Radar Systems Engineering

Lecture 17
Transmitters & Receivers

Dr. Robert M. ODonnell

IEEE New Hampshire Section
Guest Lecturer

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 1
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Block Diagram of Radar System
Transmitter

Power Waveform
Propagation Amplifier Generation
Medium

Target
Radar T/R
Cross Switch This lecture will cover all of the
Section subsystems in the red dashed box
Antenna

Signal Processor Computer

A/D Pulse Clutter Rejection

Receiver
Converter Compression (Doppler Filtering)
User Displays and Radar Control

General Purpose Computer

Parameter
Tracking Thresholding Detection
Estimation
Data
Recording
Photo Image
Courtesy of US Air Force

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 2
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Radar Range Equation Revisited
Parameters Affected by Transmitter/Receiver

Radar range equation for search (S/N = signal to noise

ratio)
Pav A e t s
S/N = Pav = average power
4 R 4 k Ts L e = antenna area
ts = scan time for
Pav = average power
= radar cross section
S/N of target can be enhanced by = solid angle searched
Higher transmitted power Pav R = target range
Ts = system temperature
Lower system losses L L = system loss
Minimize system temperature Ts

The design of radar transmitter/receiver affects these

three parameters directly
Courtesy of MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Used with Permission

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 3
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Outline

Transmitters

Receivers and Waveform Generators

Other Transmitter / Receiver Subsystems

Radar Receiver-Transmitter Architectures

Summary

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 4
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Outline

Transmitters
Introduction
Block Diagram
High Power Tube Amplifiers
Klystron
Traveling Wave Tube
Crossed Field Amplifier
Magnetron
Solid State RF Power Amplifiers
T/R Modules
Receivers and Waveform Generators
Other Transmitter / Receiver Subsystems
Radar Receiver-Transmitter Architectures
Summary

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 5
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Introduction

Ideal Transmitter
Provides sufficient energy to detect the target
Easily modulated to produce desired waveforms
Generate stable noise free signal for good clutter rejection
Provide needed tunable bandwidth
High efficiency
High reliability
Easily maintainable
Long life
Small and light weight for the intended application
Affordable
Obviously compromise is necessary !

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 6
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Simplified Radar Transmitter/Receiver
System Block Diagram
Low Power Transmit Section High Power Transmit Sections
(~100mw to ~1W) (~100 W to ~MW)

Waveform
Generator HPA Filter Duplexer

Low Power Receive Sections

(~ w to ~mW)
To
Signal A/D
Receiver LNA Filter
Processor Coverters

Radar transmitter and receiver can be divided into two major

subsystems:
Low power transmit and receive sections
Radar waveform generator and receiver
HPA = High Power Amplifier
High power transmitter sections LNA = Low Noise Amplifier

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 7
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Outline

Introduction
Transmitters
Introduction
Block Diagram
High Power Tube Amplifiers
Klystron
Traveling Wave Tube
Crossed Field Amplifier
Magnetron
Solid State RF Power Amplifiers
T/R Modules
Receivers and Waveform Generators
Radar Receiver-Transmitter Architectures
Summary

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 9
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Klystron High Power Amplifier
RF Cavities Interaction Gaps
Three Cavity Klystron
Electron Beam
Cathode

Heater Collector

Modulating
Anode Anode
Drift
Space RF
RF
In Out
Electron Gun RF Section Collector

First developed in early 1950s

Bandwidth as great as 12%
RF conversion efficiency 35 - 50%
Coherent- pulse to pulse Adapted from Skolnik
Reference 1

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 10
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Example S-Band Klystron

VA-87F / VKS-8287
Air Surveillance / Weather Radar
6 cavity, S Band
Tunable over 2.7 to 2.9 GHz
Peak Power up to 2.0 MW
Ave Power up to 3 kW
Gain 50 dB Efficiency 45 %
Bandwidth 30 MHz typ.
Pulse Duration up to 7.0 sec

Courtesy of CPI. Used with permission.

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 12
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 MIT/LL Millstone Hill Radar
Klystron Tubes (Vacuum Devices)

Output device Klystrons (2)

Center Frequency 1295 MHz
Bandwidth 8 MHz
Peak Power 3 MW
Average Power 120 kW
Pulse Width 1 ms

Beam Width 0.6o

Antenna Diameter 84 ft

Originally
Originally designed
designed in
in early
early 1960s
1960s
Courtesy of MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Used with Permission

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 13
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 How Big are High Power Klystron Tubes ?
Millstone Hill Radar Transmitter Room
Varian
Varian X780 X780 Klystron
Klystron Courtesy of MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Used with Permission
$400,000/tube
$400,000/tube
Waveguide output 77 ftft (height)
(height) xx 1ft
1ft (diameter)
(diameter)
600
600 lbs lbs
3%
3% duty cycle
duty cycle
42 dB
42 dB gaingain Waveguide Harmonic Filter
600W
600W peak peak input
input drive
drive level
level

Flex Waveguide Output flanges

200
Spare Tube antenna
waveguide

Vacuum Pump

Water Coolant
Hoses, 70 Gal/min Power Amplifier Room 1 kW Peak Solid State Driver Amp.

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 14
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Traveling Wave Tube
Cathode
Attenuation
Gun Anode
Collector

Heater

Helix Interaction
Electron Region
Beam RF In RF Out

Adapted from Skolnik

Capable of wide bandwidth at high power Reference 1

Expensive
Similar to Klystron, linear beam tubes

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 15
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Photograph of Traveling Wave Tubes
Another Type of Tube Amplifiers
S Band X Band
Center Freq : 10.0 GHz
VTS-5753 VTX-5681C
Center Freq : 3.3 GHz Bandwidth : 1 GHz
COUPLED CAVITY COUPLED CAVITY
Bandwidth : 400 MHz Peak Power : 100 kW
TWT TWT
Peak Power : 160 kW Duty Cycle : 35 %
Duty Cycle : 8 % Gain : 50 dB
Gain : 43 dB

~ 8 ft

Courtesy of MIT Lincoln Laboratory

S-Band Transmitter Used with Permission

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 16
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Crossed Field Amplifier (CFA)
Simplified
Representation Cathode
Capable of :
of CFA
High coherent power
Good efficiency
Drift
Region Wide bandwidth
Relatively low gain (10 dB)
Anode
and
Generally noisier and less
Slow-wave stable
Circuit
RF RF
In Control Out
Electrode
Resembles magnetron and employs crossed electric and
magnetic fields
New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 17

XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Crossed Field Amplifier

CPI SFD 233G

X-Band (9.0 to 9.5 GHZ)

Peak Output Power 900 kW

Duty Cycle .1%

Pulsewidth 0.83 sec

Liquid cooled

Courtesy of CPI. Used with permission.

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 18
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Comparison of Different Types of
High Power Amplifier Tubes

Klystron Traveling Wave Tube Crossed Field Amplifier

Voltage 1 MW requires 90kV 1 MW requires 90kV 1 MW requires 40kV

Gain 30 - 70 dB 30 - 70 dB 8 - 30 dB
Bandwidth 1-8% 10 - 35 % 10 - 15 %
X-Rays Severe, but lead is reliable Severe, but lead is reliable Not a Problem
Efficiency
Basic 15 - 30 % 15 - 30 % 35 - 45 %
With Depressed 40 - 60 % 40 - 60 % NA
Collectors
Ion Pump Required with Large Tubes Required with Large Tubes Self Pumping
Weight Higher Higher Lower
Size Larger Larger Smaller
Cost Medium Higher Medium
Spurious Noise - dB 90 - dB 90 - dB 55 to 70
Usable Dynamic Range 40-80 dB 40-80 dB a few dB

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 19
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Coaxial Magnetrons
X-Band (9.275 to 9.325 GHZ) S-Band (2.7 to 2.9 GHZ)

Courtesy of CPI. Used with permission.

Model SFD 303B Model VMS 1143B

Peak Output Power 1 MW Peak Output Power 3 MW

Duty Cycle .1% Duty Cycle .08%
Pulsewidth 3.5 sec Pulsewidth 2.0 sec
Liquid cooled Liquid cooled
Fixed frequency Mechanically tunable
IEEE New Hampshire Section
Radar Systems Course 21
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Other Types of High Power Amplifiers

Hybrid Klystrons
Twystron, Extended interaction klystron, and Clustered cavity
klystron
Multiple cavities replace one or more of the resonant cavities
Bandwidths ~15 to 20%
Have been used in low power millimeter wave transmitters

Gyrotrons
Require very high magnetic fields
Yield very high power in millimeter region
Slight use in fielded radar systems

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 22
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Outline

Introduction
Transmitters
Block Diagram
High Power Tube Amplifiers
Klystron
Traveling Wave Tube
Crossed Field Amplifier
Magnetron
Solid State RF Power Amplifiers
T/R Modules
Receivers and Waveform Generators
Other Transmitter / Receiver Subsystems
Radar Receiver-Transmitter Architectures
Summary

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 23
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Solid State Power Transistors
Available Commercial Devices

Bipolar PH3135-90S Pulsed Power Transistor UF28150J MOSFET Power Transistor

3.1-3.5 GHz, 90 W 100-500 MHz, 150 W

Solid state power transistors are

basic building blocks of solid state
amplifiers
Advantages of solid state power
amplifiers
Small footprint
Low profile
High reliability
PHA2731-190M Pulsed Power Amplifier Module
190 Watts 2.7 - 3.1 GHz, 200 us Pulse, 10% Duty Courtesy of MA/COM Technology Solutions
Used with permission
IEEE New Hampshire Section
Radar Systems Course 24
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Solid State RF Power Amplifiers

Solid state power generation device

Transistor amplifier (silicon bipolar and gallium arsenide)
Inherently low power and low gain
Operates with low voltages and has high reliability
To increase output power, transistors are operated in
parallel with more than 1 stage
A module might consist of 8 transistors
Four in parallel as the final stage, followed by
Two in parallel,as the second stage, followed by
Two in series, as the driver stages
Solid state power devices cannot operate at high peak
power
Fifty watt average power transistor cannot operate at much
more than 200 watts of peak power without overheating
Pulse compression needed for reasonable range resolution

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 25
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Uses of Solid State Amplifiers in Radar

Transmitter for low power application

High power transmitter
A large number of microwave transistors are combined with
microwave circuitry

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 26
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Solid State Radar Examples - PAVE PAWS

PAVE PAWS
First all solid state active aperture electronically steered phased
array radar
UHF Band , detection and warning of sea launched missile attack
1792 active transceiver T / R modules, 340 w of peak power each

Courtesy of Raytheon
Used with Permission

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 27
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Solid State Radar Examples - TPS-59
Air surveillance radar developed for
TPS-59 the US Marine Corps
Rotating planar L-Band array
30 ft by 15 ft
Each transmitter module has 10 of 100
watt amplifier units consisting of two
55 watt silicon bipolar transistors
(7 watts of gain) driven by a smaller
25 watt device
Each transmitter module feeds one of
54 rows

Courtesy of Lockheed Martin

Used with Permission
IEEE New Hampshire Section
Radar Systems Course 28
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Solid State Radar Examples - RAMP

Radar Modernization Project (RAMP)

L-Band air traffic control surveillance radar developed for Canada
by Raytheon Canada
Solid state transmitter with peak power of 28 kW (7% duty cycle)
14 modules, each consists of 42 - 100 watt peak power silicon
bipolar transistors in 2-8-32 configuration
RF amplifier modules combined in pairs-- > 7 of these combined -- > 1
transmitter
Only 6 needed to meet sensitivity requirement
RAMP Radar Transmitter Cabinet Solid State Transmitter Module

Courtesy of Raytheon
Used with Permission

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 29
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Example of Solid State Transmitter
Radar Surveillance Technology Experimental Radar (RSTER)

Driver Amp Module

Power Amp Module

14
14 channels
channels with
with 140
140 kW
kW total
total
peak power
peak power
88kW
kW average
averagepower
power
Each
Each channel
channel is
is supplied
supplied by
by aa
power
power amplifier
amplifier module
module
10
10kW
kW peak
peakpower
power
Courtesy of MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Used with Permission
IEEE New Hampshire Section
Radar Systems Course 30
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Types of High Power Amplifiers

Vacuum tube amplifiers and solid state amplifiers

Vacuum Tube Solid State

Amplifiers Amplifiers
High Low
Output Power
(10 kW to 1 MW) (10s to 100s W)
High Low
Cost per Unit
($10s K to $300 K) ($100s )

Cost per Watt $1 3 Varied

Size Bulky and heavy Small foot print

Dish antenna Active array

Applications
Passive array Digital array
Courtesy of MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Used with Permission
IEEE New Hampshire Section
Radar Systems Course 32
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society
 Methods of Power Amplification
Tube amplifiers
Krystrons
Travelling wave tubes
CFAs

Solid State amplifiers

Solid state power transistors

Issues to be traded off in choice of high power amplifier

Average power output at desired operating frequency
Amplifier efficiency
Instantaneous and tunable bandwidth
Duty cycle
Gain
Reliability
Cost

IEEE New Hampshire Section

Radar Systems Course 33
XMTR & RCVR 1/1/2010 IEEE AES Society