BE ETC (RC 2016-17) Sem-7 : Microwave Engineering

UNIT – 4 (RADAR) : Lecture Notes – Set : 2

1. Minimum Detectable Signal

The ability of a radar receiver to detect a weak echo signal is limited by the noise energy
occupying the portion of the frequency spectrum which is also occupied by the signal energy. The
weakest signal the receiver can detect is Smin (minimum detectable signal).

Figure 1: Output of a typical radar receiver on an A-scope display

Detection is usually done by specifying a threshold at the output of the receiver. If the signal
exceeds this threshold then a target is assumed to be present. This is known as threshold
detection.

The harmful effect of noise arises from the fact that the threshold level has to be raised to avoid
spurious signals, thus causing non-detection of signal which might have been otherwise detected.
The signal at C (Fig.1) illustrates this point. This type of signal is called Missed detection.

If the threshold level had been lower the receiver would have detected the signal.
Weak signals such as C would riot be lost if the threshold level were lower. But too low a
threshold increases the likelihood that noise alone will rise above the threshold and be taken for a
real signal. Such an occurrence is called a false alarm.

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Therefore, if the threshold is set too low, false target indications are obtained, but if it is set too
high, targets might be missed. The selection of the proper threshold level is a compromise that
depends upon how important it is if a mistake is made either by –
(1) failing to recognize a signal that is present (probability of z miss) or by
(2) falsely indicating the presence of a signal when none exists (probability of a false alarm).

2. Integration of Radar Pulses

• The process of summing all the radar echo pulses for the purpose of improving detection is
called Integration.
• Integration may be accomplished in the radar receiver either before the second detector (in
the IF) or after the second detector (in the video).
• Integration before the detector is called Pre-detection or coherent integration.
• While integration after the detector is called Post-detection or non-coherent integration.
• Predetection integration requires that the phase of the echo signal be preserved if full
benefit is to be obtained from the summing process.
• On the other hand, phase information is destroyed by the second detector; hence
postdetection integration is not concerned with preserving RF phase.
• For this convenience, postdetection integration is not as efficient as predetection
integration.
• If n pulses, all of the same signal-to-noise ratio, were integrated by an ideal predetection
integrator, the resultant, or integrated, signal-to-noise (power) ratio would be exactly n
times that of a single pulse.
• If the same n pulses were integrated by an ideal postdetection device, the resultant signal-
to-noise ratio would be less than n times that of a single pulse.
• This loss in integration efficiency is caused by the nonlinear action of the second detector,
which converts some of the signal energy to noise energy in the rectification process.
• The comparison of pre-detection and post-detection integration may be summarized as:
- Although postdetection integration is not as efficient as predctection integration, it is
easier to implement in most applications.
- Postdetection integration is therefore preferred, even though the integrated signal-to-
noise ratio may not be as great.

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 3. MOVING TARGET INDICATOR (MTI) RADAR

This radar uses the doppler effect for its operation. Many a times it is not possible to distinguish a
moving target in the presence of static or permanent echoes of comparable appearance on the radar
screen.
In a PPI display, there is a lot of clutter due to these stationary target echoes. Also, it is quite
possible that a moving target has a range and bearing such that the echo from the moving target
gets superimposed on the ground clutter, such a condition can exist in mountainous region or in
close vicinity of modern cities cluttered wall tall buildings.
The moving target indicator (MTI) system compares a set of received echoes with those received
during the previous sweep. Those echoes whose phase has remained constant are then cancelled
out. This applies to echoes due to stationary objects, but those due to moving targets do show a
phase change; they are thus not canceled nor is noise, for obvious reasons. The fact that clutter due
to stationary targets is employed makes it much easier to determine which targets are moving and
reduces the time taken by an operator to “take in” the display. It also allows the detection of
moving targets whose echoes are hundreds of times smaller than those of nearby stationary targets
and which would otherwise have been completely masked.

Fig. 2 : Block diagram of MTI radar using power amplifier output

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A block diagram of an MTI radar is shown in Fig. 2. The block diagram shows two mixers.
Mixer 2 generates the transmitter frequency (fo + fc), which is obtained by the sum of frequencies
produced by two oscillators. The first is STALO (stable oscillator) producing fo and second is the
COHO (Coherent oscillator ) producing fc. The transmitted frequency drives a multicavity
klystron amplifier, which acts as an output tube. This amplifier provides the desired amplification
for proving a high power pulse when modulator switches on the tube. The transmitter pulse is the
output via the duplexer.
The echo pulse from the target (due to transmitted pulse) is received by the MTI radar antenna. If
the echo is due to a moving target, the echo pulse undergoes a doppler frequency shift. The
received echo pulses (fo + fc ± fd) then pass through mixer 1 of the receiver which hytrodynes the
received signal of frequency (f0 + fc + fd) with the output of STALO at f0 and produces a
difference frequency (fc ± fd) at its output. These two mixers 1 and 2 are identical in all respects
except that mixer 1 produces a difference frequency whereas mixer 2 produces a sum frequency.
This difference frequency signal is further amplified by an IF amplifier and is given to the phase
sensitive detector or phase discriminator. This detector compares the IF signal with the reference
signal from the COHO oscillator. This difference is the doppler frequency. The detector provides
an output depending upon the phase difference between these two signals. Since all received
signal pulses will have phase difference compared with the transmitted pulse, the phase detector
gives output for both fixed and also for moving targets. Phase difference is constant for all fixed
targets but varies for moving targets. Doppler frequency shift causes this variation in phase
difference. A change of half cycle in the doppler frequency shift would cause an output of
opposite polarity in the phase detector output. The output of the phase detector therefore
successive pulses in case of a moving target. However, for fixed targets the magnitude and
polarity of the output will remain the same for all transmitted pulses.

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Fig. 3: Operation of MTI Radar, (a), (b), (c) phase detector output for three successive pulses; (d)
subtractor output

Fig. 3 shows that those returns of each pulse that correspond to stationary targets are identical with
each pulse, but those portions corresponding to moving targets keep changing in phase. It is thus
possible to subtract the output for each pulse from the preceding one, by delaying the earlier
output by a time equal to the pulse interval, or 1/PRF. Since the delay line also attenuates heavily
and since signals must be of the same amplitude if permanent echoes are to cancel an amplifier
follows the delay line.
To ensure that this does not introduce a spurious phase shift, an amplifier is placed in the
undelayed line, which has exactly the same response characteristics than amplifier 1. The delayed
and undelayed signals are compared in the subtractor, whose output is shown in Fig. 3.

4. Single Delay Line Canceler (DLC)

The delay-line canceler acts as a filter to eliminate the d-c component of fixed targets and to pass
the a-c components of moving targets. The video portion of the receiver is divided into two
channels. One is a normal video channel. In the other, the video signal experiences a time delay

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equal to one pulse-repetition period (equal to the reciprocal of the pulse-repetition frequency). The
outputs from the two channels are subtracted from one another. The fixed targets with unchanging
amplitudes from pulse to pulse are canceled on subtraction.
However, the amplitudes of the moving-target echoes are not constant from pulse to pulse and
subtraction results in an uncanceled residue. The output of the subtraction circuit is bipolar signal.
Bipolar video can intensity-modulate a PPJ display, it must he converted to unipotential voltages
(unipolar video) by a full-wave rectifier.

4. (a) Frequency response of single DLC

The delay-line canceler acts as a filter which rejects the d-c component of clutter. Because of its
periodic nature, the filter also rejects energy in the vicinity of the pulse repetition frequency and its
harmonics.

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 4. (b) Blind Speeds

The response of the single-delay-line canceler will be zero whenever the argument πfd T in the
amplitude factor of Eq. (4.6) is 0, rr, 2n, . .., etc., or when

fd = n/T = nfp

where n=1,2,3 ... , and fp = pulse repetition frequency.

Delay line canceller not only eliminates the d-c component caused by clutter (n = O), but
unfortunately it also rejects any moving target whose doppler frequency happens to be the same as
the prf or a multiple thereof. Those relative target velocities which result in zero MTI response are
called Blind Speeds.

Vn = nλ/2T = nλfp/2

where Vn is the nth blind speed.

λ is measured in meters,.fp in Hz, and the relative velocity in knots,

5. Double Delay Line Canceler

The frequency response of a single-delay-line canceler (Fig. 4.7) does not always have as broad a
clutter-rejection null as might be desired in the vicinity of d-c. The clutter-rejection notches may
be widened by passing the output of the delay-line canceler through a second delay-line canceler

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as shown in Fig. 4.9(a). The output of the two single-delay line cancelers in cascade is the square
of that from a single canceler. Thus the frequency response is
4 sin2nfd T.
The configuration of Fig. 4.9(a) called a double-delay-line canceler, or simply a double canceler.

Relative frequency response of single-delay-line canceler (solid curve) & double delay-line
canceler

6. Staggered prf

The use of more than one pulse repetition frequency offers additional flexibility in the design of
MTI doppler filters. It not only reduces the effect of the blind speeds. But it also allows a sharper
low-frequency cutoff in the frequency response than might be obtained with a cascade of single-
delay-line cancelers.
The blind speeds of two independent radars operating at the same frequency will be different if
their pulse repetition frequencies are different. Therefore, if one radar were " blind" to moving
targets, it would be unlikely that the other radar would be " blind" also. Instead of using two
separate radars, the same result can be obtained with one radar which time-shares its pulse
repetition frequency between two or more different values (multiple prf's). The pulse repetition
frequency might be switched every other scan or every time the antenna is scanned a half
beamwidth, or the period might be alternated on every other pulse. When the switching is pulse to
pulse, it is known as a staggered prf.

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7. NONCOHERENT MTI

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The composite echo signal from a moving target and clutter fluctuates in both phase and
amplitude. The coherent MTI and the pulse-doppler radar make use of the phase fluctuations in
the echo signal to recognize the doppler component produced by a moving target. In these
systems, amplitude fluctuations are removed by the phase detector. The operation of this type of
radar, which may be called coherent MTI, depends upon a reference signal at the radar receiver
that is coherent with. the transmitter signal.
It is also possible to use the amplitude fluctuations to recognize the doppler component produced
by a moving target. MTI radar which uses amplitude instead of phase fluctuations is called non-
coherent.

The noncoherent MTI radar does not require an internal coherent reference signal or a phase
detector as does the coherent form of MTI.

Amplitude limiting cannot be employed in the noncoherent MTI receiver, else the desired
anlplitude fluctuations would be lost. Therefore tile IF amplifier must be linear, or if a large
dynamic range is required, it can be logarithmic. The detector following the IF amplifier is a
conventional amplitude detector. The phase detector is not used since phase information is of no
interest to the non coherent radar. Tile local oscillator of the noncoherent radar does not have to be
as frequency-stable as in the coherent MTI. The transmitter must be sufficiently stable over the
pulse duration to prevent beats between overlapping ground clutter, but this is not as severe a
requirement as in the case of coherent radar. The output of the amplitude detector is followed by
an MTI processor such as a delay-line canceler.

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