BASICS OF RADAR

• Introduction
• Maximum unambiguous Range
• Radar Block diagram and operation
• Simple form of the radar equation
• Radar frequencies and Applications
• Prediction of range performance
• Minimum Detectable signal
• Receiver Noise
• Modified Radar Range equation
• Illustrative problems
 RADAR is an Acronym for
RAdio Detection And Ranging
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the range,
angle, or velocity of objects. It can be used to
detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles,motor vehicles, weather
formations, and terrain.

A radar system consists of a transmitter producing electromagnetic waves in

the radio or microwaves domain, a transmitting antenna, a receiving antenna (often
the same antenna is used for transmitting and receiving) and a receiver and
processor to determine properties of the object(s).

FUNCTIONS OF RADAR
• Detects the presence of target
• Gives the range of the target from the Radar station
• Gives the azimuth angle and elevation angle of the target
• Gives the radial velocity of target.

PRINCIPLE OF WORKING

Two basic radar systems exist

1. Monostatic
2. Bistatic
Measurement of Range
PRF: The no of radar pulses transmitted per second is known as pulse repetition frequency or
pulse repetition rate.
PRT: The time from beginning of first pulse to the beginning of the next is called pulse repetition
time.

--Time taken by EM pulse to travel to target and come back to same antenna
R- range of target
C –Velocity of EM waves = 3 x 108 Meters/sec
Rest Time or Receiver Time : The time between two successive transmitted pulse is
called as Rest Time or Receiver Time

Radar range determination

• 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.
• Electromagnetic energy in free space travels with the speed of light c ( 3 x
108 m/s) therefore range R is given by : R= cTR / 2
• The range R in kilometers or nautical miles, and TR in microseconds, the
above relation becomes: R(km) = 0.15 X TR ( µS ) or R(nmi) =
0.081 X TR ( µS )
• Each microsecond of round-trip travel time corresponds to a distance of
0.081 nautical mile, 0.093 statute mile, 150 meters, 164 yards, or 492 feet.
• ( 1 mile = 0.8689 nautical mile or 1.6 km
1 nautical mile = 1.15078 miles or 1.8412 km )
• It takes 12.35 µs for radar signal to travel a nautical mile and back
 Maximum unambiguous range
• Once signal is transmitted into space by a radar, sufficient time must elapse
to allow all echo signals to return to the radar before the next pulse is
transmitted .
• The rate which pulses may be transmitted is determined by the longest
range at which the target is expected.
• If the time between the pulses is too short, the echo signal from target
may arrive after the next pulse transmitted and it leads to incorrect or
ambiguous measurement of the range.
• The echoes that arrive after the transmission of next pulse are called
second time around echoes or second return echoes.
• The maximum range from which a transmitted radar pulse can be reflected
and received before the next pulse is transmitted.
or
the range beyond which targets appear as second time around echoes is
called the maximum unambiguous range.

• Rmax is the farthest target range that can be detected by a Radar without ambiguity
and is also called Maximum Unambiguous Range of the Radar. Since PRF fP= 1/TP
It is also given by :

Run or Rmax = CTP/2 = C/2fP

• If the range of target is more than the Maximum Unambiguous Range, multiple
time around echoes occur and range computed would be erroneous.

• The relation between PRF and Maximum Unambiguous Range is linear and shown
in the next slide.
 The first transmitted pulse, after being reflected from the target in
200 km, is received by the radar before the second pulse is transmitted. There
will be no ambiguity here as the reflected pulse can be easily identified as a
reflection of the first pulse. But in same Figure, we notice that the reflection of
a target of the first pulse is received after the second pulse has been transmitted
(in range of 400 km). This causes some confusion since the radar, without any
additional information, cannot determine whether the received signal is a
reflection of the first pulse or of the second pulse. This leads to an ambiguity in
determining the range, this received echo signal be mistaken as a short-range
echo of the next cycle.
Therefore maximum unambiguous range Rmax is the maximum range for which
t < T.
Rmax = c0 · (T - τ)/2 where Rmax = Unambiguous Range in [m]
c0 = Speed of light [3·108 m/s]
T = Pulse Repetition Time [sec]
τ = length of the transmitted pulse
 The simple form of the 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 only for determining the maximum range, but it can serve for
understanding the factors affecting radar performance.

Limitations:

• Does 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 and these will be explained subsequently in the modified Radar
range equation .

Radar block diagram

There are two sections of radar Radar shown in the block diagram is
called monostatic Radar since same
1. Transmitter section
antenna is used for transmission and
2. Receiver section reception.
 Transmitter section
• Transmitter : the transmitter may be a power amplifier such as klystron,
travelling wave tube or transistor amplifier. This will generates the
Electrical energy at R.F.(Radio Frequency).
• Pulse modulator : The power amplifier (Such as Klystron, TWT) produces
a high power signal, may be in terms of megawatts. Pulse modulator shown
in the block is used as a switch, which will turn on and off the power
amplifier.
• Wave form generator: A low power signal is produced by the waveform
generator which is given as an input to the power amplifier.
• Duplexer: The duplexer allows a single antenna to be used on a time
shared basis for both transmitting and receiving. The duplexer is generally
a gaseous device that produces a short circuit at the input to the receiver
when the transmitter is operating, so that high power flows to the antenna
and not to the receiver. On the reception, the duplexer directs echo signal to
the receiver and not to the transmitter. Solid state ferrite circulators and
receiver protector devices can also be part of the duplexer

Receiver section:

• Low noise RF amplifier: The receiver is almost always a super heterodyne. LNA
is used immediately after the antenna. This reduces the Noise Figures and produces
the RF pulse proportional to the transmitted signal.
• Mixer and local oscillator: It converts the RF signal to an intermediated frequency
where it is amplified by the IF amplifier. The IF frequency might be 30 or 60 MHz.
• IF amplifier:
i) It amplifies the IF pulse.
ii) IF amplifier is designed as a matched filter which maximizes the output
peak signal to mean noise ratio.
iii) The matched filter maximizes the detectability of weak echo signals and
attenuates unwanted signals.
iv) The signal bandwidth of super heterodyne receiver is determined by the
bandwidth of its IF stage.
v) For example when pulse width is of the order of 1µs the IF bandwidth would
be about 1MHz.
• Second Detector: the IF amplifier followed by a crystal diode which is
called the second detector or demodulator. Its purpose is to assist in
extracting the echo signal modulation from the carrier. It is called as
2ndDetector since it is the second diode used in the chain. The first diode is
used in the mixer. Output of the 2ndDetector is the Video Pulse.
• Video amplifier: It is designed to provide the sufficient amplification to
rise the level of the input signal to a magnitude where it can be diplay (CRT
or Digital computer).
• Threshold decision: The output of video amplifier is given to the threshold
detector where it is decided whether the received signal is from a target or
just because of the presence of noise.
• Display: The Display is generally a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)
(a) ‘A’ scope (b) PPI
i) ’A’ scope provided Range and Echo power.
ii) PPI measures Range and bearing (azimuth angles)
iii) In addition there are other displays like ‘B’ scope, ‘ D ‘ scope etc.

(a) PPI presentation displaying Range vs. Angle (intensity modulation)

(b) A-scope presentation displaying Amplitude vs. Range (deflection
modulation)
 RADAR FREQUENCIES
• RF spectrum is very scarce and as such Radars are allotted only a certain
frequency bands for their operation by International Telecom Union ITU
• During 2ndworld war, to keep the secrecy, certain code words were used.
The same designations are continued even today
• Lema Band (L) 1GHZ-2GHZ, Sierra band(S) 2GHZ-4GHZ, Charlie Band
(C) 4GHZ-8GHZ, Xera Band (X) 8GHZ-12GHZ
• ITU(International Telecommunication Union) allocated a portion of these
bands for Radar

ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
Standard radar-frequency letter-band nomenclature

FIELDS OF APPLICATION

• MILITARY
• REMOTE SENSING
• AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL
• LAW ENFORCEMENT AND HIGHWAY
• SECURITY
• AIRCRAFT SAFETY AND NAVIGATION
• SHIP SAFETY
• SPACE
• MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS
 MILITARY:
• Important part of air defence system, operation of offensive missiles & other weapons.
• Target detection, target tracking & weapon control .
• Also
• used in area, ground & air surveillance.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL
• Used to safely control air traffic in the vicinity of the airports and enroute.
• Ground vehicular traffic & aircraft taxing.
• Mapping of regions of rain in the vicinity of airports & weather.
LAW ENFORCEMENT & HIGHWAY SAFETY:
• Radar speed meters are used by police for enforcing speed limits.
• It is used for warning of pending collision, actuating air bag or warning of obstruction or
people behind a vehicle or in the side blind zone

REMOTE SENSING
• Weather observation-t.V.Reporting
• Planetary observation
• Below ground probing
• Mapping of sea ice
AIRCRAFT SAFETY & NAVIGATION
• Low flying military aircrafts rely on terrain avoidance & terrain following radars to avoid
collision with high terrain & obstrucions
SHIP SAFETY
• Radar is found on ships & boats for collision avoidance & to observe navigation buoys, when
the visibility is poor.
• Shore based radars are used for surveillance of harbours & river traffic.
 SPACE
• Space vehicles have used radar for clocking & for landing on the moon.
• Used for planetary exploration.
• Ground based radars are used for detection & tracking of satellites & other space objects.
• Used for radio astronomy.
OTHER APPLICATIONS
• It is used for in industry for the non contact measurement of speed & distance.
• Used for oil & gas exploration.
• Used to study movements of insects & birds.

PREDICTION OF RANGE PERFORMANCE

The simple form of the radar equation derived earlier expresses the maximum
radar range Rmax in terms of radar and target parameters:

Rmax = [ (Pt .G. Ae. σ)/ (4π)2. Smin ]1/4

where Pt = transmitted power, watts

G = antenna gain
Ae = antenna effective aperture, m2
σ = radar cross section, m2
Smin = minimum detectable signal, watts

All the parameters are to some extent under the control of the radar
designer, except for the target cross section σ.
The radar equation states that if long ranges are desired,
1. The transmitted power must be large,
2. The radiated energy must be concentrated into a narrow beam (high
transmitting antenna gain),
3. The received echo energy must be collected with a large antenna
aperture (also synonymous with high gain) and
4. The receiver must be sensitive to weak signals.

In practice, however, the simple radar equation does not predict the range
performance of actual radars. The predicted values of radar range are usually
optimistic. In some cases the actual range might be only half of that is predicted.

The failure of the simple form of radar equation is due to

1. The statistical nature of the minimum detectable signal determined by
receiver noise.
2. Fluctuations and uncertainty in radar cross-section.

3. The losses throughout the radar system.

4. Propagation effects caused by the earth’s surface and atmosphere.
Because of statistical nature of receiver noise and target cross section, the
maximum radar range is described probabilistically rather than single number.

Therefore the radar range equation includes

1. Probability that radar will detect a target at a particular range(pd).
2. Probability of making a false detection when no target is present(pfa).

From the above facts it can be concluded that the range of radar is a function of
probability of detection(pd) and probability of false alarm(pfa). The prediction of radar
range is not accurate as there is uncertainty in various parameters. Still radar range
equation is an important tool for i) Assessing the performance of radar ii) Generating
technical requirements and Determining system tradeoffs for designing new radar
systems.
 MINIMUM DETECTABLE SIGNAL
• The ability of a radar receiver to detect a weak echo signal is limited by the noise present
in the frequency spectrum.
• The weakest signal that the receiver can detect is called the minimum detectable signal.
It is difficult to define what is minimum detectable signal (MDS) because of its
statistical nature and the criterion for deciding whether a target is present or not may not
be too well defined.
• Detection is normally based on establishing a threshold level at the output of the receiver
(as shown by the dotted line ). Whenever Rx output signal which is a mixture of echo
and noise crosses this threshold then it is detected as a target. This is called threshold
detection.
• Consider the output of a typical radar receiver as a function of time as shown in the
figure below which typically represents one sweep of the video output displayed on an
A-scope.

Fig : Typical envelope of a radar receiver output as a function of time. A, B, and C are
three targets representing signal plus noise. A and B are valid detections, but C is a
missed detection

1. If the threshold level were set properly, the signal would not generally exceed
the threshold if noise alone were present, but would exceed it if a strong
signal were present along with the noise.
2. If the threshold level is set too low, noise might exceed it and be mistaken for
a target. This is called a false alarm.
 3. If the threshold level were set too high, noise might not be large enough to cause
false alarms, but weak target echoes might not exceed the threshold and would not
be detected. This is called missed detection.
4. Here points A,B and C represents signal plus noise.
5. The signal at A is large which has a much larger amplitude than the noise. Hence
target detection is possible without any difficulty and ambiguity.
6. Next consider the two signals at B and C, representing target echoes of equal
amplitude. The noise voltage accompanying the signal at B is large enough so that
the combination of signal plus noise exceeds the threshold and target detection is
still possible. Thus the presence of noise will sometimes enhance the detection of
weak signals.
7. But ,for the target C , the noise is not as large and the resultant signal plus noise
does not cross the threshold and hence target is not detected.

• Threshold Level setting: Weak signals such as C would not be lost if the
threshold level were lower. But too low threshold causes false alarms. 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 necessary to
avoid the mistakes of

1.Failing to recognize a signal that is present (missed detection) or

2.Falsely indicating the presence of a signal when it does not exist (false alarm)

The signal-to-noise ratio is a better measure of a radar’s detection

performance that the minimum detectable signal.
 RECEIVER NOISE
• Noise is an unwanted EM energy which interferes with the ability of the
receiver to detect the wanted signal thus limiting the receiver sensitivity.

• It may originate within the receiver itself or it may enter via the receiving
antenna along with the desired signal.

• If the radar were to operate in a perfectly noise free environment so that no

external noise accompany the target signal.

• If the receiver itself were so perfect that it didn’t generate any excess noise,
there would be still be noise generated by the thermal motion of the
conduction electrons in the ohmic portion of the receiver i/p stages. This is
called Thermal noise or jhonson noise.

RADAR EQUATION
• SNR
• Envelop Detector
• False Alarm time and Probability
• Integration of Radar Pulses
• Radar Cross Section of Targets (simple targets: sphere and
cone sphere)
• Transmitter Power
• PRF and Range Ambiguities
• System Losses (qualitative treatment)
 SNR
• Signal to noise ratio is very important as far as radar is concerned. Because
presence of target or not have small difference.
• Statistical noise theory will be applied to obtain S/N at the o/p of the IF amplifier
necessary to achieve a specified prob of detection and prob of false alarm.

• Envelope Detector:

• Consider an IF amplifier with bandwidth followed by a second detector and a

video amplifier with bandwidth

• The second detector and video amplifier are assumed to form an envelope detector,
that is one which rejects the carrier freq but passes the modulation envelop.
• To extract the modulation envelope, the video bandwidth must be wide enough to
pass the low freq components generated by the second detector but no so wide as to
pass the high frequency components at or near the IF.
• The video bandwidth must be greater than in order to pass all video
modulation.
 Radar Cross Section of Targets
• A radar cross section is defined as the ratio of its effective isotropic scattered power
to the incident power density.

σ =

where R = distance between radar and target

Er = strength of reflected field at radar
Ei = strength of incident field at target

• The radar cross section depends on the characteristic dimensions of the object
compared to the radar wavelength.

RCS of Simple Targets:

Sphere: A perfectly conducting sphere acts a isotropic radiator i.e. Incident radiation
scattered in all directions.

The radar cross section of the sphere is characterized into three regions

1. Rayleigh region :When the wavelength is large compared to the object’s

dimensions is said to be Rayleigh region.

2. Optical region :When the wavelength is small compared to the object’s

dimensions is said to be Optical region.

3. Resonance region : In between the Rayleigh and Optical regions is the

Resonance region where the radar wavelength is comparable to the objects
dimensions.

For many objects the radar cross section is larger in the resonance region than in
the other two regions.
 Fig: Radar cross section of a sphere as a function of circumference ( )
measured in wavelength

• Cone sphere: It is a cone whose base is capped with a sphere. A large cross section
occurs when a radar views the cone perpendicular to its surface.
 PRF and Range Ambiguities
• The pulse repetition frequency (prf) is determined primarily by the maximum range at which
targets are expected.

• Echo signals that arrive at a time later than the pulse repetition period are known as second
time around echoes or multiple time around echoes. These echoes may cause error and
confusion. Also it can mask unambiguous target echoes at shorter ranges.
• Pulse Doppler radars have usually problem of range ambiguities because of prf.
• Consider the three targets located at three different positions A,B and C
• Target A is located within the maximum unambiguous range Runamb [= C.TP /2] of the radar,
target B is at a distance greater than Runamb but less than 2Runamb and the target C is
greater than 2Runamb but less than 3Runamb

• The appearance of the three targets on an A-scope is shown below.

The ambiguous echoes B and C looks very similar to unambiguous range

echo A. Out of these three echoes only the range of A is correct ,for B and C are not
correct.

• The ambiguous range echoes are recognized by changing the prf of the radar. When
the prf is changed the unambiguous echo remains at its true range. Ambiguous
range echoes appear at different apparent ranges for each prf shown in below fig
 • Let if prf has unambiguous range and the range corresponds
to it is then the true range is given by

or
or
• Let if prf has unambiguous range and the range corresponds
to it is then the true range is given by

or
or

The correct range is same for two prfs. Thus two or more
prfs can be used to correct range ambiguity with increased accuracy and
avoiding false values.

System Losses
The losses within the radar system is called system losses. The losses in a
radar system reduce the signal-to-noise ratio at the receiver output.
1. Microwave plumbing losses : There is always loss in the transmission line that
connects the antenna to the transmitter and receiver. In addition there can be loss in
the various microwave components, such as duplexer, receiver protector, rotary
joints, directional couplers, transmission line connectors, bends in the
transmission lines and the mismatch at the antenna.
a) Transmission line losses: Generally same transmission line used for both
transmission and reception , the loss to be inserted in the radar eq is twice the one
way loss. At lower radar frequencies, the transmission line introduces little loss. At
higher radar frequencies attenuation may not be small and may have to be taken in
account. In practical the transmitter and receiver should be placed close to the
antenna to keep the transmission line loss small.
b) Duplexer loss: the loss due to a gas duplexer that protects the receiver from the
high power of the transmitter is generally different on transmission and reception. It
also depends on the type of duplexer used.
• In an S-band (3000 MHz) radar, for example, the plumbing losses might be as follows:
100 ft of RG-113/U A1 waveguide transmission line (two-way) : 1.0 dB
Duplexer loss : 2.0 dB
Loss due to poor connections (estimate) : 0.3 dB
Rotary-joint loss : 0.8 dB
Other RF devices : 0.4dB
Total plumbing loss : 4.5 dB

2. Antenna losses:
a) Beam shape loss: In radar equation antenna gain is assumed as constant at its
maximum value but in practice as a search antenna scans across a target, it does not
offer its peak gain to all echo pulses. When the system integrates several echo
pulses maximum antenna gain occurs when the peak of antenna beam is in direction
of target.
 b) Scanning loss:
When a radar antenna scans rapidly compared to round trip time of the echo
signal, the antenna gain may not be same for transmission and while receiving of
echoes. This results in the direction of additional loss called the Scanning loss.
The scanning loss is most significant in long range scanning radars, such as
space surveillance and ballistic missile defense radars.

c) Radome:
The loss introduced by radome is decided by its type and operating
frequency. A commonly used ground based metal space frame radome offers a loss
of 1.2dB for two way transmission.
d) Phased array losses:
Some phased array radars have additional transmission line losses due to the
distribution network that connects the receiver and transmitter to multiple elements
of array. These losses reduces antenna power gain.

3. Signal Processing Losses:

For detecting targets in clutters and in extraction information from the radar
echo signals is very important and lossless signal processing is necessary. Various
losses accounted during signal processing are
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 CW and Frequency
Modulated Radar

CW and Frequency Modulated Radar

• Doppler Effect
• CW Radar-Block Diagram

• Isolation between Transmitter and Receiver

• Non-zero IF receiver
• Receiver Bandwidth Requirements
• Applications of CW radar
• Related Problems

• FM-CW radar
• Range and Doppler measurement
• Block diagram and Characteristics
• FM-CW altimeter
• Multiple Frequency CW radar
 Doppler Effect
• Doppler effect implies that the frequency of a wave when transmitted by the source
is not necessarily the same as the frequency of the transmitted wave when picked
by the receiver.
• The received frequency depends upon the relative motion between the transmitter
and receiver.
• If transmitter and receiver both are moving towards each other the received
frequency higher, this is true even one is moving.
• If they are moving apart the received signal frequency decreases and if both are
stationary, the frequency remains the same. This change in frequency is known as
Doppler shift.
• Doppler shift depends upon the relative velocity between radar and target

• If R is the distance from the radar to target, the total number of wavelengths λ
contained in the two-way path between the radar and the target are 2R/λ.
• Each wavelength corresponds to a phase change of 2π radians. The total phase
change in the two way propagation path is then

• If the target is in motion relative to the radar, R is changing and so will the phase.
Differentiating w.r.t time gives the rate of change of phase, which is the angular
frequency

• = is the radial velocity or rate of change range with time

• is the rate of change of with time is the angular frequency, where is
the Doppler frequency shift.
 • The relative velocity may be written as Vr= V.cos θ where V is the target speed and
θ is angle made by the target trajectory and the line joining radar and target. When
θ=0 the Doppler frequency is maximum. The Doppler is zero when the trajectory is
perpendicular to the radar line of sight (θ= 900).

Figure: Doppler frequency

fd as a function of radar
frequency and target
relative velocity

CW RADAR
• It is possible to detect moving targets by radiating unmodulated Continuous wave
energy instead of radiating in the form of pulses. Continuous Wave radars makes
use of Doppler effect for target speed measurements.

Figure : (a) Block diagram of a

Simple CW radar
(b) Response characteristic of
the doppler filter
• Consider the simple CW radar shown the block diagram. The transmitter generates
a continuous (unmodulated) oscillation of frequency which is radiated by the
antenna.
• A portion of the radiated energy is intercepted by the target and is scattered, some
of it in the direction of the radar, where it is collected by the receiving antenna.
• If the target is in motion with a velocity Vr relative to the radar, the received signal
will be shifted in frequency from the transmitted frequency by an amount as
given by the equation
• The plus sign associated with the Doppler frequency shift applies if the distance
between target and radar is decreasing (approaching target) that is, when the
received signal frequency is greater than the transmitted signal frequency. The
minus sign applies if the distance is increasing (receding target).
• The received echo signal at a frequency enters the radar via the antenna and
is heterodyned in the detector (mixer) with a portion of the transmitter signal fo to
produce a Doppler beat note of frequency fd. The sign of fd is lost in this process.

• The beat frequency amplifier eliminates the echoes from stationary targets and
amplifies the Doppler echo signal.
• The low-frequency cutoff must be high enough to reject the d-c component caused
by stationary targets, but yet it must be low enough to pass the smallest Doppler
frequency expected. Sometimes both conditions cannot be met simultaneously and
a compromise is necessary. The upper cutoff frequency is selected to pass the
highest Doppler frequency expected.

Advantages of CW Radar
• CW Doppler radar has no blind speed.
• CW Doppler radar is capable of giving accurate measurements of relative
velocities.
• CW Doppler radars are always on, they need low power and are compact in size.
• They can be used for small to large range with high degree of efficiency and
accuracy.
• The performance of radar is not affected by stationary object.
Disadvantages of CW Doppler radar
• The maximum range of CW Doppler radar is limited by the power that radar can
radiate.
• The target range can not be calculated by CW Doppler radar.
• There is possibility of ambiguous results when number of targets are more.
Applications of CW Radar
• CW Doppler radars are used where only velocity information is of intrest and actual
range is not needed. E.g: in LAW and Enforcement radar applications
• Measuring motion of wave on water level.
• Runway monitors.
• Cricket ball speed measurement.

Isolation between transmitter and receiver

• A single antenna serves the purpose of both transmission and reception in the
simple CW radar. In principle, a single antenna is sufficient as the necessary
isolation is obtained by the separation in frequency (as a result of doppler effect), in
practice there is considerable transmitter leakage.
• However, there are two reasons why the amount of transmitter leakage power
should be kept at a low value.
1. The maximum power the receiver input circuitry can withstand, without
being physically damaged or having its sensitivity reduced, is quite low.
2. The transmitter noise which enters the receiver from the transmitter
reduces receiver sensitivity.
• The amount of isolation required depends on the transmitter power and the
accompanying transmitter noise as well as the ruggedness and sensitivity of the
receiver.
• For example, If the safe value of power which might be applied to a receiver is
10mW and if the transmitter power is 1 kW, the isolation between transmitter and
receiver must be at least 50 dB.
• In long range CW applications, it is the level of the noise accompanying the transmitter
leakage signal, rather than the damage this leakage might cause to the receiver circuitry,
which determines the amount of isolation required.
• The amount of isolation which can be readily achieved between the arms of practical hybrid
junctions such as the magic-T, rat race, or short-slot coupler is of the order of 20 to 30 dB.
• In some instances, when extreme precision is exercised, an isolation of perhaps 60 dB or more
might be achieved. But one limitation of the hybrid junction is the 6-dB loss in overall
performance.
• The largest isolations are obtained with two antennas one for transmission, the other for
reception-physically separated from one another. Isolations of the order of 80 dB or more are
possible with high-gain antennas. The more directive the antenna beam and the greater the
spacing between antennas, the greater will be the isolation.
• The separate antennas of the AN/MPQ-46 CW tracker-illuminator of the Hawk missile system
are shown

• The correct degree of isolation between transmitters and receivers can be

implemented by one of two methods:
1) Use two antennas, physically separated by a given distance, or;
2) Use the appropriate duplexer with a single-antenna system.
 Intermediate-frequency receiver
Limitation of Zero IF receiver:
• Receivers of super heterodyne receiver type are also called homodyne receivers, or
super heterodyne receivers with zero IF.
• However, this simpler receiver is not very sensitive because of increased noise at
the lower intermediate frequencies caused by flicker effect.
• Flicker-effect noise occurs in semiconductor devices such as diode detectors and
cathodes of vacuum tubes. The noise power produced by the flicker effect varies as
1/fα where α is approximately unity.
• At the lower range of frequencies (audio or video region), where the Doppler
frequencies usually are found, the detector of the CW receiver can introduce a
considerable amount of flicker noise, resulting in reduced receiver sensitivity.
• For short-range, low-power, applications this decrease in sensitivity might be
tolerated
• But for maximum efficiency with CW radar, the reduction in sensitivity caused by
the simple Doppler receiver with zero IF cannot be tolerated.

Non zero IF Receiver:

• Flicker effect noise reduces the receiver sensitivity of a CW Radar with zero IF
(Simple Doppler radar). In order to increase the sensitivity and efficiency we go for
CW Radar with Non-zero IF.
• Figure above shows the block diagram of a CW radar whose receiver operates with
a nonzero IF. Separate antennas are shown for transmission and reception.

• Instead of the usual local oscillator found in the conventional super heterodyne
receiver, the local oscillator (or reference signal) is derived in the receiver from a
portion of the transmitted signal mixed with a locally generated signal of frequency
equal to that of the receiver IF.

• Since the output of the mixer Consists of two sidebands on either side of the carrier
plus higher harmonics, a narrow band filter selects one of the sidebands as the
reference signal.

• The improvement in receiver sensitivity with an intermediate-frequency super

heterodyne might be as much as 30 Db.

Limitations of CW radar with Non Zero IF

• False targets

• Unable to detect the range of the target

Receiver bandwidth requirements

• Bandwidth B, BW or Δf is the difference between the upper and lower cut-off
frequencies of a radar receiver, and is typically measured in hertz.

• In case of a baseband channel or video signal, the bandwidth is equal to its upper
cut-off frequency. In a Radar receiver the bandwidth is mostly determined by the IF
filter stages.

• IF amplifier should be wide enough to pass the expected range of Doppler

frequencies.

• Usually expected range of Doppler frequencies will be much higher than the
frequency spectrum occupied by the signal energy . So a wide band amplifier is
needed.
• which result in an increase in noise and a lowering of the receiver sensitivity and
S/N.
• If the frequency of the Doppler-shifted echo signal are known beforehand,
narrowband filter-that is just wide enough to reduce the excess noise without
eliminating a significant amount of signal energy might be used.
• If the received waveform were a sine wave of infinite duration, its frequency spectrum would
be a delta function as shown in the figure (a) below and the receiver bandwidth would be
infinitesimal.

• But a sine wave of infinite duration and an infinitesimal bandwidth cannot occur in nature.
The more normal situation is an echo signal which is a sine wave of finite duration.

• The frequency spectrum of a finite-duration sine wave has a shape of the form
[sinπ(f-f0)δ]/π(f-f0)]
where f0 and δ are the frequency and duration of the sine wave, respectively, and f is
the frequency variable over which the spectrum is plotted (Fig b).

Filter Banks in CW radar Receiver

• A bank of narrowband filter is required to measure the frequency of echo signals.
The filter bank also increases signal to noise ratio of radar receiver.

Figure: (a) Block diagram of IF Doppler filter bank (b) frequency-response characteristic of Doppler filter bank.
 • BW of each filter is wide enough to accept the signal energy. But not so wide to
accept the noise.
• The more the filters used less will be the SNR loss and less chance of missing a
target.
• The ability to measure the magnitude of Doppler frequency and improvement in
signal to noise ratio is better in IF filter bank than in video filter bank.
• Also the sign of Doppler shift (+ or -) is available which is not present in video
filter bank.
• Each filter of filter bank has different bandwidth.

Sign of the radial velocity

• In many applications of CW radar it is of interest to know if the target is
approaching or receding. This might be determined with separate filters located on
either side of the intermediate frequency.
• If the echo-signal frequency lies below the carrier, then the target is receding;
whereas if the echo frequency is greater that the carrier, then the target is
approaching.

Figure: Spectra of received signals. (a) No Doppler shift, no relative target motion; (b) approaching
target; (c) receding target.
 • However, the Doppler-frequency spectrum ”folds over” in the video because of the
action of the detector, and hence the information about whether the doppler shift is
positive or negative is lost. But it is possible to determine its sign from a technique
borrowed from single-sideband communication.
• If the transmitter signal is given by,
Et = Eocos wot
• The echo signal from the moving target will be,
Er = K1E0cos [(wo + wd)t + φ]
where, E0 = amplitude of the transmitted signal
K1 = a constant determined from the radar equation
wo = angular frequency of transmitted signal, rad/sec
wd = dopper angular frequency shift, rad/sec
φ = a constant phase shift, which depends upon the range of initial
detection (i.e., distance between the radar and the target)

• The sign of the Doppler frequency, and therefore the direction of target motion,
may be found by splitting the received signal into two channels as shown
• In channel A the signal is processed as in a simple CW radar. The receiver signal and a portion
of the transmitter signal heterodyne in the detector (mixer) to yield a difference signal,
EA = K2E0cos( wdt + φ)
• The channel B has π/2 phase delay introduced in the reference signal. The output of the
channel B mixer is

EB = K2E0 cos( wdt + φ +π/2)

• If the target is approaching (positive doppler),the outputs from the two channels are,

EA = K2E0 cos(wdt + φ)
EB = K2E0 cos(wdt + φ +π/2)
on the other hand, if the target is receding (negative doppler),

EA(−) = K2E0 cos(wdt - φ)

EB(−) = K2E0 cos(wdt - φ - π/2)
• The sign of wd and the direction of the target’s motion may be determined according to
whether the output of channel B leads or lags the output of channel A.
• One method of determining the relative phase relationship between the two channels is to
apply the outputs to a synchronous two-phase motor. The direction of motor rotation is an
indication of the direction of the target motion.

Applications of CW radar

• Police speed monitor

• Rate-of-climb meter (During aircraft take off)
• Vehicle counting
• As a replacement for “5th wheel speedometer” in vehicle testing
• Antilock braking system
• Collision avoidance
• In railways as speedometer instead of tachometer
• Advance warning system for approaching targets
• Docking speed measurement of large ships
• Intruder alarms
• Measurement of velocity of missiles, baseball etc
 FM CW RADAR
• FM CW radar is capable of measuring the relative velocity and the range of the
target with the expense of bandwidth.
• The inability of the simple CW radar to measure range is related to the relatively
narrow spectrum (bandwidth) of its transmitted waveform.
• By providing timing marks into the Tx signal the time of transmission and the time
of return can be calculated. This will increase the bandwidth
• More distinct the timing, more accurate the result will be and more broader will the
Tx spectrum
• The spectrum of a CW transmission can be broadened by the application of
modulation, either amplitude. frequency, or phase.
• An example of an amplitude modulation is the pulse radar. The narrower the pulse,
the more accurate the measurement of range and the broader the transmitted
spectrum
• A widely used technique to broaden the spectrum of CW radar is to frequency-
modulate the carrier. The timing mark is the changing frequency.

Range and Doppler measurement:

• In the frequency-modulated CW radar (abbreviated FM-CW), the transmitter
frequency is changed as a function of time.
• Assume that the transmitter frequency increases linearly with time, as shown by the
solid line in the next slide.
• If there is a reflecting object at a distance R, an echo signal will return after a time
T = 2R/C. The dashed line in the figure represents the echo signal.
• If the echo signal is heterodyned with a portion of the transmitter signal in a
nonlinear element such as a diode, a beat note fb will be produced.
• If there is no Doppler frequency shift, the beat note (difference frequency) is a
measure of the target's range and fb = fr where fr is the beat frequency due only to
the target's range.
• If the rate of change of the carrier frequency is f0 (dot) ,then the beat frequency is
given by

Figure: Frequency-time relation-ships in FM-CW radar. Solid curve represents transmitted signal;
dashed curve represents echo. (a) Linear frequency modulation; (b)triangular frequency modulation;
(c) beat note of (b).

• In any practical CW radar, the frequency cannot be continually changed in one

direction. Periodicity in the modulation is necessary, as in the triangular frequency-
modulation waveform shown in the figure (b). The modulation need not necessarily
be triangular. It can be saw tooth, sinusoidal, or some other shape.

• The resulting beat frequency as a function of time is shown in figure(c) for

triangular modulation.

• If the frequency is modulated at a rate fm over a range Δf the beat frequency is

fr = (2R/C).2fm.Δf = 4Rfm.Δf /C
• Thus the measurement of the beat frequency determines the range R.
 Block diagram illustrating the principle of the FM-CW radar

• A portion of the transmitter signal acts as the reference signal required to produce
the beat frequency. It is introduced directly into the receiver via a cable or other
direct connection.

• Ideally the isolation between transmitting and receiving antennas is made sufficiently large so
as to reduce to a negligible level the transmitter leakage signal which arrives at the receiver
via the coupling between antennas.

• The beat frequency is amplified and limited to remove any amplitude fluctuations.

• The frequency of the amplitude-limited beat note is measured with a cycle-counting

frequency meter calibrated in distance.

• If the target is not stationary Doppler frequency shift will be superimposed on the FM range
beat note and an erroneous range measurement results.

• The Doppler frequency shift causes the frequency-time plot of the echo signal to be shifted up
or down as shown in the figure (a). On one portion of the frequency-modulation cycle, the
beat frequency (Fig. b) is increased by the Doppler shift, while on the other portion, it is
decreased.

• If for example, the target is approaching the radar, the beat frequency fb(up) produced during
the increasing or up will be the difference between the beat frequency due to the range f r and
the Doppler frequency shift f d. Similarly, on the decreasing portion, the beat frequency
fb(down) is the sum of the two
 Figure: Frequency-time relationships in FM-CW radar when the received signal is shifted in
frequency by the Doppler effect (a) Transmitted (solid curve) and echo (dashed curve)
(b) beat frequency

 The beat frequency due to range fr can be calculated as

FM Altimeter
• The FM-CW radar principle is used in the aircraft radio altimeter to measure height
above the surface of the earth.

• Relatively short ranges of altimeters permit Low Tx power and low antenna gain.

• Since the relative motion between the aircraft and ground is small, the effect
of the Doppler frequency shift may usually be neglected.

• Frequency range: 4.2 to 4.4 GHz (reserved for altimeters)

• Solid state Tx is used here.

• High sensitive super-heterodyne Rx is preferred for better sensitivity and stability

 Figure: Block diagram of a FM-CW radar using sideband super heterodyne receiver

• A portion of the frequency-modulated transmitted signal is applied to a mixer along with the
oscillator signal.

• The selection of the local-oscillator frequency is a bit different from that in the usual super
heterodyne receiver. The local-oscillator frequency fIF is the same as the intermediate
frequency used in the receiver.

• The output of the mixer consists of the varying transmitter frequency fo(t) plus two sideband
frequencies, one on either side of fo(t) and separated from f o(t) by the local-oscillator
frequency fIF.

• The filter selects the lower sideband, fo(t) - fIF and rejects the carrier and the upper sideband.
The sideband filter must have sufficient bandwidth to pass the modulation, but not the carrier
or other sideband. The filtered sideband serves the function of the local oscillator.

• When an echo signal is present, the output of the receiver mixer is an IF signal of frequency
(fIF+fb) where fb is composed of the range frequency fr and the Doppler velocity frequency fd.

• The IF signal is amplified and applied to the balanced detector along with the local-oscillator
signal fIF .

• The output of the detector contains the beat frequency (range frequency and the Doppler
velocity frequency), which is amplified to a level where it can actuate the frequency-
measuring circuits.
 • The output of the low-frequency amplifier is divided into two channels: one feeds
an average-frequency counter to determine the range, and the other feeds a switched
frequency counter to determine the Doppler velocity (assuming fr > fd).
• Only the averaging frequency counter need be used in an altimeter application.
• A target at short range will generally result in a strong signal at low frequency,
while one at long range will result in a weak signal at high frequency. Therefore the
frequency characteristic of the low frequency amplifier in the FM-CW radar may be
used to provide attenuation at the low frequencies corresponding to short ranges
and large echo signals. Less attenuation is applied to the higher frequencies, where
the echo signals are weaker.
• Unwanted signals in FM altimeter:
1. The reflection of the transmitted signals at the antenna caused by impedance
mismatch.
2. The standing-wave pattern on the cable feeding the reference signal to the
receiver, due to poor mixer match.
3. The leakage signal entering the receiver via coupling between transmitter
and receiver antennas. This can limit the ultimate receiver sensitivity,
especially at high altitudes.

3. The interference due to power being reflected back to the transmitter, causing
a change in the impedance seen by the transmitter. This is usually important
only at low altitudes. It can be reduced by an attenuator introduced in the
transmission line at low altitude or by a directional coupler or an isolator.
4. The double-bounce signal.
 Advantages of FM-CW Radar

• Range can be measured by simple broadening of frequency spectrum.

• FM modulation is easy to generate than linear modulation.

• Synchronization is not required as in multiple frequency CW radar.

• For measuring range, single frequency is required.

Disadvantages of FM-CW Radar

• FM CW radar can be used to detect single targets only.

• Accuracy of FM CW radar is less compared to Multiple frequency radar.

• Measurement of range is more difficult when FM signal is non uniform or mixer is

not operating in linear region.

Multiple-frequency CW Radar
• Consider a CW radar radiating a single-frequency sine wave of the form sin 2πfot
• The signal travels to the target at a range R and returns to the radar after a time T =
2R/c where c is the velocity of propagation.
• The echo signal received at the radar is sin [2πfo(t –T)].
• If the transmitted and received signals are compared in a phase detector, the output
is proportional to the phase difference between the two and is given by :
Δφ= 2πf0T =4πfoR/c.
• The phase difference may therefore be used as a measure of the range, or

• However, the measurement of the phase difference Δφ is unambiguous only if Δφ

does not exceed 2π radians. Substituting Δφ = 2π into above eqn gives the
maximum unambiguous range as λ/2.
 • Unambiguous range may be extended considerably by utilizing two separate CW
signals differing slightly in frequency.
• The transmitted waveform is assumed to consist of two continuous sine waves of
frequency f1 and f2 separated by an amount Δf.
• For convenience, the amplitudes of all signals are set equal to unity.
• The voltage waveforms of the two components of the transmitted signal v1T and v2T
may be written as:

where Ø1 and Ø2 are arbitrary (constant) phase angles.

• The echo signal is shifted in frequency by the Doppler effect. The form of the
Doppler-shifted signals corresponding to the two frequencies f1 and f2 are:

Where Ro = range to target at a particular time t=to

fd1 = Doppler frequency shift associated with frequency f1
fd2 = Doppler frequency shift associated with frequency f2
• Since the two RF frequencies f1 and f2 are approximately the same (that is f2 = f1+
Δf, where Δf <<<f 1) the Doppler frequency shifts fd1 and fd2 can be assumed to
be equal to each other.
• Therefore we may write fd1 = fd2 = fd
• The receiver separates the two components of the echo signal and heterodynes each
received signal component with the corresponding transmitted waveform and
extracts the two Doppler-frequency components given below:
 • The phase difference between these two components is

Hence

• which is the same as that of R in 37th slide with Δf substituted in place of fo.
• The two-frequency CW technique for measuring range was described as using the
Doppler frequency shift.
• A large difference in frequency between the two transmitted signals improves the
accuracy of the range measurement since large Δf means a proportionately large
change in ΔØ for a given range.
• However, there is a limit to the value of Δf since ΔØ cannot be greater than 2π
radians if the range is to remain unambiguous.
• The maximum unambiguous range Runamb is:

• Therefore Δf must be less than c/2Runamb. Note that when Δf is replaced by the
pulse repetition rate, above eq gives the maximum unambiguous range of a pulse
radar.
• The two-frequency CW radar is essentially a single-target radar since only one
phase difference can be measured at a time. If more than one target is present, the
echo signal becomes complicated and the meaning of the phase measurement
becomes doubtful.
• The theoretical accuracy with which range can be measured with the two-frequency
CW radar can be found and it can be shown that the theoretical rms range error is

• Where E = energy contained in received signal and

• No = noise power per hertz of bandwidth.

The above Equation indicates that the greater the separation Δf

between the two frequencies, the lesser will be the rms error.
• Therefore the frequency difference must not be too large if unambiguous
measurements are to be made.

• The selection of Δf represents a compromise between the requirements of accuracy

and ambiguity.

• Both accurate and unambiguous range measurements can be made by transmitting

three or more frequencies instead of just two.

• For example, if the three frequencies f1,f2 and f3 are such that f3 – f1 = k( f2–f1)
where k is a factor of the order of 10 or 20, the pair of frequencies f3, f1 (with
greater Δf) gives an ambiguous but accurate range measurernent while the pair of
frequencies f2, f1(with lesser Δf) resolve the ambiguities in the measurement of
Range.

• Likewise, if further accuracy is required a fourth frequency can be transmitted and

its ambiguities resolved by the less accurate but higher unambiguous measurement
obtained from the three frequencies, f1, f2 and f3.

• As more frequencies are added the spectrum and target resolution approach that
obtained with a pulse or an FM-CWwaveform.

• The multiple-frequency CW radar technique has been applied to the accurate

measurement of distance in surveying and in missile guidance. The Tellurometer is
the name given to a portable electronic surveying instrument which is based on this
principle.

• In addition to its use in surveying, the multiple CW frequency method of measuring

range has been applied in
1. Range-instrumentation radar for the measurement of the distance to a transponder-
equipped missile,

2. The distance to satellites,

3. In satellite navigation systems based on range measurement

4. For detecting the presence of an obstacle in the path of a moving automobile by

measuring the distance,

5. The Doppler velocity, and the sign of the Doppler (whether the target is approaching or
receding).
• Example1: Determine the Range and Doppler velocity of an approaching
target using a triangular modulation FMCW Radar. Given : Beat frequency
fb(up) = 15KHz and fb (down) = 25KHz , modulating frequency : 1MHz, Δf :
1KHz and Operating frequency : 3Ghz
Solution:
We know fr = ½[fb(up)+ fb (down)] = ½( 15+25) = 20 Khz
fd = ½[ fb (down) - fb(up)] = ½( 25-15) = 5 Khz
The Range R in terms of fr , fm and Δf is given by : R = c fr / 4fm.Δf =
(3x10^8)20x10^3 / 4(1x10^6x1x10^3) mtrs = 1500 mtrs = 1.5 Kms
 MTI AND PULSE DOPPLER RADAR

Introduction
Principle
MTI Radar with - Power Amplifier Transmitter and Power Oscillator
Transmitter
Delay Line Cancellers – Filter Characteristics
Blind Speeds
Double Cancellation
Staggered PRFs
Range Gated Doppler Filters
MTI Radar Parameters
Limitations to MTI Performance
MTI versus Pulse Doppler Radar.
 Introduction
• The Doppler frequency shift [fd = 2Vr / λ] produced by a moving target also used in a pulse
radar just as in the CW radar, to determine the relative velocity of a target or to separate
desired moving targets from undesired stationary objects (clutter).

• Pulse radar that utilizes the Doppler frequency shift as a means of discriminating moving
targets from fixed targets is called a MTI (moving target indication) or a pulse Doppler radar.

• The two are based on the same physical principle, but in practice there are differences
between MTI and Pulse Doppler radar.

• The MTI radar, usually operates with ambiguous Doppler measurement (so-called blind
speeds) but with unambiguous range measurement (no second-time around echoes).

• A pulse Doppler radar operates with ambiguous range measurement but with unambiguous
Doppler measurement. Its pulse repetition frequency is usually high enough to operate with
unambiguous Doppler (no Blind speeds) but at the expense of range ambiguities.

• The discussion in this chapter, mostly is based on the MTI Radar, but much of what applies
to MTI can be extended to Pulse Doppler Radar as well.

• MTI is a necessity in high-quality air-surveillance radars that operate in the

presence of clutter.

• Its design is more challenging than that of a simple pulse radar or a simple CW
radar.

• A MTI capability adds to a radar's cost and complexity.

• The basic MTI concepts were introduced during World War 2, and most of the
signal processing theory on which MTI (and pulse Doppler) radar depends was
formulated during the mid-1950s.

• However, the implementation of theory to practice was speeded up only

subsequently after the availability of the necessary signal-processing technology.

• It took almost twenty years for the full capabilities offered by MTI signal-
processing theory to be converted into practical and economical Radar equipment.

• The chief factor that made this possible was the development of reliable, small, and
inexpensive digital processing hardware.
 Principle of Operation
• A simple CW radar studied earlier is shown in Fig.1(a). It consists of a transmitter,
receiver, indicator, and the necessary antennas.

• In principle, the CW radar converted into a pulse radar as shown in Fig.1(b) by

providing a power amplifier and a modulator to turn the amplifier on and off for the
purpose of generating pulses.

• The chief difference between the pulse radar of Fig. 1(b) and the one studied earlier
is that a small portion of the CW oscillator power that generates the transmitted
pulses is diverted to the receiver to take the place of the local oscillator.

• this CW signal also acts as the coherent reference needed to detect the Doppler
frequency shift.

• By coherent it means that the phase of the transmitted signal is preserved in the
reference signal.

• The reference signal is the distinguishing feature of coherent MTI radar.

Figure 1: (a) Simple CW Radar (b) Pulse Radar using Doppler Information
 If the CW oscillator voltage is represented as A1sin 2πftt where A1 is the
amplitude and ft the carrier frequency
Then the reference signal is: Vref = A2sin 2πftt ……….. (1)
• And the Doppler-shifted echo-signal voltage is:

……..(2)
Where A2 = amplitude of reference signal
A3 = amplitude of signal received from a target at a range R 0
fd = Doppler frequency shift
t = time
c = velocity of propagation
The reference signal and the target echo signal are heterodyned in the mixer
stage of the receiver. Only the low-frequency (difference-frequency) component
from the mixer is of interest and is a voltage given by:
……….(3)

• Note that the equations (1) to (3) above represent sine wave carriers upon which the
pulse modulation is imposed.

• For stationary targets the Doppler frequency shift will be zero and hence Vdiff will
not vary with time and may take on any constant value from +A4 to –A4 including
zero.

• However, when the target is in motion relative to the radar fd has a value other than
zero and the voltage corresponding to the difference frequency from the mixer [Eq.
(3)] will be a function of time.

• An example of the output from the mixer when the Doppler frequency fd is large
compared with the reciprocal of the pulse width is shown in Fig.2(b).

• If, on the other hand fd is small compared with the reciprocal of the pulse duration,
the pulses will be modulated with an amplitude given by Eq. (3) [Fig. 2(c)] and
many pulses will be needed to extract the Doppler information.

• The case illustrated in Fig. 2(c) is more typical of aircraft-detection radar, while the
waveform of Fig. 2(b) might be more applicable to a radar used for the detection of
extraterrestrial targets such as ballistic missiles or satellites.
• The video signals shown in Fig.2 are called bipolar, since they contain both
positive and negative amplitudes.

Figure 2 (a) RF or IFecho pulse train (b) video pulse train for Doppler frequency fd>I/τ (c) video
pulse train for Doppler frequency fd< I/τ .

• Moving targets may be distinguished from stationary targets by observing the video
output on an A-scope (amplitude vs. range).

• A single sweep on an A-scope might appear as in Fig. 3 (a) shown below. This
sweep shows several fixed targets and two moving targets indicated by the two
arrows.

• On the basis of a single sweep, moving targets cannot be distinguished from fixed
targets.

• Successive A-scope sweeps (pulse-repetition intervals) are shown in Fig. 3 (a) to

(e).

• Echoes from fixed targets remain constant throughout, but echoes from moving
targets vary in amplitude from sweep to sweep at a rate corresponding to the
Doppler frequency.

• The superposition of the successive A-scope sweeps is shown in Fig. 3(f). The
moving targets produce, with time, a" butterfly" effect on the A-scope.
 Figure 3 (a-e) Successive sweeps of a MTI radar A-scope display (echo amplitude as a function of time)
(f) superposition of many sweeps : arrows indicate position of moving targets.

Delay-line canceler
• Although the butterfly effect is suitable for recognizing moving targets on an A-
scope, it is not appropriate for display on the PPI. One method commonly employed
to extract Doppler information in a form suitable for display on the PPI scope is
with a delay-line canceler.

• 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 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 a bipolar video just as was the input.
• Before bipolar video can intensity-modulate a PPI display it must be converted into
unipotential voltages (unipolar video) by a full-wave rectifier.

Figure 4 : MTI Receiver with delay-line canceler

MTI Radar with Power Amplifier

• The simple MTI radar shown in Fig. 1(b) is not the most typical. The block diagram
of a more common MTI radar employing a power amplifier is shown above.

• The significant difference between this MTI configuration and that of Fig. 1(b) is
the manner in which the reference signal is generated.

• In this diagram, the coherent reference is supplied by an oscillator called the coho,
which stands for coherent oscillator.

• The coho is a stable oscillator whose frequency is the same as the intermediate
frequency used in the receiver.

• In addition to providing the reference signal, the output of the coho is also mixed
with the local-oscillator frequency fl. This local oscillator also must be a stable
oscillator and is called stalo, stands for stable local oscillator.

• The RF echo signal is heterodyned with the stalo signal to produce the IF just as in
the conventional super heterodyne receiver.

• The stalo, coho and the mixer in which they are mixed are called Receiver- Exciter
because of the dual role they serve both the receiver and the transmitter.

• The phase of the stalo influences the phase of the transmitted signal, any stalo
phase shift is canceled on reception because the stalo that generates the transmitted
signal also acts as the local oscillator in the receiver.

• The reference signal from the coho and the IF echo signal are both fed into a mixer
called the Phase detector.

• The phase detector differs from the normal amplitude detector since its output is
proportional to the phase difference between the two input signals.

• Any one of a number of transmitting-tube types might be used as the power

amplifier. These include the triode, tetrode, klystron, traveling-wave tube, and the
crossed-field amplifier.
• A transmitter which consists of a stable low-power oscillator followed by a power
amplifier is sometimes called MOPA, which stands for Master-Oscillator Power
Amplifier.
 MTI Radar with Power Oscillator Transmitter

• Before the development of the klystron amplifier, the only high-power transmitter available at
microwave frequencies for radar application was the magnetron oscillator.
• In an oscillator, the phase of the RF bears no relationship from pulse to pulse. For this reason,
the reference signal cannot be generated by a continuously running oscillator.
• However, a coherent reference signal may be readily obtained with the power oscillator by
readjusting the phase of the coho at the beginning of each sweep according to the phase of the
transmitted pulse.
• The phase of the coho is locked to the phase of the transmitted pulse each time a pulse is
generated.
• A block diagram of an MTI radar (with a power oscillator) is shown in below slide.
• A portion of the transmitted signal is mixed with the stalo output to produce an IF beat signal
whose phase is directly related to the phase of the transmitter.
• This IF pulse is applied to the coho and causes the phase of the coho CW oscillation to "lock"
in step with the phase of the IF reference pulse.
• The phase of the coho is then related to the phase of the transmitted phase and may be used as
the reference signal for echoes received from that particular transmitted pulse.
• Upon the next transmission, another IF locking pulse is generated to relock the phase of the
CW coho until the next locking pulse comes along.
 Delay-line canceler
• The simple MTI delay-line canceller shown earlier is an example of a time-domain
filter.
• The capability of this device depends on the quality of the medium used as the
delay line. The delay line must introduce a time delay equal to the pulse repetition
interval.
• For typical ground-based air surveillance radars this will be several milliseconds.
• Delay times of this magnitude cannot be achieved with practical electromagnetic
transmission lines.
• By converting the electromagnetic signal to an acoustic signal, it is possible to
utilize delay lines of a reasonable physical length since the velocity of propagation
of acoustic waves is about 10-5 that of electromagnetic waves.
• After the necessary delay is introduced by the acoustic line, the signal is converted
back to an electromagnetic signal for further processing.
• The early acoustic delay lines developed during World War 2 used liquid delay lines
filled with either water or mercury. Liquid delay lines were large and inconvenient
to use. They were replaced in themid-1950s by the solid fused-quartz delay line that
used multiple internal reflections to obtain a compact device.

• These analog acoustic delay lines were, in turn replaced in the early 1970s by
storage devices based on digital computer technology. The use of digital delay lines
requires that the output of the MTI receiver phase-detector be quantized into a
sequence of digital words.

• One of the advantages of a time-domain delay-line canceller as compared to the

more conventional frequency-domain filter is that a single network operates at all
ranges and does not require a separate filter for each range resolution cell.

• Frequency-domain Doppler filter banks are of interest in some forms of MTI and
Pulse-Doppler radar.

Filter Characteristics of the Delay Line Canceller

• 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.

• The video signal of Eq.(3)received from a particular target at a range R0 is

V1= k sin (2πfdt –Ø0) …………………….4

 where Ø0 = phase shift and k = amplitude of video signal.

• The signal from the previous transmission, which is delayed by a time T = pulse repetition
interval, is

V2= k sin [2πfd(t – T) – Ø0) --------------- 5

• The output from the subtractor is

V = V1- V2 = 2k sin(πfdT) cos [2 πfd( t – T/2) –Øo] ------------- 6

sin a sin b = 2 sin {1/ 2 (a b)} cos {1/ 2 (a ∓ b)}

• It is assumed that the gain through the delay-line canceller is unity. The output from the
canceller consists of a cosine wave at the Doppler frequency & with an amplitude 2k sin πfdT.

• Thus, the amplitude of the canceled video output is a function of the Doppler frequency shift
and the pulse-repetition interval, or prf.

• The magnitude of the relative frequency-response of the delay-line canceller [ratio of the
amplitude of the output from the delay-line canceller, 2k sin (πf d T) to the amplitude of the
normal radar video k] is shown below.

Frequency response of the single delay-line canceller: T = delay time =1/fP

 Blind speeds
• The response of the single-delay-line canceller will be zero whenever the argument (πfdT) in
the amplitude factor of Eq. (6) is 0, π, 2π, . .., etc., or when
………. (7)

where n= 0, 1, 2, . . . , and fp= pulse repetition frequency.

• The delay-line canceller not only eliminates the d-c component caused by clutter (n = 0),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 and
are given by

……… (8)

• where vn is the nth blind speed. If λ is measured in meters, fp in Hz, and the relative velocity in
knots, the blind speeds are :
--------------(9)

• The blind speeds are one of the limitations of pulse MTI radar which do not occur
with CW radar. They are present in pulse radar because Doppler is measured by
discrete samples (pulses) at the prf rather than continuously.

• Based on eq 9 there are four methods for reducing the determental effects of blind
speeds:
1. Operate the radar at long wavelengths

2. Operate with a high pulse repetition frequency

3. Operate with more that one PRF (Staggered prf’s)

4. Operate with more than one RF frequency

• Unfortunately, there are usually constraints other than blind speeds which determine
the wavelength and the pulse repetition frequency. Therefore, blind speeds might
not be easy to avoid.

• The possible solution for the blind speed is keep the first blind speed out of the
expected range of Doppler frequency
 Double cancellation
• The frequency response of a single-delay-line canceller (Fig. 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 canceller through a second delay-line canceller as shown in Fig. (9) below.

• The output of the two single-delay line cancellers in cascade is the square of that
from a single canceller. Thus the frequency response is ( 4 sin2πfdT ).

• The configuration of Fig. 9 (a) is called a double-delay-line canceller, or simply a

double canceller.

• The relative response of the double canceller compared with that of a single-delay-
line canceller is shown in Fig. 10.

• The finite width of the clutter spectrum is also shown (hatched) in this figure so as
to illustrate the additional cancellation of clutter offered by the double canceller.

• The two-delay-line configuration of Fig.9 (b) has the same frequency-response

characteristic as the double-delay-line canceller.

Figure 9 : (a) Double-delay-line canceller (b) three-pulse canceller

Figure (10): Relative frequency response of the single-delay-line canceller (solid curve) and the double
delay-line canceller (dashed curve). Shaded area represents clutter spectrum.
• The operation of the device is as follows. A signal f (t) is inserted into the adder
along with the signal from the preceding pulse period, with its amplitude weighted
by the factor - 2, plus the signal from the previous two pulse periods.

• The output of the adder is therefore f(t) - 2f(t + T) +f (t + 2T)

• which is the same as the output from the double-delay-line canceller

f (t) - f (t + T) -f (t + T) +f (t + 2T)

• This configuration is commonly called the three-pulse canceller.

Multiple or staggered Pulse Repetition Frequencies

• 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.

• 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 beam width, or the period might be alternated on every
other pulse. When the switching is pulse to pulse, it is known as a staggered PRF.
 An example of the composite (average) response of an MTI radar operating with two
separate pulse repetition frequencies on a time-shared basis is shown below.

Figure : Frequency-response of a single-delay-line canceller for fP= 1/T1 (b) same for fp= l/T2
(c) Composite response with T1/T2= 4/5.

• Zero frequency response occurs only when the blind speeds of both radars
coincides.
• The disadvantage is that the region of low sensitivity might appear. (that means
may not detect the weak signals)
• As closer the ration of T1:T2 is unity, the lower the lower the value of the first blind
speed.
• But first null in the vicinity of fd=1/T1 becomes deeper.
• Figure below shows the response of a five-pulse stagger (four periods) that might be used
with a long-range air traffic control radar.

Figure 12: Frequency response of a five-pulse (four-period) stagger.

• If the periods of the staggered waveforms have the relationship n1 /T1= n2/T2=
……. = nN/TN, where n1,n2, ..., nN are integers, and if vB is equal to the first blind
speed of a non-staggered waveform with a constant period equal to the average
period Tav= (TI+ T2+ . . . TN)/N then the first blind speed v1 is given by :

• A disadvantage of the staggered prf is its inability to cancel second-time-around

clutter echoes. Such clutter does not appear at the same range from pulse to pulse
and thus produces un canceled residue.

• Second-time-around clutter echoes can be removed by use of a constant prf,

providing there is pulse-to-pulse coherence as in the power amplifier form of MTI
 Range-gated Doppler filters
• The delay-line canceller, which can be considered as a time-domain filter, is widely used in
MTI radar to separate moving targets from stationary clutter.

• It is also possible to employ the more common frequency-domain band pass filters of
conventional design in MTI radar to separate the Doppler-frequency-shifted targets.

• However the filter configuration would be more complex, than the single, narrow-band pass
filter.

• The narrowband filter "smears" the input pulse since the impulse response is approximately
the reciprocal of the filter bandwidth.

• This smearing destroys the range resolution.

• If more than one target is present they cannot be resolved.

• Even if only one target is present, the noise from the other range cells that do not contain the
target will interfere with the desired target signal.

• The result is a reduction in sensitivity due to a collapsing loss. (This Loss Results When Radar
Integrates Additional Noise Samples Along with Wanted (S/N) Pulses)

• The loss of the range information and the collapsing loss may be eliminated by first
quantizing the range (time) into small intervals. This process is called range gating.
• The width of the range gates depends upon the range accuracy desired and the
complexity which can be tolerated, but they are usually of the order of the pulse
width.
• Range resolution is established by gating.
• Once the radar return is quantized into range intervals, the output from each gate
may be applied to a narrowband filter.
• A collapsing loss does not take place since noise from the other range intervals is
excluded.
 Figure 13: Block diagram of MTI radar using range gates and filters

• A block diagram of the video of an MTI radar with multiple range gates followed
by clutter-rejection filters is shown below.
• The output of the phase detector is sampled sequentially by the range gates. Each
range gate opens in sequence just long enough to sample the voltage of the video
waveform corresponding to a different range interval in space low.
• The range gate acts as a switch or a gate which opens and closes at the proper time
• The range gates are activated once each pulse-repetition interval.

• The output for a stationary target is a series of pulses of constant amplitude.

• An echo from a moving target produces a series of pulses which vary in amplitude
according to the Doppler frequency.

• The output of the range gates is stretched in a circuit called the boxcar generator,
or sample-and-hold circuit, whose purpose is to aid in the filtering and detection
process by emphasizing the fundamental of the modulation frequency and
eliminating harmonics of the pulse repetition frequency.
• The clutter rejection filter is a band pass filter whose bandwidth depends upon the
extent of the expected clutter spectrum.

• Following the Doppler filter is a full-wave linear detector and an integrator (a low-
pass filter). The purpose of the detector is to convert the bipolar video to unipolar
video.

• The output of the integrator is applied to a threshold-detection circuit. Only those

signals which cross the threshold are reported as targets.

• Following the threshold detector, the outputs from each of the range channels must
be properly combined for display on the PPI or A-scope or for any other appropriate
indicating or data-processing device.

• The CRT display from this type of MTI radar appears "cleaner" than the display
from a normal MTI radar, not only because of better clutter rejection, but also
because the threshold device eliminates many of the unwanted false alarms due to
noise.

Figure Frequency-response characteristic of an MTI using range gates and filters.

The band pass filter can be designed with a variable low-frequency cutoff
that can be selected to conform to the prevailing clutter conditions.
A variable lower cutoff might be advantageous when the width of the
clutter spectrum changes with time as when the radar receives unwanted echoes from
birds.
A relatively wide notch at zero frequency is needed to remove moving birds.
If the notch were set wide enough to remove the birds, it might be wider
than necessary for ordinary clutter and desired targets might be removed.
Since the appearance of birds varies with the time of day and the season, it
is important that the width of the notch be controlled according to the local
conditions.
 • MTI radar using range gates and filters is usually more complex than an MTI with a
single-delay-line canceller.

• The additional complexity is justified in those applications where good MTI

performance and the flexibility of the range gates and filter MTI are desired.

• The better MTI performance results from the better match between the clutter filter
characteristic and the clutter spectrum.

Limitations to MTI Performance

The improvement in signal-to-clutter ratio of an MTI is affected by factors other than
the design of the Doppler signal processor such as:
– Instabilities of the transmitter and receiver
– physical motions of the clutter
– Finite time on target (or scanning modulation)
– And limiting in the receiver
• Before discussing these limitations, we shall study the related definitions
Definitions related to MTI Performance
MTI improvement factor: The signal-to-clutter ratio at the output of the MTI system
divided by the signal-to-clutter ratio at the input, averaged uniformly over all target
radial velocities of interest.
With respect to Doppler frequency, the Improvement factor can be expressed as:
Cin = strength of clutter at clutter filter input
Cout = strength of clutter at clutter filter output
Gav = average filter gain for moving targets
 Equipment instabilities :
• Pulse-to-pulse changes in the amplitude, frequency, or phase of the transmitter
signal, changes in the stalo or coho oscillators in the receiver, jitter in the timing of
the pulse transmission, variations in the time delay through the delay lines, and
changes in the pulse width can cause the apparent frequency spectrum from
perfectly stationary clutter to broaden and thereby lower the improvement factor of
an MTI radar.
• The stability of the equipment in MTI radar must be considerably better than that
of an ordinary radar. It can limit the performance of MTI radar if sufficient care is
not taken in design, construction, and maintenance.

Internal fluctuation of clutter :

• Although clutter targets such as buildings, water towers, bare hills. or mountains
produce echo signals that are constant in both phase and amplitude as a function of
time, there are many types of clutter that cannot be considered as absolutely
stationary.
• Echoes from trees, vegetation, sea, rain fluctuate with time, and these fluctuations
can limit the performance of MTI radar.

Antenna scanning modulation

• As the antenna scans by a target, it observes the target for a finite time equal to :
to=nB/fP = θB / θS where nB= number of hits received, fp = pulse repetition
frequency, θB ,θS = antenna beamwidth and antenna scanning rate.

• The received pulse train of finite duration to has a frequency spectrum (which can
be found by taking the Fourier transform of the waveform) whose width is
proportional to l/to.

• Therefore, even if the clutter were perfectly stationary, there will still be a finite
width to the clutter spectrum because of the finite time on target.

• If the clutter spectrum is too wide because the observation time is too short, it will
affect the improvement factor. This limitation has sometimes been called scanning
fluctuations or scanning modulation.
 Limiting in MTI Radar:

• A limiter is usually employed in the IF amplifier just before the MTI processor to
prevent the residue from large clutter echoes from saturating the display. Ideally a
MTI radar should reduce the clutter to a level comparable to receiver noise.

• However, when the MTI improvement factor is not great enough to reduce the
clutter sufficiently, the clutter residue will appear on the display and prevent the
detection of aircraft targets whose cross sections are larger than the clutter residue.
This condition may be prevented by setting the limit level L, relative to the noise N,
equal to the MTI improvement factor I; or L/N = I.

• If the limit level relative to noise is set higher than the improvement factor. Clutter
residue obscures part of the display. If it is set too low, there may be a “black hole"
effect on the display. The limiter provides a constant false alarm rate (CFAR) and is
essential to usable MTI Performance.

• Unfortunately, nonlinear devices such as limiters have side-effects that can degrade
performance. Limiters cause the spectrum of strong clutter to spread into the
canceller pass- band, and result in the generation of additional residue that can
significantly degrade MTI performance as compared with a perfect linear system.

Benefits or advantages of MTI Radar

• MTI radar can distinguish between moving target and stationary target.
• It uses low PRF (Pulse Repetition Frequency) to avoid range ambiguities.
• MTI principle is used in air surveillance radar which operates in presence of
clutter.
• It is simpler compare to pulse doppler radar.
• Antenna bandwidth is high.
• It is economical.
• It does not require waveforms with multiple PRF.
• It is preferred at UHF frequencies.
Drawbacks or disadvantages of MTI Radar
• Blind speed does not get detected by pulse MTI radar. Blind speed is defined as
magnitude of radial component of velocity of target when moving target appears as
stationary target.
• They can have doppler ambiguities.
 MTI VS PULSE DOPPLER RADAR
• A Pulse radar that extracts the Doppler frequency shift for the purpose of detecting
moving targets in the presence of clutter is either a MTI Radar or a Pulse Doppler
Radar.
• The distinction between them is based on the fact that in a sampled measurement
system like a pulse Radar, ambiguities arise in measuring both the Doppler
frequency (relative velocity) and the Range (time delay).
• Range ambiguities are avoided with a low sampling rate (low pulse repetition
frequency), and Doppler frequency ambiguities are avoided with a high sampling
rate.
• However, in most radar applications the sampling rate, or pulse repetition
frequency, cannot be selected to avoid both types of measurement ambiguities.
• Therefore, a compromise must be made and the nature of the compromise generally
determines whether the radar is called an MTI or a Pulse Doppler Radar.

• MTI usually refers to a Radar in which the pulse repetition frequency is chosen low
enough to avoid ambiguities in range (no multiple-time-around echoes) but with the
consequence that the frequency measurement is ambiguous and results in blind
speeds.
• The pulse Doppler radar, on the other hand, has a high pulse repetition frequency
that avoids blind speeds, but it experiences ambiguities in range.
• The pulse Doppler radar is more likely to use range-gated Doppler filter-banks than
delay-line cancellers. Also, a power amplifier such as a klystron is more likely to be
used than a power oscillator like the magnetron.
• A pulse Doppler radar operates at a higher duty cycle than does an MTI.
• Although it is difficult to generalize, the MTI radar seems to be the more widely
used of the two, but pulse Doppler radar is usually more capable of reducing clutter.