Generic Pulsed Radar

Energy and Power The energy in a pulse is given by P

/T is the duty factor of transmission Average power is P/T Range Ambiguities Range will be unambiguous provided that the round-trip time for the most distant target is shorter than the interpulse period.

Example
The PRF is 3000Hz This gives a maximum unambiguous range of 50km If echoes are received from a target at 60km these echoes will arrive 0.2T after the second pulse is transmitted. The target will appear to be at a range of 10km. This implies that every range is ambiguous. Resolving Ambiguities The pulses can be tagged so that it is possible to identify which pulse each echo return belongs to. This can be done by modulation but they all have serious limitations PRF switching By transmitting at two different PRFs and noting how much the apparent range changes the target true range can be determined.

Example
The radar has a PRF of 3000Hz so its unambiguous range is 50km A target is detected at 20km so the target range could be 20km 50+20=70km 100+20=120km 150+20=170km 200+20=220km etc If we switch to a PRF of 3100Hz the unambiguous range will be 48.38km so a target detected at the same distance 20km could be 20km 48.38+20= 68.38km 96.72+20=116.72km etc So the target must be at 20km If the target was at 70km it would appear as being at 20km with a PRF of 3000Hz but at 21.62km with a PRF of 3100Hz so it will appear to move when the PRF is changed. The number of times n that the unambiguous target range R is in the targets true range is given by
n= Rapparent R where R is the change in R as the PRF is changed

Rtrue = nR + Rapparent

Ghosts
If PRF switching is used a new ambiguity called ghosting can arise 1st PRF leads to targets identified at 20km and 21.62km 2nd PRF leads to targets identified at 21.62 km and 23.24km Each target therefore has two possible ranges 70km and 71.62km or 21.62km and 120km One of the two pairs are ghosts and can only be identified by switching to a third PRF There may be a requirement to have additional PRF switches if a large range is required but in practice 3 PRF s are sufficient one additional PRF for range and one additional PRF for deghosting.

Doppler Ambiguities
The Doppler shift depends on the relative motion between the aircraft and the target. If the round-trip distance to the target is d the frequency shift f is given by
f = d

Since the distance d=2R where R is the range

f = 2R For an aircraft at 300m/s, at X band (= 0.0375m)

Doppler frequency = 2x300/0.0375 =16KHz Maximum unambiguous Doppler frequency= PRF This will include the Doppler shift due to the aircraft motion
R f = 2V

This Doppler will be caused by sidelobe clutter

Example
Radar wavelength= .03m Aircraft velocity=300m/s PRF=100KHz Maximum unambiguous Doppler= 100-2x300/.03 = 80KHz This corresponds to a velocity of 1200m/s If however PRF=20KHz All velocities will be ambiguous

Conclusion
In order to resolve the Doppler frequencies and detect a targets velocity it is necessary to have a high PRF

Three Basic Categories of PRF

Low PRF One for which the maximum range the Doppler is designed to cover lies in the first range zone so that range can be made unambiguous.

Advantages 1. Good for air- to-air look up and ground mapping 2. Good for precise range measurement and fine range measurement 3. Simple pulse delay ranging possible 4. Normal sidelobe return can be rejected through range resolution 5. Sensitivity time control can be used to provide wide dynamic range

Disadvantages 1. Poor for air-to-air look down 2. Ground moving targets can be a problem 3. Doppler ambiguities generally too severe 4. Duty factors are low

Range Profile of Low PRF radar

Doppler profile Range is largely unambiguous when low PRFs are used. A Doppler profile shows the periodic repetitions of the mainlobe clutter spectrum at the range of target C which can not be identified from range measurement. This periodic repetitions are at the PRF Between successive PRF the thermal noise and Target C appear

Because the targets Doppler frequency may be many times the PRF it cannot be determined unambiguously This window of available frequency can be increased by Increasing the PRF but the maximum range will be restricted Increasing the size or operational frequency so the beamwidth decreases Limiting the speed of the aircraft and hence the spread of the mainlobe clutter frequencies Limiting the look angle so the spread of the mainlobe clutter is reduced

High PRF This is defined as a PRF for which range is generally ambiguous but the observed Doppler frequencies are not Advantages 1. High closing rate targets appear in clutter-free region of spectrum 2. High average power can be provided by increasing PRF 3. Mainlobe clutter can be rejected easily Disadvantages 1. Detection range against low closing rate targets may be degraded by sidelobe clutter 2. Can not use simple accurate pulse ranging 3. Zero closing rate targets may be rejected with altitude return

To maximise detection range for HRF applications the duty factor approaches 50%. When used for illuminating targets for semi-active missiles it can be much higher

Problem of Eclipsing
When operating at high frequencies a considerable amount of the target returns can be lost echoes being received when the radar is transmitting and the receiver is blanked. This can be solved by Switching the PRF so the target is kept in the clear Lowering the duty factor. In order to compensate for the reduction in gain multiple range gates can be used

Medium PRF Both the range and doppler frequency are unambiguous Typically 8-16KHz at X band. The prime reason for operating at medium PRF is to improve the radars ability to contend with mainlobe clutter and ground moving targets

Variation in target return strength with range

Combined range blind zones due to eclipsing and sidelobe clutter

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Range Question
Find the range at which the signal to noise of a pulse Doppler tracking radar is >13dB (a probability of detection of 50%) Characteristics of Radar Average Power=1kW Effective area of Antenna=0.5m2 Wavelength=0.03m Noise temperature 580K Radars time on target 0.01s Radar Cross Section 1m2 Total Losses 6dB
R =4 Pavg Gt Ar t ot

( 4 ) 2 S min L

40log Rmax = 10log Pavg + 10log Gt + 10log Ar +10log tot+ 10log - 20log 4 -10log Smin - 10log L

Pave Gt A t k T L S/N

1000 6981.311 1 0.5 0.01 1.38E-23 580 4 20

dB 30 38.4 0 -3 -20 -2.29E+02 27.6 6 13

Comment Gain with an area of 0.5m2

Loss factor of 6dB Factor of 13dB

136308

51.4

range in meters

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