MODULE 2

Presented by
Manohari.C.B
Lecturer in Electronics Engg.
GPTC,Palakkad
TYPES OF RADAR
 Radar systems may be divided into types based
on the desired use.
 Depending the desired information radar units
must have different qualities and technologies
Primary Radar:
•A Primary Radar transmits high-frequency signals toward the targets
•The transmitted pulses are reflected by the target and then received by the
same radar.
•The reflected energy or the echoes are further processed to extract target
information.
Secondary Radar
•Secondary radar units work with active answer signals. In addition to primary
radar, this type of radar uses a transponder on the airborne target/object.
•The ground unit, called interrogator, transmits coded pulses (after modulation)
towards the target.
•The transponder on the airborne object receives the pulse, decodes it, induces
the coder to prepare the suitable answer, and then transmits the interrogated
information back to the ground unit.
•The interrogator/ground unit demodulates the answer. The information is
displayed on the display of the primary radar.
•The secondary radar unit transmits and also receives high-frequency impulses,
the so called interrogation.
This isn’t simply reflected, but received by the target by means of a transponder
which receives and processes. After this the target answers at another
frequency.Various kinds of information like, the identity of aircraft, position of
aircraft, etc. are interrogated using the secondary radar.
Pulsed Radar:
•Pulsed radar transmits high power, high-frequency pulses toward the
target.
•Then it waits for the echo of the transmitted signal for sometime before it
transmits a new pulse.
•Choice of pulse repetition frequency decides the range and resolution of the
radar.
•Target Range and bearings can be determined from the measured antenna
position and time-of-arrival of the reflected signal.
•Pulse radars can be used to measure target velocities.
•Two broad categories of pulsed radar employing Doppler shifts are
1. MTI(Moving target indicator)
2. Pulse Doppler radar.

Continuous Wave(CW) Radar:

• CW radars continuously transmit a high-frequency signal and the
reflected energy is also received and processed continuously.
• These radars have to ensure that the transmitted energy doesn’t leak
into the receiver
CW radars are of two types:
1. Unmodulated CW Radar
• An example of unmodulated CW radar is speed gauges used by the
police.
• The transmitted signal of these equipments is constant in amplitude
and frequency.
• CW radar transmitting unmodulated power can measure the speed only
by using the Doppler-effect.
• It cannot measure a range and it cannot differ between two reflecting
objects.
2. Modulated CW Radar
• Unmodulated CW radars have the disadvantage that they cannot
measure range, because run time measurements is not possible (and
necessary) in unmodulated CW-radars.
• This is achieved in modulated CW radars using the frequency shifting
method.
• In this method, a signal that constantly changes in frequency around a
fixed reference is used to detect stationary objects.
• Frequency is swept repeatedly between f1 and f2. On examining the
received reflected frequencies (and with the knowledge of the
transmitted frequency), range calculation can be done.
DOPPLER EFFECT

 Doppler effect or Doppler shift is a phenomenon that is

observed whenever the source of waves is moving with respect
to an observer. An ambulance crossing you with its siren
blaring is a common physical demonstration of the Doppler
Effect.
 Doppler Effect refers to the change in wave frequency during
the relative motion between a wave source and its observer.
 Doppler Effect works on both light and sound objects. For
instance, when a sound object moves towards you, the
frequency of the sound waves increases, leading to a higher
pitch.
 Conversely, if it moves away from you, the frequency of the
sound waves decreases and the pitch comes down.
 The drop in pitch of ambulance sirens as they pass by and the
shift in red light are common examples of the Doppler Effect.
•If the target is not stationary, then there will be a change in the frequency of
the signal that is transmitted from the Radar and that is received by the
Radar. This effect is known as the Doppler effect.
•According to the Doppler effect, we will get the following two possible cases
−
•The frequency of the received signal will increase, when the target moves
towards the direction of the Radar.
• The frequency of the received signal will decrease, when the target moves
away from the Radar.
•Doppler shift is given by
•When the target is moving towards the radar ,the velocity is positive and
the signal shifts higher in frequency.
•For target moving along the line between radar and target,  = 00 and
cos0=1 so Doppler shift is at maximum.
•For targets moving crosswise to the line between radar and target  = 90
and cos 900=0, so there is no apparent shift in frequency.

0
CW RADAR
 Consider the simple CW radar as illustrated by
the block diagram.
•The transmitter generates a continuous (unmodulated) oscillation of
frequency fo, 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 o by an
amount + fd.
•The plus sign associated with the doppler frequency applies if the distance
between target and radar is decreasing (closing 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 f0± fd 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 fd is lost in this process.
•The purpose of the doppler amplifier is to eliminate echoes from stationary
targets and to amplify the doppler echo signal to a level where it can operate
an indicating device.
•The indicator might be a pair of earphones or a frequency meter. If exact
knowledge of the doppler frequency is not necessary, earphones are especially
attractive provided the doppler frequencies lie within the audio-frequency
response of the ear.
FM-CW RADAR
 In the frequency-modulated CW radar (abbreviated FM-CW), the
transmitter frequency is changed as a function of time in a known
manner.
 The reflected signals are compared with frequency of the
transmitted signal.
 Assume that the transmitter frequency increases linearly with
time, as shown by the solid line as shown in figure.

 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.
•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
•In any practical CW radar, the frequency cannot be continually changed in
one direction only.
•Periodicity in the modulation is necessary, as in the triangular frequency-
modulation waveform shown in Fig
•The resulting beat frequency as a function of time is shown in Fig. for
triangular modulation. The beat note is of constant frequency except at the
turn-around region. If the frequency is modulated at a rate fm over a rangef m
the beat frequency is

•Thus the measurement of the beat frequency determines the range R.

•A block diagram illustrating the principle of the FM-CW radar is
shown in Fig.
•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.
•In the above, the target was assumed to be stationary.
• If this assumption is not applicable, a 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.
•for example, the target is approaching the radar, the beat frequency
Fb (up) produced during the increasing, or up, portion of the FM cycle will be
the difference between the beat frequency due to the range fr and the doppler
frequency shift fd.
•Similarly, on the decreasing portion, the beat frequency fb (down) is the sum
of the two

•The range frequency fr may be extracted by measuring the average beat

frequency; that is,

f r = 1 / 2( f b (up) + f b (down) )
APPLICATIONS
FM-CW radar is used to measure
 Slant range of target

 Bearing and elevation angle of target

 Height of target.
FM-CW ALTIMETER
 Radars can be used to measure the height of an
airplane from the ground provided the plane flies
at considerable height.
 At very low altitudes the pulse type radar
becomes unsatisfactory as for short distances the
echo pulse tends to merge with the main
transmitted pulse.
 For this reason ,the radar altimeters use
continuous frequency modulated waves.
CW RADAR WITH SUPER HETERODYNE
RECEIVER

 A block diagram of the FM-CW radar with a

sideband super heterodyne receiver is shown.
•A portion of the frequency-modulated transmitted signal is applied to the
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 should be the same as the intermediate
frequency used in the receiver, whereas in the conventional super
heterodyne the LO frequency is of the same order of magnitude as the RF
signal.
•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 fo(t) by the local-oscillator frequency fif.
•The filter selects the lower sideband f0(t) -fif and rejects the carrier
and the upper sideband.
•The sideband that is passed by the filter is modulated in the same fashion
as the transmitted signal.
•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 range frequency fr and
doppler 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 range, the other feeds a switched
frequency counter to determine the doppler velocity (assuming fr > fd).
MTI(MOVING TARGET INDICATION RADAR)
 Radar uses the principle of Doppler Effect for distinguishing the
non-stationary targets from stationary objects. This type of Radar
is called Moving Target Indicator Radar or simply, MTI Radar.
 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.
-MTI RADAR WITH POWER AMPLIFIER
TRANSMITTER

 The block diagram of a more common MTI radar

employing a power amplifier is shown in Fig.
•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, fc is also
mixed with the local-oscillator frequency fl.
•The local oscillator must also be a stable oscillator and is callcd stalo, for
static local oscillator.
•The RF echo signal is heterodyned with the stalo signal to produce the IF
Signal just as in the conventional super heterodyne receiver.
The stalo,coho and the mixer plus any low-level amplification are called the
receiver exciter because of dual role they serve in both the receiver and the
transmitter.
•The characteristic feature of coherent MTI radar is that the transmitted
signal must be coherent(in phase) with the reference signal in the receiver.
•This is accomplished in the radar system by generating the transmitted
signal from the coho reference signal.
•The function of the stalo is to provide the necessary frequency translation
from the IF to the transmitted (RF) frequency.
•Although 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
DELAY LINE CANCELLER
 Delay line canceller is a filter, which eliminates the DC components of echo
signals received from stationary targets. This means, it allows the AC components
of echo signals received from non-stationary targets, i.e., moving targets.
 The simple MTI delay-line canceler shown in Fig.

•This is an example of a time-domain filter.

•The capability of this device depends on the quality of the medium used
is 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 might be several
milliseconds.
•The output of the MTI radar is given as input to delay line canceller.
•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.
•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.
•The output of the subtraction circuit is bipolar video, just as was the input.
• Before bipolar video can intensity-modulate a PPI display, it must
be converted to unipotential voltages (unipolar video) by a full-wave rectifier.
MTI SIGNAL PROCESSOR
 The MTI signal processors allows multiple delay
line cancellers with tailored frequency-response
characteristics can be readily achieved.
 it is more dependable, it requires less
adjustments.
 Most of the advantages of a digital MTI
Processor are due to its use of digital delay lines
rather than analog delay lines which are
characterized by variations due to temperature,
critical gains, and poor on-line availability.
•The simple block diagram of a digital MTI processor is shown in Fig

•
•From the output of the IF amplifier the signal is split into two channels. One
is denoted I, for in-phase channel.
•The other is denoted Q, for quadrature, since a 900 phase change is
introduced into the coho reference signal at the phase detector.
•This causes the outputs of the two detectors to be 90 0 out of phase.
•The purpose of the quadrature channel is to eliminate the effects of blind
phases.
•Following the phase detector the bipolar video signal is sampled at a rate
sufficient to obtain one or more samples within each range resolution cell.
•These voltage samples are converted to a series of digital words by the
analog-to-digital converter(A/D) .
•The digital words are stored in a digital memory for one pulse repetition
period and are then subtracted from the digital words of the next sweep
•The digital outputs of the I and Q channels are combined by taking the
square root of I2 + Q2 .
•The combined output is then converted to analog signal by the digital-to-
analog D/A) converter.
•The unipolar video output is then ready to be displayed.
The digital MTI processor depicted in Fig is that of a single-delay line
canceller Digital processors are likely to employ more complex filtering.
•Almost any type of digital storage device can be used. A shift register is the
direct digital analogy of a delay line, but other digital computer memories can
also be used effectively.
•The number of bits in the A/D converter determines the maximum
improvement factor the MTI radar can achieve
. the quantization noise introduced by the discrete nature of the A/D
converter causes, on the average, a limit to the improvement factor which is
•This is approximately equal to 6 dB per bit since each bit represents a
factor of two in amplitude resolution.
ADVANTAGES
 Greater stability
 Greater repeatability

 Greater precision.

 No special temperature control required.

 Greater dynamic range.

 Easy implementation.
PULSE DOPPLER RADAR
TRACKING RADAR
TRACKING WITH RADAR
 A tracking-radar system measures the coordinates of a target and
provides data which may be used to determine the target path and to
predict its future position.
 All or only part of the available radar data-range, elevation angle,
azimuth angle, and doppler frequency shift may be used in predicting
future position.
 Continuous tracking radar: supplies continuous tracking data on a
particular target.
 Track-while-scan supplies sampled data on one or more targets.
 The antenna beam in the continuous tracking radar is positioned in angle
by a servomechanism
 actuated by an error signal. The various methods for generating the error
signal may be classified as sequential lobing, conical scan, and mono
pulse.
•The tracking radar must first find its target before it can track. Some radars
operate in a search, or acquisition, mode in order to find the target before
switching to a tracking mode.
•Although it is possible to use a single radar for both tile search and the
tracking functions, such a procedure usually results in certain operational
limitations. Obviously, when the radar is used in its tracking mode, it has no
knowledge of other potential targets.
•Also, if the antenna pattern is a narrow pencil beam and if the search volume
is large, a relatively long time might he required to find the target.
•Therefore many radar tracking systems employ a separate search radar to
provide to provide the information necessary to position the tracker on the
target.
•A search radar which is used for this purpose is called ACQUISTION
RADAR.
Angle Tracking
•Angle tracking is concerned with generating continuous measurements of
the target’s angular position in the azimuth and elevation coordinates.
•Tracking radars use the angular deviation from the antenna main axis of
the target within the beam to generate an error signal. This deviation is
normally measured from the antenna’s main axis.
• The resultant error signal describes how much the target has deviated from
the beam main axis.
•Then, the beam position is continuously changed in an attempt to produce a
zero error signal
•Sequential Lobing
•Sequential lobing is one of the first tracking techniques that was utilized by the early
generation of radar systems. Sequential lobing is often referred to as lobe switching or
sequential switching.
•Tracking is achieved (in one coordinate) by continuously switching the pencil beam
between two pre-determined symmetrical positions around the antenna’s Line of Sight
(LOS) axis. Hence, the name sequential lobing is adopted. The LOS is called the radar
tracking axis.
•As the beam is switched between the two positions, the radar measures the returned
signal levels. The difference between the two measured signal levels is used to
compute the angular error signal.
•For example, when the target is tracked on the tracking axis, as the case in Fig. 11.1a,
the voltage difference is zero and, hence, is also the error signal. However, when the
target is off the tracking axis, as in Fig. 11.1b, a nonzero error signal is produced. The
sign of the voltage difference determines the direction in which the antenna must be
moved. Keep in mind, the goal here is to make the voltage difference be equal to zero.
•Conical Scan
•Conical scan is a logical extension of sequential lobing where, in this case,
the antenna is continuously rotated at an offset angle, or has a feed that is
rotated about the antenna’s main axis. Fig. 11.2 shows a typical conical scan
beam.
•The antenna’s beam position is continuously changed so that the target will
always be on the tracking axis.

• Fig shows a simplified conical scan radar system. The envelope detector is
used to extract the return signal amplitude and the Automatic Gain Control
(AGC) tries to hold the receiver output to a constant value.
•In this case, as the antenna rotates around the tracking axis all target
returns have the same amplitude (zero error signal). Thus, no further action is
required.
•In this case, as the antenna rotates around the tracking axis all target
returns have the same amplitude (zero error signal). Thus, no further action
is required.
•Next, consider the case depicted by Fig. 11.5. Here, when the beam is at
position B, returns from the target will have maximum amplitude. And when
the antenna is at position A, returns from the target have minimum
amplitude. Between those two positions, the amplitude of the target returns
will vary between the maximum value at position B, and the minimum value
at position A. In other words, Amplitude Modulation (AM) exists on top of the
returned signal. This AM envelope corresponds to the relative position of the
target within the beam. Thus, the extracted AM envelope can be used to
derive a servo-control system in order to position the target on the tracking
axis.
RADAR DISPLAYS
 An electronic instrument, which is used for displaying the data visually is known as
display. So, the electronic instrument which displays the information about Radar’s
target visually is known as Radar display. It shows the echo signal information
visually on the screen.

 Types of Radar Displays

1. A-Scope
 It is a two dimensional Radar display. The horizontal and vertical
coordinates represent the range and echo amplitude of the target
respectively. In A-Scope, the deflection modulation takes place. It
is more suitable for manually tracking Radar.
B-Scope
It is a two dimensional Radar display. The horizontal and vertical coordinates
represent the azimuth angle and the range of the target respectively. In B-
Scope, intensity modulation takes place. It is more suitable for military
Radars.

C-Scope
It is a two-dimensional Radar display. The horizontal and vertical
coordinates represent the azimuth angle and elevation angle respectively.
In C-Scope, intensity modulation takes place.
D-Scope
If the electron beam is deflected or the intensity-modulated spot appears on
the Radar display due to the presence of target, then it is known as blip. C-
Scope becomes D-Scope, when the blips extend vertically in order to provide
the distance.
E-Scope
It is a two-dimensional Radar display. The horizontal and vertical coordinates
represent the distance and elevation angle respectively. In E-Scope, intensity
modulation takes place.
F-Scope
If the Radar Antenna is aimed at the target, then F-Scope displays the target
as a centralized blip. So, the horizontal and vertical displacements of the blip
represent the horizontal and vertical aiming errors respectively.
Plan-Position indicator (PPI):
•This is an intensity- modulation type displays system which indicates both
range and azimuth angle of the target simultaneously in polar co-ordinate as
shown in figure.
•The Demodulated echo signals from the receivers is applied to the grid of
the CRT which is biased slightly beyond cutoff.
•The brightness spot at any point on the screen indicates the presence of an
object there.
•Normally PPI screens are circular with a diameter of 30cm or 40cm. Long
persistence phosphors are used to ensure that the PPI screen dose not
flicker.