RADAD ENGINEERING

M.VAMSHI KRISHNA
ASST PROF
DEPT OF ECE
 RADAR
ENGINEERING
• Radar is an electromagnetic device and it
is a powerful electronic eye.

• RADAR represents means RAdio,

Detection And Ranging.
Radar can see the objects in
• day or night
• rain or shine
• land or air
• cloud or clutter
• fog or frost
• earth or planets
• stationary or moving and
• good or bad weather.
In brief, Radar can see the objects hidden any
where in the globe or planets except hidden
behind good conductors.
 INFORMATION GIVEN BY THE
RADAR
Radar gives the following information :
• The position of the object
• The distance of objects from the location of radar
• The size of the object
• Whether the object is stationary or moving
• Velocity of the object
• Distinguish friendly and enemy aircrafts
• The images of scenes at long range in good and
adverse weather conditions
• Target recognition
• Weather target is moving towards the radar or moving
away
• The direction of movement of targets
• Classification of materials
 APPLICATIONS OF RADARS
Radars have a number of applications for domestic, civilian
and military purposes. In particular, radar is used
• To indicate speed of the automobiles, cricket and
tennis balls etc.
• To control guided missiles and weapons
• To provide early warning of enemy
• To aircrafts, ships, submarines and spacecrafts for
defence purposes
• For weather forecast
• For remote sensing
• For ground mapping
• For airport control
• For airport surveillance
• For precise measurement of distances for land surveying
• To detect and measure objects under the earth
• For navigating aircrafts and ships and submarines in all
the weather conditions and night.
• To detect and locate ships, land features and sea
conditions to avoid collision
• To map the land and sea from aircrafts and spacecrafts
• To study the nature of stars and planets
• To measure altitude from the earth for aircrafts and
missile navigation etc.
• For searching of submarines, land masses etc.
• For bombing aircrafts, ships and cities in all weather
conditions
• To aim at enemy air crafts, ships and locations.
NATURE AND TYPES OF RADARS
 RADAR FREQUENCY BANDS
The IEEE standard radar frequency bands are given in table

Frequency Range
Band Name Wavelength Applications
(GHz)
mm 40 – 300 7.5 – 1 mm Radar experiments
ka 27 – 40 1.11 – 7.5 mm
k 18 – 27 1.67 – 1.11 cm
ku 12 – 18 2.5 – 1.67 cm Satellite communication, radars
X 8 – 12 3.75 – 2.5 cm microwave labs etc
C 4–8 7.5 – 3.75 cm
S 2–4 15 – 7.5 cm
L 1–2 30 – 15 cm Television, satellite, navigation
UHF 0.3 – 1 1 – 30 cm aids
Television, satellite
VHF 0.03 – 0.3 10 – 1 m communication, FM
broadcast police radio
HF 0.003 – 0.03 100 – 10 m telephone
 LIMITATIONS
• Radar can not recognize the color of the
targets.
• It can not resolve the targets at short
distances like human eye.
• It can not see targets placed behind the
conducting sheets.
• It can not see targets hidden in water at
long ranges.
• It is difficult to identify short range objects.
• The duplexer in radar provide switching between
the transmitter and receiver alternatively when a
common antenna is used for transmission and
reception.
• The switching time of duplexer is critical in the
operation of radar and it affects the minimum
range. A reflected pulse is not received during
• the transmit pulse
• subsequent receiver recovery time
• The reflected pulses from close targets are not
detected as they return before the receiver is
connected to the antenna by the duplexer.
 RANGE EQUATION OF BASIC RADAR

• Radar range equation gives a relation for

the maximum radar range in terms of
transmitter power, effective area of the
antenna, radar cross-section, wavelength,
minimum detectable signal, and gain of
the antenna.
• Radar range equation is
1
 ptA  2 4
R max  e

 4 2
s min 
 1
 ptG   2 2 4
R max  
  4   3 2
 s min 

In the above equations,

p t= transmitter power (watts)

G = maximum gain of the antenna (no units)
A e = effective area of the receiving antenna m 2 
 = Radar cross-section of the target = Maximum m 2 
range of the radar (m)
R max = Minimum detectable signal
s min = Minimum detectable signal
TYPES OF BASIC RADARS

• Monostatic and Bistatic

• CW
• FM-CW
• Pulsed radar
 MONOSTATIC RADARS
• Monostatic radar uses the antenna for transmit and
receive.
• Its typical geometry is shown in the below fig.

Target

Antenna
Fig. Monostatic radar
 Monostatic Radar Equation
• The monostatic radar equation is given by

p t G 2 2  M
pR 
4 3 d 4 L t L r L m

p t G t 2  M
pR 
4 3 d 4

If L t represents transmitter losses

L r represents receiver losses
L m represents medium losses
 BISTATIC RADAR
• Bistatic radars use transmitting and
receiving antennas placed in different
locations.
• CW radars in which the two antennas are
used, are not considered to be bistatic
radars as the distance between the
antennas is not considerable.
• The bistatic radar geometry is shown in
below fig.
 Target

Antenna Antenna

Fig. Bistatic radar geometry

 Bistatic Radar Equation

p t G t G r 2  B
pR 
43 d 2t d r2 L t L r L m

• If L t represents L r transmitter L m losses,

represents receiver losses and represents
medium losses.
 THE PULSED RADAR
• A simple pulsed radar is shown in below
fig.

RF Pulse

Fig. Simple pulsed radar

 Pulsed Radar Equation
1
 p t G t G r 2  C 4  4
R max   
 4 k Tn Vo C Bf L 
2

Here, C Bf = bandwidth correction factor.

Tn = noise temperature
 The Block Diagram of Pulsed
Radar
• The diagram of pulsed radar is shown in
below fig.
High
Modulator Duplexer
Synchronizer Frequency
Oscillator

Display Local
Unit Oscillator

Video IF Local Noise

Amplifier Detector Mixer RF Amplifier
Amplifier

Fig. Block diagram of pulsed radar

 MEASUREMENT OF RANGE
WITH PULSED RADAR
• The measurement of range on the CRT by pulsed radar
is made from the leading edge of the transmitted pulse to
the leading edge of the received echo. (below Fig.).

Range

Fig. Measurement of range

• The Measurement of range by pulsed radar involves the
measurement of time taken for an electromagnetic wave
to travel towards a target and back to the radar.
• Velocity of electromagnetic wave = 3  108 m /s
• or velocity of electromagnetic wave = 300 m /s
• Velocity of electromagnetic wave = 0.3 km/s
• It is obvious from the above data, there exists a time
interval of 2 × 3.333 = 6.666 s between the pulse
leaving the transmitter towards a target and echo arriving
back to the radar for every kilometer.
• The range is therefore given by
• Range (in km) = (0.15) × time interval between the
transmission and return of echo in
microseconds
 APPLICATION OF PULSED
RADAR

The pulsed radar is used to find the target’s

• range
• bearing and elevation angle
• height
 CONTINUOUS WAVE (CW)
RADAR

• CW radar detects objects and measures

velocity from Doppler shift.

• It can not measure range.

• It can be monostatic or bistatic.

 The Doppler Effect
• The Doppler Effect was discovered by
Doppler.
• Doppler is Austrian mathematician.
 Principle of Doppler Effect
• The radars radiate electromagnetic waves towards the
targets for detection and also to obtain details of the
target.
• When the target is stationary, the frequency of the
received echoes is constant.
• However, when the target is moving, the frequency of
the received echoes are found to be different from
transmitted frequency.
• If the target approaches the radar, the frequency is
increased and if the target moves away from the radar,
the frequency is decreased.
• That is, in the moving targets, there exists a frequency
shift in the received echo signals.
• The presence of frequency shift in the received echo
signals in the radar due to moving targets is known as
Doppler effect.
• The frequency shift is known as Doppler frequency shift
and it is given by

2 t
fd  fo
o
Here, fd = Doppler shift frequency, Hz
fo = transmitter frequency, Hz
t = velocity of the target, m/s
o = velocity of electromagnetic waves in free
space
• The Doppler Effect is shown in below fig.
fo
fr  fo  fd Aircraft moving
towards the radar
CW Radar radar
fo
fr  fo  fd Aircraft moving
away from the
CW Radar radar
Fig. Doppler Effect
If t is expressed in knots, the Doppler shift frequency is given by
1.03 t kts  t kts 
fd Hz   
m  m 
• A simple CW radar is shown in below fig.

CW Radar
Transmitter

Accurate
Mixer Frequency
Measuring Device

Display
Unit

Fig. CW radar using Doppler Effect

• The CW radar consists of a transmitter, mixer,
accurate frequency measuring device and
display unit.
 Transmitter
• The transmitter emits continuous
electromagnetic waves towards the targets.
• A single antenna is used for transmission and
reception. The duplexer is used to isolate the
receiver from high transmitter power.
• For radar approaching targets, the reflected
signal frequency is high than the transmitter
frequency. for moving away targets from radar,
the reflected signal frequency is lower than the
transmitter frequency.
• That is,
fr  ft  fd for incoming targets
fr  ft  fd for moving away targets

Here, fr = frequency of reflected signal

f t = frequency of transmitted signal
fd = Doppler shift frequency
 Mixer
• The transmitted signal of frequency and
reflected echo signal of frequency are
given as input to the mixer.
• The output of the mixer is Doppler
frequency signal.
 Accurate Frequency Measuring
Device
• The output of the mixer is given to an
accurate frequency measuring device to
find out the radial velocity of the target.
 Display Unit
• The output of the mixer is given to the display
unit.
• This indicates the presence of moving target.
• In the case of stationary target, the Doppler shift
frequency is zero.
• That is, the transmitted frequency and reflected
echo signal frequency are the same.
• In the case of moving targets, the Doppler shift
frequency is very small compared to transmitter
frequency.
• Sometimes, it is difficult to recognize this
frequency. however, such as small frequency is
measured using superhetrodyne principle.
BLOCK DIAGRAM OF CW DOPPLER
RADAR
• The detailed block diagram of CW Doppler Radar is
shown in below fig.
Transmitting
Antenna

Receiving
Transmitter Antenna

Local
Mixer 1 Mixer 2
Oscillator

Frequency
IF Amplifier Mixer 3 IF Amplifier 2 Discriminator

Display

Fig. Detailed block diagram of CW Doppler radar

 MEASUREMENT OF VELOCITY
OF TARGET
• The velocity of the moving object is determined
by
 fd    o 
 t     
 ft   2 
Here, t = velocity of the target
fd
= Doppler shift frequency
ft = transmitter frequency
o = free space velocity of EM wave
 MEASUREMENT OF BEARING AND
ELEVATION ANGLES OF THE TARGET

• The transmitting antenna focuses the radar waves and

radiates them in the shape of the beam.
• The beam is pointed directly at the target in free space.
The receiver antenna picks up the maximum signal when
it is pointed directly at the reflecting target.
• The received echo signal is maximum when both the
transmitting and receiving antennas are pointed directly
at the target.
• The position of the radar antenna corresponding to the
maximum received echo signal represent bearing and
elevation angles of the target which is in the path of the
beam.
• A typical example is shown in below fig.

Range

Azimuth Angle, 

Elevation Angle,  E

Fig. Measurement of bearing and elevation of a target

 APPLICATIONS OF CW RADAR
The CW radar is used to find the targets

• bearing angle
• elevation angle
• velocity and
• to indicate the presence of moving targets
• radial velocity of moving targets
• whether an object is approaching or moving
away
 DISADVANTAGES OF CW
RADAR

• The CW radar does not give range

information
 CW RADAR EQUATION
• The range equation of CW radar is given by
p CW Td G 2 2 
SNR 
43 R 4 k Te F L L W
Here, p av = CW average transmitted power over the
dwell interval
= p CW (say)
Ti = Target illumination time
G = antenna gain
R = Range of target from radar
k = Boltzman constant = 1.38  10 23 J / k
Te = Effective noise temperature
F = Noise figure
L = Radar losses
 FMCW RADAR
• FMCW radar detects, measures range and
radial velocity of objects.
• An FM CW Radar is a Frequency
Modulated Continuous Wave radar in
which the frequency of continuously
transmitted wave is varied at a known rate
and the frequency of reflected signals is
compared with the frequency of the
transmitted signal.
• A simple FMCW radar is shown in below
fig.

Fig. Frequency modulated CW radar

 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF FMCW
RADAR
• The block diagram of FMCW radar is
shown in below fig.
Frequency Frequency FM Transmitter
Generator Modulator

Limiter Amplifier Mixer

Frequency
Display
Clutter

Fig. Block diagram of FMCW radar

 APPLICATIONS

FMCW radar is used to measure

• Slant range of the target

• Bearing and elevation angles of target
• Height of the target
 PULSED DOPPLER RADAR

• Radar with high PRFs is called pulsed

Doppler radar.
• It contains pulse and CW radars.
• It operates at high PRF to avoid the
problems of blind speeds.
 TYPES OF PULSED DOPPLER
RADAR
They are
• MTI with many Doppler ambiguities and
without no range ambiguities.
• The pulsed Doppler radar with high PRF,
many range ambiguities and without
Doppler ambiguities.
• The pulsed Doppler radar with some range
ambiguities and Doppler ambiguities.
 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF PULSED
DOPPLER RADAR
• It is shown in below fig.

Locking Mixer Transmitter Doppler

COHO STALO Receiver Mixer

Processor Phase Detector IF Amplifier

Display

Fig. Block diagram of pulsed Doppler radar

 APPLICATIONS
• Weather warning
• Detection of the target and estimation of
target motion.
 ADVANTAGES OF PULSED
DOPPLER RADAR
These are
• It is able to reject unwanted echoes with
the help of Doppler filters.
• It is able to measure the range and
velocity even in the presence of multiple
targets.
• Signal-to-noise ratio is high.
 NAVIGATION RADARS
• Navigation radars are also in the category
of surface search radars.
• Helps pilots in the navigation of aircrafts
and ships.
• Its operating range is small
• It has high resolution than surface search
radars.
 SURVEILLANCE (SEARCH)
RADAR

• The search radars scan the radiation

beam continuously over a specified
volume in space for searching the targets.

• The search radars determines range,

angular position and target velocity.
 SEARCH RADAR EQUATION
The search radar equation is given by
p av A e  Ts
SNR 
4 R 4 k Te LF 
Here, p av = Average power
= pt PW  PRF
= pt d c
dc = Duty cycle
PW = Pulse width
PRF = Pulse repetition frequency
A = Aperture area
=  D4
4
D = Aperture diameter
 = Radar cross-section
= Scan time
 = Search volume
k = Boltz man constant = = Effective noise temperature, Kelvin
F = Noise figure
L = Radar losses
 MTI RADAR
Meaning of MTI Radar
• MTI radar means Moving Target Indication radar.
• This is one form of pulsed radar.
• MTI radar is characterized by its very low pulse repetition frequency
and hence there is no range ambiguity in MTI radar.
• The unambiguous range is given by

R un  o
fp
Here, fp= pulse repetition frequency
o = velocity of electromagnetic wave in free space
• At the same time, MTI radar has many ambiguities in the Doppler
domain.
• It determines target velocity and distinguishes moving targets from
stationary targets.
 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF MTI RADAR
• The block diagram of MTI radar is shown in below fig.
Modulator

Microwave Signal f  fc Duplexer

Amplifier

f  fc f  fc  fd
STALO
Mixer Mixer 2
f
fc  fd
IF Amplifier
COHO
fc
Phase Detection

Amplifier 1
fd
Delay Line
Subtractor Amplifier 2 Cancellation
T  1/f p
MTI Output Display Unit

Fig. Block diagram of MTI radar

 BLIND SPEEDS
Definitions
• Definition 1 : Blind speed is defined as the radial
velocity of the target at which the MTI response is zero.
• Definition 2 : It is also defined as the radial velocity of
the target which results in a phase difference of exactly
2 radians between successive pulses.
• Definition 3 : Blind speed is defined as the radial
velocity of the target at which no shift appears making
the target appears stationary and echoes from the target
are cancelled.
Definition 4 : The blind speed of the target is defined as
n n
b  fp 
2 2Tp
Here, b = blind speed
fp = pulse repetition frequency
n = any integer = 0, 1, 2, 3, . . .
 = wavelength
Tp= pulse repetition interval
The first blind speed in knots is given by
b1 knots   0.97m fp Hz 
 m fp Hz 
The other blind speeds are integer multiples of . The blind
speeds are serious limitation in MTI radar.
 METHODS OF REDUCTION OF EFFECT
OF BLIND SPEEDS

There are four methods to reduce the effect

of blind speeds by operating the radar at

• long wavelengths
• high pulse repetition frequency
• more than one pulse repetition frequency
• more than one wavelength
 MST RADAR
Meaning of MST Radar
• MST radar represents Mesosphere, Stratosphere and
Troposphere radar.
• The MST radar is one type of wind profiler designed to
measure winds and other atmospheric parameters up to
altitudes of 100 km or more.
• Mesosphere is the atmospheric region between 50 – 100
km above the earth.
• Stratosphere is the atmospheric region between 10 – 50
km above the earth.
• Troposphere is the atmospheric region between 0 – 10
km above the earth.
 SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR (SAR)
• SAR is a radar which moves the antenna beam across
an area to synthesize a very large aperture.
• It provides excellent angle and cross range resolution.
• SAR uses a technique which synthesizes a large
antenna with a small antenna by examining the volume
of interest sequentially.
• The length of the synthetic antenna aperture is given by
R
L off 
D
Here, D is horizontal dimension of physical antenna
R is maximum length of synthetic aperture
 is the operating wavelength
 Salient Features of Synthetic Aperture Radars
• It synthesizes very large apertures.
• It provides excellent angle and cross range resolutions.
• In these systems, radars moves rapidly and the targets
are stationary.
• It is also useful where the radar is stationary and the
targets move rapidly.
• It synthesizes a large antenna with a small real antenna
systematically examining a large volume.
• If the radar is stationary and the targets move rapidly,
the above system is known as inverse Synthetic
Aperture Radar (SAR).
• ISAR is used to analyze formatting of aircraft from
ground base or shipborn radars.
• ISAR is used to find how many aircrafts are in the
formation.
• ISAR is also diagnostic radar which analyzes the
scattering of targets to reduce their radar reflectivity.
• SAR is used in remote sensing and mapping.
• SAR is also used to obtain a map like display from the
image of earth’s surface.
• The imaging map by SAR is useful for military
reconnaissance.
• It is used for weapon targeting.
• SAR is also used for geological and mineral explorations.
• SAR was first used by NASA, USA.
• SAR mapping is similar to that the Doppler Beam
Sharpening (DBS).
• SAR provides two-dimensional image of a target in range
and cross range.
• SAR produces images scenes at a ling range and in
adverse weather.
• SAR has a theoretical cross range equal to , being the
horizontal dimension of the antenna.
• SAR does not provide images of moving targets accurately.
• SAR images of moving targets are distorted and displaced
from the pitch.
• The concept of synthetic aperture radar is
shown in below fig.
Target x
Effective length Target y
of real antenna  n
Target z

Target x
Effective length Target y
of SAR antenna
Target z

Fig. Concept of SAR

• The design of SAR waveforms is made by
satisfying the following inequality.
2 o
 PRF
d 2R
Here,  is velocity of the source
R is the range of the target
PRF is pulse repetition frequency
d is the aperture of the incremental radiator
 o is free space velocity of electromagnetic
wave
This condition avoids range and velocity ambiguity.
 SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR EQUATION
• The single pulsed radar equation is given by
p t G 2 2 
SNR 
43 R i4 k Te B L
p
Here, t= Peak transmitter power
G = Antenna gain
 = Wavelength
 = Radar cross-section
Ri= Slant range of ith bin
k = Boltzman’s constant = 1.38  10 23 J /k
B = Receiver bandwidth
L = Radar losses
Te = Effective noise temperature
 APPLICATIONS OF SAR
• SAR is used for remote sensing and ground mapping
purposes.
• It is used for military reconnaissance.
• It is used for determining sea state and ocean wave
conditions.
• It is used for geological and mineral explorations.
• It is used to obtain two dimensional image of targets.
• It is used to produce images of scenes at ling ranges
and in adverse weather.
• It is used to obtain excellent angle and cross range
resolutions.
• SAR images provide information about ice, floods, earth
contents, resource prospects, land use, crop quality,
snow fields, inventory, industrial distributions, forestry,
deserts, buildings and hills etc.
 DISADVANTAGES OF SAR

• It does not provide the images of moving

targets.

• SAR images of moving targets are

distorted and displaced from the pitch.
 MONOPULSE TRACKING
RADAR
• Monopulse tracking radar is a radar in
which the information about angle error is
obtained on a single pulse.
• This is also called as simultaneous lobing.
• The monopulse angle measurement is
done by several methods.
• The amplitude comparison monopulse
method is most popular.
 Amplitude Comparison Monopulse
Tracking Radar
• The block diagram of amplitude comparison monopulse
tracking radar is shown in below fig.
• This is used for the measurement of single angular
coordinate of the target.
Sum Channel

Transmitter TR Mixer 1 IF Amplifier Amplitude

Detector Range
Signal

Hybrid LO Phase Display
Junction Detector

Angle Error

IF Amplifier Signal
Mixer 2
Difference 2
Channel

Fig. Block diagram of amplitude comparison monopulse

tracking radar for a single angle coordinate
measurement
 PHASE COMPARISON
MONOPULSE RADAR SYSTEM
• The phase comparison monopulse radar is also called
Interferometer radar. In this method, two antenna beams
looking in the same direction are used.
• Here, the amplitudes of the signals are the same with
different phases. The phase difference in the two signals
received by the two antennas is given by    2 d sin  .

• Here,  is wavelength, d is the spacing between the two
antennas,  is the direction of arrival of signal with
respect to normal to the baseline. The pulse comparison
method used in one angle coordinate is shown in below
fig. It consists of two antennas producing identical
beams.
 Bore site

1 2

Fig. Phase comparison method

ADVANTAGES OF PHASE COMPARISON
MONOPULSE RADAR

• The scanning of radiation beams and

beam shaping are very fast.
 DISADVANTAGES
• It is less efficient than the amplitude comparison
method.
• It has the effect of grating lobes due to spacing
of the two antennas.
• It is less popular method.
• Only one-fourth of the available antenna area is
used for transmitting and only one-half the area
is used while receiving, to obtain each angle
coordinate.
• When the spacing between the antennas is
greater than the antenna diameter, the sidelobes
in the radiation patterns are high and EMI is
produced.
 SEQUENTIAL LOBING RADAR
• In sequential lobing, only one beam is switched
between two squinted sequential angular
positions for target-angle measurement.
• This method is called sequential lobing.
• It is also called sequential switching or lobe
switching.
• Here, time sharing is done in using single
antenna beam.
• The method is simple and requires less
equipment and cost effective.
• But it is not very accurate.
• An antenna and its lobe which is switched
sequentially between X and Y directions is
shown in below fig..
Target
X Y

Fig. Sequential lobing in polar coordinates

 ADVANTAGES OF SEQUENTIAL
LOBING

• It requires only one antenna

• Operation is simple
• It requires less equipment
• It is cost affective.
 DISADVANTAGES

• It is not very accurate.

 CONICAL SCAN TRACKING
RADAR
• The conical scan tracking radar is a radar
in which the squinted beam is continuously
rotated to obtain angle measurements in
two coordinates for tracking the target.

• The conical scan is also simply called

con-scan.
 MAIN FACTORS AFFECTING RADAR
OPERATION
The radar operation is affected by several factors.
These are
• the external man-made EMI
• the electromagnetic interference coming from other
transmitters
• EMI generated within the receiver
• signals reflected by natural phenomenon like rain,
fog, and cloud etc.
• the electromagnetic interference due to natural
sources like lightening, solar and cosmic radiations.
• signals reflected by clutter land masses, buildings and
hills.
• the curvature of the earth
• noise produced within the receiver
• the peak transmitter power
• average power
• sensitivity of the receiver
• antenna efficiency
• antenna beam shape
• sidelobes of radiation pattern
• beamwidth of antenna pattern
• radar cross-section of the target
• ambient temperature
• radar location
• type of earth at the location of the radar
• size of the target
• shape of the target
• polarization of the radar antenna
• the medium between the radar and the target
• radar pulse width
• pulse rest time
• the time interval between pulses
• frequency of operation
• signal to noise ratio
 NOISE GENERATED WITHIN THE RECEIVER

• When the noise in the radar receiver is high, the echo

signal will be masked.
• The noise can be made minimum by reducing the
beamwidth.
• Typical low noise receiver and its output are shown in
below fig.
Amplified Echo Signal
Amplified Internal
Noise
Receiver

External Amplified
Echo Signal
External Noise Noise

Fig. Receiver output with low noise

• At the same time, high noise receiver and
its output are shown in below fig.
Amplified Echo Signal

Amplified Internal
Noise
Receiver

External Amplified Masked Echo

External Noise Noise Signal

Fig. High noise receiver and its output

 EXTERNAL EMI DUE TO NATURAL
PHENOMENA

• The electromagnetic interference caused

by natural phenomena is seasonal
dependent and effects the radar operation.

• However, the effect is minimum in modern

radars operating between 3 and 30 GHz.
 Plane Echo
Obscured
Storm Centre

PPI Screen

Fig. Effect of clutter

 EMI FROM LAND MASSES
• Land masses screen an echo in the receiver
display.
• The reflected signals from land masses are
useful in navigation and mapping radars.
• But in radars used for detection, the reflected
signals from land masses mask the required
echo signals.
• A typical situation in which the land masses
create an EMI in the radar display is shown in
below fig.
 Aircraft No. 1

Aircraft No. 2
Aircraft No. 2
Echo
Aircraft No. 1
Echo

Fig. Effect of land masses

 EFFECT OF EARTH CURVATURE ON
RADAR OPERATION

• The curvature of earth creates shadow zones.

• It prevents the detection of targets at faraway
distances.
• The radar horizon reduces the maximum range
of the radar.
• A typical situation in which the curvature of the
earth is affecting the radar operation in the
detection of objectives is shown in below fig.
Fig. Effect of Earth’s Curvature
 EFFECT OF SIZE, SHAPE OF THE
OBJECT AND MATERIAL

• The radar electromagnetic waves are

reflected from all objects in their path.
• But the strength of the reflected wave
depends on size, shape of the object and
the material with which it is made.
• The reflected wave is strong from metal,
large and close and flat objects.
• Echoes from different objects are shown in
below fig.
Metal Object Strong Echo

Large Object Strong Echo

Close Object Strong Echo

Display
Flat Object Strong Echo

Irregular Receiver
Weak Echo
Object
Small Object Weak Echo

Distant Object Weak Echo

Wood Object Weak Echo

Fig. Echoes from different objects

 EFFECT OF TRANSMITTER POWER ON
RADAR OPERATION

• The radar with high transmitter power has

long range of detection.

• The low power radar transmitter prevent

the detection of objects.
• A typical situation in which the effect of transmitter power
effects echoes is shown in below figs.

High Power
High
Transmitter Resolution

Fig. Effect of high power transmitter

 Low Power
Transmitter Low
Resolution

Fig. Effect of low power transmitter

EFFECT OF RECEIVER SENSITIVITY
• The sensitivity of the receiver depends on the
level of noise generated by it.
• The quality of the receiver is usually described
by noise figure.
• Ideally noise figure is unity.
• The noise generated in the receiver is amplified
and affects the detection of the objects.
• A typical situation in which the effect of
sensitivity on the radar detection is shown in
below fig.
 Amplified Echo Signal

Amplified Internal Echo

Noise Receiver

Total Noise
External Amplified Masked Echo
External Noise Noise Signal

Fig. Effect of receiver sensitivity

 EFFECT OF BROAD BEAM

• The broad beam makes target

discrimination to be poor.

• A typical situation in which two aircrafts in

a broad beam of the radar antenna create
a single echo pulse in the radar display is
shown in below fig.
 Broad Beam

Fig. Effect of broad beam : Poor discrimination of targets

• The improved discrimination of the targets
with a narrow beam is shown in fig.

Narrow Beam

1 2

Fig. Effect of narrow beam : Good

discrimination of targets
 EFFECT OF THE FAN BEAMS

• The fan beam form radar antennas are

useful for search the targets with less
number of scans of the beam.
 EFFECT OF NARROW
SEARCHLIGHT BEAMS

• The narrow searchlight beam provides

accurate determination of range, bearing
and elevation angles of the targets.
 EFFECT OF TIME INTERVAL
BETWEEN PULSES
• The time interval between pulses should
be sufficiently long to receive the echo
signals before the next pulse is
transmitted.

• The short intervals create confusion in the

radar display.
 EFFECT OF PULSE DURATION
• Narrow pulse width provides good target discrimination.
• The rage is obtained from CRT by measuring distance
between the leading edge of the transmitter pulse and
leading edge of receiving pulse. (below fig.).

Transmitted pulse Received pulse

Range

Fig. Range measurement

• The effect of transmitted pulse width is shown in below figs.

Transmitted pulse Transmitted pulse

Ambiguous echo Unambiguous echo
pulse pulse

Fig. Effect of broad pulse Fig. Effect of narrow pulse

The time interval between pulses should be long to

receive all echoes with clarity before the next pulse is
transmitted.
SUMMARY OF EFFECT OF DIFFERENT FACTORS ON

RADAR OPERATION
S. No. Parameter Advantage Disadvantage

1. External EMI nil searching and position finding

becomes different

2. Internal EMI nil searching and position finding

becomes different

3. Land masses the reflected signals from land detection become different as echo
masses are useful in navigation and signals from land masses mask the
mapping radars required signals.

4. curvature of earth nil reduce the radar range

5. size of the object beam can be narrow for detection echo becomes weak

6. irregular object nil echo becomes weak

7. metal object echo becomes strong detected by enemy easily

8. Insulator object not detected by enemy echo becomes negligible

S. No. Parameter Advantage Disadvantage

9. high transmitted power radar range becomes high not economical

10. low transmitted power radar range becomes small economical

11. low frequency loss of power in atmosphere is angle discrimination is poor

small
12. High frequency angle discrimination is better loss of power in atmosphere is high

13. large pulse width searching is good range discrimination is poor

14. small pulse width range discrimination is good searching is poor

15. high receiver sensitivity easy to detect weak echos nil

16. low receiver sensitivity nil not easy to detect weak echos

17. low PRF nil flow of information is not smooth

18. high PRF flow of information is smooth nil

19. high radar cross-section of easy detection of target helps enemy to detect the targets
the target

20. low radar cross-section enemy cannot detect the target not easy to detect target
SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO (SNR)
• The noise is either internal or external.
• It disturbs the ability of the receiver to
detect the required signal.
• The noise is internally generated within the
receiver.
• It also may come from external man-made
and natural sources.
• Ideally, SNR is infinite.
 INTERNAL NOISE OR EMI
• One such noise is thermal noise. This is also called Johnson noise.
This is generated by the thermal motion of the conducted electrons
in receiver.
The thermal noise depends on
• bandwidth, B n
• absolute temperature, T
• Boltzman constant, Joules/degree Kelvin.
• In fact, its magnitude of thermal noise power proportional to B n and
T. That is,
p n  TB n
p n  kTB n
23
Here, k = Boltzman constant, = 1.38  10 J /o K
T = temperature,
B n= receiver bandwidth or noise bandwidth
 RADAR CROSS–SECTION OF
TARGETS (RCS), 

• The radar cross-section is the targets

relative reflecting/scattering size.
• It represents the magnitude of the echo
signal returned to the radar by the target.
• It is defined as the ratio of power reflected
towards the radar receiver per unit solid
angle to the incident power density per 4.
• That is,

Power reflected towards the radar receiver / unit solid angle


incident power density 4
2
Er
 4R 2 2
Ei

Here,  = radar cross-section,

R = the range of the target from the
radar, m
E i = incident electronic field on the target, V/m
E r = reflected electronic field strength, V/m
• From the above definition, the radar cross-
section is obtained by measuring the
received echo amplitude, incident signal
amplitude and the target range.

• It is a part of target radar signature.

• The signature depends on radar cross-

section and the Doppler spectrum of a
target.
RCS has 3 components.

• Area of the target

• The reflectivity of the target
• The antenna-like gain of the target
• The radar cross-section of different targets are shown in the following table
S. No. Target RCS m2 
1. Bird 0.01
2. Small open boot 0.02
3. Conventional missile 0.5
4. Man or Women 1.0
5. Small single engine aircraft 1.0
6. Small pleasure boat 2.0
7. Bicycle 2.0
8. Small fighter plane 2.0
9. Large fighter aircraft 6.0
10. Cabin Cruisers 10.0
11. Insect 10.5
12. Medium Bomber 20.0
13. Large Bomber 40.0
14. Jumbo Jet 100
15. Automobile 100
16. Pickup Truck 200
104
17. Small Insect
105
18. Large Insect
19. Helicopter 3.0