to the high power of the transmitter. This is the function of the
duplexer. The duplexer serves to channel the returned echo signals to the receiver
and not to the transmitter.

 The duplexer consists of two gas discharge tubes. TR-trans receive. And ATR –
anti trans receive. TR protects the receiver during transmission. ATR directs the
reflected echo signals to the receiver but not to the transmitter during the reception.

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 The receiver is usually a super heterodyne receiver. The first stage might be a low
noise RF amplifier. The mixer and local oscillator converts RF signals to an IF. A
typical IF amplifier for an air surveillance radar might have a centre frequency of
30 or 60 Ghz and a Bandwidth of the order of 1 MHz. The IF amplifier should be
designed as a matched filter. The matched filter is a filter which maximizes the
signal to noise ratio.

 After maximizing the signal to noise ratio in the IF amplifier, the pulse modulation
is extracted by the second detector and amplified by the video amplifier to a level
where it can be properly displayed on a cathode ray oscilloscope.

 The most common form of CRT display is the plan position indicator (PPI). Which
maps the location of the target in azimuth angle and range in polar coordinates. It is
an intensity modulated display in which the amplitude of the echo signal modulates
the electron beam intensity. The beam rotates in angle in response to the antenna
position.
 Another form of the display is the A-scope which plots the targets amplitude as a
function of range for some fixed direction.

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PPI A-Scope

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APPLICATIONS OF RADAR
Radar has been employed to detect targets
 on the ground
 on the sea
 in the air
 in space
 even below the ground.

The brief discussion of the major areas of the applications of Radar:

Military
Radar is an important part of air defense systems. It performs the functions of
surveillance and weapon control. Surveillance includes target detection, target
recognition, target tracking, and designation to a weapon system. Weapon control
radars track targets direct the weapon to an intercept. A missile system might employ
radar methods for guidance and fuzing of the weapon.

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Remote Sensing
Four important examples of radar remote sensing are
 weather observation, which is a regular part of TV weather reporting as well as a
major input to national weather prediction.
 planetary observation, such as the mapping of Venus beneath is visually opaque
clouds
 short – range below ground probing
 mapping of sea ice to route shipping in an efficient manner.

Air Traffic Control ( ATC)

Radar has been employed around the world to safely control air traffic in the vicinity
of airports and to en route from airport to another as well as ground vehicular traffic
and taxiing and aircraft on the ground.

Low Enforcement and High way Safety

Radar has been considered for making vehicles safer by warning of pending collision,
actuating in the air bag, or warning of obstructions or people behind a vehicle or in
the side of blind zone. It is also employed for the detection of intruders.

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Air Safety and Navigation
The airborne weather avoidance radar outlines regions of precipitation and dangerous
wind shear to allow the pilot to avoid hazardous, conditions. Low-flying military
aircraft rely on terrain avoidance and terrain following radars to avoid colliding with
obstructions. Military aircraft employ ground mapping radars to image a scene. The
radio altimeter is also a radar used to indicate the height of an aircraft above the
terrain and as a part of self contained guidance system over land.

Ship Safety
Radar is found on ships and boats for collision avoidance and to observe navigation
buoys, especially when the visibility is poor. Similar shore-based radars are used for
surveillance of harbors and river traffic.

Space
Space vehicles have used radar for rendezvous ( an appointed place of meeting) and
docking and for landing on the moon. Large ground based radars are used for the
detection and tracking of satellites and other space objects.

Other
Radar also found application in industry for the non contact measurement of speed
and distance. It has been used for oil and gas exploration.

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PREDICTION OF RANGE PERFORMANCE.
The radar equation expressing the maximum range
1
 PT G   
2 2 4
Rmax =  
 (4 )3
S min 

PT = Transmitted power
G = Antenna gain
Ae = Antenna effective aperture
 = Radar cross section of target
S min = Minimum detectable signal

All parameters except radar cross section of target are under the control of the radar
designer.

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The radar equation states that
 The transmitted power must be large if long ranges are desired
 The radiated energy must be concentrated in to a narrow beam
 The received echo energy must be collected by large effective aperture
 The receiver must be sensitive to weak signals

But in practice, the simple radar equation does not predict the range performance to a
satisfactory degree of accuracy. Because of
 Various losses that can occur throughout the system
 Losses occur when the electronic equipment is operated in the field rather than
under the laboratory type conditions.

Another important factor that must be considered in the range equation is the
statistical or unpredictable nature of several of the parameters. The minimum
detectable signal and target cross section are unpredictable in nature. They must be
expressed in statistical terms. The statistical nature of several parameters does not
allow the maximum radar range to be described by a single designer. Its specification
must include a statement of the probability that the radar will detect a certain type of
target at a particular range.

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MINIMUM DETECTABLE SIGNAL
Consider the radar receiver. The main function of the radar receiver is to detect a
weak signal in the presence of noise. The weakest signal the receiver can detect is
called the minimum detectable signal. Detection is based on establishing the threshold
level at the output of the receiver. If the receiver output exceeds the threshold, a
signal is assumed to be present. This is called the threshold detection.

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 Consider the output of a typical radar receiver as a function of time. It represents
one sweep of the video output displayed on an A-scope. The envelop has a
fluctuating in nature because of random nature of noise. If a large signal is present
such as A, it is greater than the surrounding noise peaks and can be recognized on
the basis of it amplitude.

 If the threshold level were set sufficiently high, and if the noise alone were
present, the envelope would not exceed the threshold. The threshold level must
be low if weak signals are to be detected, but it can not be so low that noise peaks
cross the threshold and give a false indication of the presence of targets.

 The envelope of the fig is assumed to be from a matched filter receiver. The
matched filter is a filter used in radar receiver which maximizes the output signal
to noise ratio.

 A target is said to be detected if the envelope crosses the threshold.

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 Consider two signals at B and C, representing target echoes of equal amplitude.
The noise voltage accompanying the signal at B is large is enough so that the
combination of signal plus noise exceeds the threshold. Thus the presence of
noise will sometimes enhance the detection of weak signals but it may also cause
the loss of a signal which would other wise be detected.

 Weak signals such as C would not be lost if the threshold level were lower. But
too low a threshold causes the noise alone will rise above the threshold and be
taken for a real signal. Such occurrence is called a false alarm. If the threshold is
set too low false target indications are obtained.

 If it is too high, target might be missed. Thus the S/N ratio is necessary to compute
the minimum detectable signal. That’s why it is easy to consider maximizing the
SNR at the output of the IF amplifier rather than in the video.

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 RECEIVER NOISE
Strictly speaking
 Noise is the unwanted EM energy which interferes the ability of the receive to
detect the wanted signal. It may originate within the receiver itself or it may enter
via the receiving antenna along with the desired signal.
 If the radar were to operate in a perfectly noise free environment, so that no
external sources of noise accompanied the desired signal. Thermal noise is
generated due to thermal motion of conduction electrons in the ohmic portions of
receiver input stages. This is proportional to the temperature of the ohmic portion
of the circuit and the receiver band width. Then the thermal noise power generated
o
by a receiver of Band width BN at temperature T Kelvin is
 Available thermal noise power = K T B
N
 Where K = Boltzman constant = 1.38 X 10−21 J/ deg.
o
 At room temperature T = 290 K
−21
 Then the factor KT = 4 X 10 w/Hz

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The noise bandwidth of a superhetrodyne radar receiver is



2
H ( f ) df
BN = −
2
H ( fo )
H(f) = frequency response characteristics of IF amplifier
f o = frequency of the maximum response.
B N is the Noise bandwidth is the bandwidth of the rectangular filter which passes the
same noise power as does by the real filter..

But in general noise is not only the thermal noise, but they are short noise, resister
noise, external noise etc.

Total noise at the output of the receiver may be considered to be equal to the thermal
noise power obtained from an ideal receiver multiplied by a factor called noise figure.

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The noise Fn of a receiver is defined as
No NoiseOutof Pr actical Re civer
Fn = =
KTo BN Ga NoiseOutof idealreceiveratStdTe mparatureTo
N o = Noise out from receiver
Ga = available gain
o
The standard temperature is taken to be 290 K
The available gain is the ratio of
SignalOutS o
Ga =
SignalinS i

Input Noise Ni = K TB N

Si / N i Si N o
Noise Figure Fn = =
So / N o N o So
FS N S
Si = n o i = Fn KTo BN o
No No
If the minimum detectable signal S min is that value of S corresponding to the
i

minimum ratio of the output (IF) signal to noise ratio  So 

N 
 o  min

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 SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO
 Here statistical noise theory is applied to obtain the SNR at the output of the IF
amplifier to achieve the probability of detection.

 Consider the IF amplifier with Bandwidth BIF followed by a second detector and a
video amplifier with bandwidth Bv . The second detector and video amplifier form
the envelop detection which rejects the carrier frequency and passes only
modulation envelope. The video bandwidth Bv must be greater than BIF / 2 in order
to pass all video modulation.
 Square law or linear detection may be assumed for detection
 The noise entering the IF amplifier is assumed to be Gaussian with PDF given by

1  − v2 
P (v ) = exp 
2  2 

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 IF Second Video
amplifier Detector amplifier
BIF Bv

 Where P(v) dv be the probability of finding the noise voltage v between v and
v+dv.
  is the variance or mean square value of noise voltage, mean is assumed to
be zero.
 The noise at the output of the IF filter is
R − R2 
P ( R ) = exp 
  2 
 it is Rayleigh PDF
 R is the amplitude of the envelope of the filter output
 The probability that the envelope of the noise voltage will lie between the values of
V1 and V2 V2
R 2
−R 
P (V1  R  V2 ) = V 1  2
exp dR


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The probability that the noise voltage envelope will exceed the threshold VT

R  − R2 
P (VT  R   ) =  exp dR
VT
  2 
 When ever the voltage envelope exceeds the threshold, target detection is
considered to have occurred
 False alarm is the probability that the noise will cross the threshold that the noise
will cross the threshold
 The average time interval between crossings of threshold by noise alone is defined
as the false alarm time T fa
N
T fa = Lim 1 T K ( N → )
N K =1

 The average time interval between crossings of threshold by noise alone is defined
as the false alarm time T fa
N
T fa =Lim 1  TK ( N → )
N K =1

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 Where TK is the time between crossings of thresholds VT by the noise
envelope. The false alarm probability may also defined as the ratio of duration
of the time envelope is actually above the threshold to the total time it could
have been above the threshold.
N

t K
(t K ) av 1
Pfa = K =1
M
= =
T
(TK ) av T fa B
K
K =1

 Where B is the bandwidth of the IF amplifier, T fa is the false alarm time. The
average duration of the noise is the reciprocal of the bandwidth B. It is B IF in
the case of envelope detector.
1  VT2 
T fa = exp 
B IF  2 

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INTEGRATION OF RADAR PULSES
The relations which we derived for the signal to noise ratio, the probability of
detection and the probability of false alarm applies for a single pulse only. But many
pulses are returned for each radar scan from any particular target.
The number of pulses returned from a point target as the radar antenna scans through
its beam width is The process of summing all the returned
echo pulses for the purpose of
improving the detection is called
Integration.

Integration may be accomplished in the radar receiver either before the 2nd detector
( in the IF) or after the 2nd detector ( in the video). Integration before the detector is
called the pre-detection, or coherent integration. While the integration after the
detector is called the post-detection or non-coherent integration

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INTEGRATION OF RADAR PULSES
 Pre-detection integration requires that the phase of the echo signal. On the other
hand in post-detection phase information is destroyed by the 2nd detector. Hence
in post-detection, integration is not concerned with preserving RF phase.

 Post-detection integration is not as efficient as pre-detection integration. If there are

n pulses of equal SNR integrated by an ideal pre-detection integrator, the resultant
SNR would be exactly n times that of a single pulse. If the same n pulses are
integrated by an ideal post detection device, the resultant SNR would be less than n
times that of a single pulse. This loss in integration efficiency is due to non
linearity of the 2nd detector which converts some of the signal energy to noise
energy in the rectification process.
 Although post-detection integration is not as efficient as pre-detection integration,
it is easier to implement. In most Radar applications post detection integration is
therefore preferred, even through the integrated SNR may not be as great.

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INTEGRATION OF RADAR PULSES

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 RADAR CROSS SECTION OF TARGETS
The radar cross section of target is the measure of the amount of incident power intercepted by
the target and re-radiated back in the direction of the radar. It has the units of area. It is the
characteristics of the particular target and is a measure of its size as seen by the radar.

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RADAR CROSS SECTION OF TARGETS

For most common type of radar targets such as an aircrafts, sips and terrain, the radar
cross section does not necessarily bear a simple relation ship to the physical area

The radar cross section of complex targets such as ship, aircrafts, cities and terrain are
complicated functions of the viewing aspect and the radar frequency.

A complex target may be considered as comprising a large number of independent

objects that scatter energy in all directions. The energy scattered in the direction of
radar is the of prime interest. The relative phases and amplitudes of the echo signals
from the individual scattering objects are measured at the radar receiver and determine
the total cross section.

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 TRANSMITTED POWER
Here is called the peak power or peak pulse
power. It is defined as the power averaged over
that carrier cycle which occurs at the maximum
of the pulse of power. Peak power is usually one
half the maximum instantaneous power.

The average radar power is defined as the

average transmitted power over the pulse
repetition period.
If the transmitted waveform is a train of
rectangular pulses of width and pulse repetition
period , the average power is related to the
peak power by

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TRANSMITTED POWER

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PULSE REPETITION FREQUENCY AND RANGE AMBIGUTIES
The PRF is primarily determined by the maximum range at which targets are expected. If the
PRF is too high, the probability of obtaining target echoes from wrong pulse transmission is
increased. Echoes received after an interval exceeding the pulse repetition period are called
multiple-time-around echoes. They result confusing the range measurements. Such an echo
would appear to be at a much shorter range than the actual. The range beyond which targets
appear as 2nd time around echoes is called the maximum unambiguous range and is given
by

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PULSE REPETITION FREQUENCY AND RANGE AMBIGUTIES

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System Losses:
Losses in the radar reduce the S/N at the receiver output. Losses which can be calculated
include the antenna beam shape loss, the collapsing loss and the plumbing loss. Losses which
cannot be calculated readily include those due to field degradation, operator fatigue and lack of
operator motivation.
1) Plumbing Loss
Loss in transmission lines between the transmitter and antenna and between antenna
and receiver.
2) Beam Shape Loss
The train of pulses returned from the target to a scanning radar are modulated in
amplitude by the shape of the antenna beam.
A beam shape loss accounts for the fact that the maximum gain is used in the radar
equation rather than a gain which changes from pulse to pulse.
3) Limiting Loss
Limiting in radar can lower the Pd. This is not a desirable effect and is due to a
limited dynamic range. Limiting can be due to pulse compression processing and
intensity modulation of CRT (such as PPI).

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System Losses:
4) Collapsing Loss
If the radar integrates additional noise samples along with the wanted signal +noise
pulses, the added noise causes degradation called the collapsing g loss. This occurs
on displays which collapse range information.
5) Nonideal Equipment
Transmitter power - the power varies from tube to tube (for same type), and with age
for a specific tube. Power is also not uniform over the operating band. Hence Pt may
be other than the design value.
6) Operator Loss
A distracted, tired, overloaded, poorly trained operator will perform less efficiently.
The operator efficiency factor (empirical) is where Pd is the single scan probability
of detection.

Note: operator loss is not relevant to systems where automatic detection is done

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System Losses:
7) Field Degradation
When a radar is operated under field conditions, the performance deteriorates even more than
can be accounted for in the above losses.
8) Other Loss Factors
MTI radars introduce additional loss. The MTI discrimination technique results in complete
loss of sensitivity for certain target values (blind speeds).

In a radar with overlapping range gates, the gates may be wider than optimum for practical
reasons.
9) Propagation Effects
The radar equation assumes free space propagation. The earth’s surface and atmosphere have a
significant effect on radar performance.
The effects fall into three categories:
attenuation
refraction by the earth’s atmosphere
lobe structure caused by interference between the direct wave and the ground reflected wave

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Antenna parameters

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 Antenna parameters

A typical reflector antenna with a parabolic shape will

produce a
beamwidth approximately equal to

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Questions:
1. Derive the Radar range equation, a) for n pulses, b)in terms of duty
cycle
2. Draw the block diagram of Radar system and explain the operation.
3. Enumerate different applications of Radar
4. Write short notes on
a) Radar cross section of target
b) Integration of radar
c) false alarm
d) Duty cycle
e) Pulse repetition frequency
f) system losses and propagation effects
g) minimum detectable signal / Threshold detection
h) Antenna parameters,
i) unambiguous range

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