Unit 1: Radar and Satellite Communication

Part 1: Introduction to Radars

What is Radar?

Radar is an electromagnetic system for the detection and location of objects. It operates by
transmitting a particular type of waveform, 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 radar lies not in being a substitute for the eye, but in doing what
the eye cannot do. Radar cannot resolve detail as well the eye, nor is it capable of recognizing
the "color" of objects to the degree of sophistication of which the eye is capable.

Radar is a contraction of the words radio detection and ranging. It was first developed as a
detection device to warn of the approach of hostile aircraft and for directing antiaircraft
weapons. Although a well-designed modern radar can usually extract more information from
the target signal than merely range, the measurement of range is still one of radar's most
important functions.

Range of Radar:

The most common radar waveform is a train of narrow, rectangular-shape pulses modulating
a sine wave carrier. The distance, or range, to the target is determined by measuring the time
TR taken by the pulse to travel to the target and return. Since electromagnetic energy
propagates at the speed of light c = 3 x 108 m/s, the range R is given by Equation 1.
cT
R R (1)
2
The factor 2 appears in the denominator because of the two-way propagation of radar. With
the range in kilometers or nautical miles, and TR in microseconds, Eq. (1) becomes:
R (km) = 0.15TR (μs)

Once the transmitted pulse is emitted by the radar, a sufficient length of time must elapse to
allow any echo signals to return and be detected before the next pulse may be transmitted.
Therefore the rate at which the pulses may be transmitted is determined by the longest range
at which targets are expected.

Maximum Unambiguous Range:

If the pulse repetition frequency is too high, echo signals from some targets might arrive after
the transmission of the next pulse, and ambiguities in measuring range might result. Echoes
that arrive after the transmission of the next pulse are called second-time-around (or
multiple-time-around) echoes. Such an echo would appear to be at a much shorter range than
the actual and could be misleading if it were not known to be a second-time-around echo. The
range beyond which targets appear as second-time-around echoes is called the Maximum
Unambiguous Range and is given by:
c
Runamb 
2 fp (2)
Where, fp is the pulse repetition frequency in Hz.
Types of Radars:

There are basically three types of Radars:

1. Continuous Wave (CW) Radar: Continuous-wave radar is a type of radar system

where a known stable frequency continuous-wave radio energy is transmitted and
then received from any reflecting objects. Continuous-wave (CW) radar uses Doppler,
which renders the radar immune to interference from large stationary objects and slow
moving clutter. In a CW radar, there are separate antennas for transmission and
reception which transmit and receive continuous signal.
2. Pulse Radar: A pulse radar is a radar device that emits short and powerful pulses and
in the silent period receives the echo signals. In contrast to the continuous wave radar
the transmitter is turned off before the measurement is finished. Usually, the same
antenna is used for transmission and reception in a pulse Doppler radar.
a. A pulse-Doppler radar is a radar system that determines the range to a target
using pulse-timing techniques, and uses the Doppler effect of the returned
signal to determine the target object's velocity. In a pulse-Doppler radar, the
Pulse repetition frequency (PRF) is usually high. Thus, there is a risk of range
ambiguity and second time echo.
b. Moving Target Identification (MTI) Radar: In MTI radars, the working
principle is almost same as that of a pulse-Doppler radar, however, it has a low
PRF. Hence, the range measurement is unambiguous in case of MTI radar but
speed measurement is ambiguous.

Simple Form of Radar Equation:

The radar equation relates the range of a radar to the characteristics of the transmitter,
receiver, antenna, target, and environment. It is useful not just as a means for determining the
maximum distance from the radar to the target, but it can serve both as a tool for
understanding radar operation and as a basis for radar design.

If the power of the radar transmitter is denoted by Pt , and if an isotropic antenna is used (one
which radiates uniformly in all directions), the power density (watts per unit area) at a
distance R from the radar is equal to the transmitter power divided by the surface area 4πR2
of an imaginary sphere of radius R, or
Pt
Power density of Isotropic Antenna = (3)
4R 2

Radars employ directive antennas to channel, or direct, the radiated power Pt into some
particular direction. The gain, G of an antenna is a measure of the increased power radiated
in the direction of the target as compared with the power that would have been radiated from
an isotropic antenna. It may be defined as the ratio of the maximum radiation intensity from
the subject antenna to the radiation intensity from a lossless, isotropic antenna with the same
power input. The power density at the target from an antenna with a transmitting gain G is:
PG
Power density of Directive Antenna = t 2 (4)
4R
The target intercepts a portion of the incident power and reradiates it in various directions.
The measure of the amount of incident power intercepted by the target and reradiated back in
the direction of the radar is denoted as the radar cross section σ, and is defined by the relation:

(5)
The radar cross section σ has units of area. It is a characteristic of the particular target and is a
measure of its size as seen by the radar. The radar antenna captures a portion of the echo
power. If the effective area of the receiving antenna is denoted Ae , the power P, received by
the radar is

(6)
The maximum radar range Rmax is the distance beyond which the target cannot be detected. It
occurs when the received echo signal power P, just equals the minimum detectable signal
Smin. Therefore:

(7)
This is the fundamental form of the radar equation. Note that the important antenna
parameters are the transmitting gain and the receiving effective area. Antenna theory gives
the relationship between the transmitting gain and the receiving effective area of an antenna
as:

(8)
Since radars generally use the same antenna for both transmission and reception, Eq. (8) can
be substituted into Eq. (7), first for Ae then for G, to give two other forms of the radar
equation:

(11)

(10)

These simplified versions of the radar equation do not adequately describe the performance
of practical radar. Many important factors that affect range are not explicitly included. In
practice, the observed maximum radar ranges are usually much smaller than what would be
predicted by the above equations, sometimes by as much as a factor of two. There are many
reasons for the failure of the simple radar equation to correlate with actual performance.