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UNIT I
Introduction to RADAR
(Radar stands for Radio Detection and Ranging)
Pulsed Radar: It is radar which transmits high power and frequency pulse. After transmitting
one pulse, it receives echoes and then transmits another pulse. It determines direction, distance
and altitude of an object.
OR
PULSE REPETITION FREQUENCY (PRF):
PRF is pulse repetition frequency. PRF determination depends on maximum range at
which target is expected to be detected. Echo signals received after PRF period is referred
as multiple time around echoes. Figure depicts B and C signals in this category. These
echoes cause erroneous calculation of radar range for the target referred as ambiguous
range.
PRF is the number of pulses transmitted per second. PRF is equal to the reciprocal of
pulse repetition time (PRT). It is measured in Hertz
PRF = 1/PRT
Pulse Interval Time or Pulse Reset Time (PRT) is the time interval between two pulses. It
is expressed in milliseconds.
Pulse Reset Time = Pulse Repetition Time Pulse Width
UNAMBIGUOUS RANGE: In simple systems, echoes from targets must be detected and
processed before the next transmitter pulse is generated if range ambiguity is to be avoided.
Range ambiguity occurs when the time taken for an echo to return from a target is greater than
the pulse repetition period (T).
Echoes that arrive after the transmission of the next pulse are called as second-time-around
echoes. The range beyond which targets appear as second-time-around echoes is called as the
Maximum Unambiguous Range and is given by
c
RUNAMBIG
= 2fp
c = velocity of propagation
fp
is the PRF(PULSE REPETITION FREQUENCY) in Hz
Where,
Tp
fp
Resolution: It is the ability to separate and detect multiple targets or multiple features on the
same target. In other words, it is the ability of radar to distinguish targets that are very close in
either range or bearing. The targets can be resolved in four dimensions range, horizontal crossrange, vertical cross-range and Doppler shift.
Range Resolution (RS): It is the ability of Radar to distinguish two or more targets at different
ranges but at the same bearing. It has the units of distance.
Vo
RS =
(PM/2) in meters
Bearing Resolution: It is the ability of Radar to distinguish objects which are in different
bearing but at the same range. It is expressed in degrees.
Cross-Range Resolution of Radar: It is the ability of Radar to distinguish multiple targets at
the same range. It has linear dimension perpendicular to the axis of the Radar antenna. It is of
two types:
Azimuth (Horizontal) cross-range
Elevation (Vertical) cross-range
Narrow beam of radar antennas resolve closed spaced targets. The cross-range resolution x is
L
given by, x = R/ eff
Where R = Target range in meters
Leff = Effective length of the antenna in the direction of the beam width is estimated.
= Wavelength in meters
Doppler Resolution: It is the ability to distinguish targets at the same range, but moving at
f
f
T
different radial velocities. The Doppler resolution d is given by, d = 1/ d
in Hz
Here
Td
= The look time in seconds.
The Doppler resolution is possible if Doppler frequencies differ by at least one cycle over the
time of observation. It depends on the time over which signal is gathered for processing.
Display: It is a device to present the received information for the operator to interpret. It
provides visual presentation of echoes.
Pulse Width: It is the duration of the radar pulse. It is expressed in milli seconds. The pulse
width influences the total pulse energy. It determines minimum range and range resolution. In,
fact it represents the transmitter ON time.
Pulse Interval Time or Pulse Reset Time (PRT): It is the time interval between two pulses. It
is expressed in milli seconds.
Pulse Reset Time (PRT) = Pulse Repetition Time (PRT) Pulse Width (PW)
Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF): It is the number of pulses transmitted per second. It is
equal to the reciprocal of pulse repetition time. It is measured in hertzs
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PRF = 1/PRT
Pulse Repetition Time (PRT): It is the time interval between the start of one pulse and the start
of next pulse. It is the sum of pulse width and pulse reset time (PRT). In other words it is the
time. It is measured in microseconds.
PRT = PW+PRT
Radar Display:
A radar display is an electronic instrument for visual representation of radar data.
Radar displays can be classified from the standpoint of their functions, the physical
principles of their implementation, type of information displayed, and so forth.
From the viewpoint of function, they can be detection displays, measurement displays, or
special displays.
From the viewpoint of number of displayed coordinates, they can be one dimensional
(1D), two dimensional (2D), or three dimensional (3D).
An example of a 1D display is the range display (A-scope). Most widely used are 2D
displays, represented by the altitude range display (range-height indicator, or RHI),
azimuth elevation display (C-scope), azimuth range display (B-scope), elevation range
display (E-scope), and plan position indicator ( PPI ).
These letter descriptions date back to World War II, and many of them are obsolete.
From the viewpoint of physical implementation, active and passive displays are
distinguished.
The former are represented mainly by cathode ray tube (CRT) displays and
semiconductor displays.
Passive displays can be of liquid crystal or ferroelectric types.
In most radar applications CRT displays remain the best choice because of their good
performance and low cost.
From the viewpoint of displayed information, displays can be classified as presenting
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RADAR Classifications:
Frequency based radar types
Following are the radar types based on frequency bands:
HF Band Radars
VHF and UHF band radars
L-Band Radars
S-Band Radars
C-Band Radars
X-Band Radars
Ku,K,Ka Band Radars
Infrared, Visible light band radars
Waveform Based radar classification
Following are the radar types based on waveform:
Unmodulated CW radar
Modulated CW radar
Gated CW pulsed radar
Complex waveform pulsed radars
PRF Based radar types-LPRF Radar and HPRF Radar
Following radar classification is based on PRF:
LPRF Radar:The LPRF radar stands for Low Pulse Repetition Frequency Radar. It is
very useful to determine target range.
HPRF Radar:The HPRF radar stands for High Pulse Repetition Frequency Radar. It is
also known as pulse doppler radar. It is useful to measure doppler shift. It is not used for
any kind of range measurement.
Application based radar classification
Following are the radar types based on their applications of use:
Search radars (surface, air)
Warning radars such as weather forecast radars
Spacecraft detection radars
Fire control radars
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Ground mapping radars
SAR
Air to Surface radars
Sea surface radar
Ground moving target search radars
Tracking radar
Range radar
velocity search radar
Radar range resolution
Radar range resolution is the capability of the radar to distinguish or resolve nearby adjacent
targets in the range. Search radars usually will have poor resolution and will distinguish two
targets at about 100 meters apart.
The radar range resolution mainly depends upon following parameters/factors:
transmitted pulse width
beam width
type of target
size of target
radar receiver efficiency
resolution of the radar display unit
Range resolution as a distance can be calculated as follows:
Rres = c * /2 Where, is the transmitted pulse width and c is the velocity of light in the free
space.
Narrower beam width is very useful to distinguish two adjacent targets.
Radar frequency range:
Most of the radars operate in UHF as well as microwave frequency bands. Now-a-days radars
even use millimeter bands.
Following table-1 mention in general radar bands and peak power transmitted in each of these bands.
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Following table-2 mentions all the Radar bands with their respective frequency range,
wavelength and applications.
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(Check Antenna and Wave propagation )
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