AEAV-407

RADAR ENGINEERING

Sqn Ldr Sajia 1

 CLASS CONTENTS
• RADAR RECEIVERS
• SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER
• DISPLAYS
• DUPLEXERS

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 RADAR RECEIVER
• The purpose of the radar receiver is to amplify, detect, and
process the desired echoes resulting from the radar
transmission. The receiver must provide for separation of the
desired echoes from the undesired or unwanted signals.

Figure 1: Receiver and

Signal Generator of the
ASR–E ATC–radar

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 RADAR RECEIVER
BASIC PRINCIPLE
• The purpose of the radar receiver is to amplify, detect, and process the
desired echoes resulting from the radar transmission.
• The receiver must provide for separation of the desired echoes from the
undesired or unwanted signals. These unwanted signals (interference)
may be due to other radars, communication systems, jammers, or noise
either received from galactic sources or generated within the radar system
itself.
• Additional interference may occur as a result of echoes due to the
interaction of the radar transmission with "clutter," that is, objects other
than the desired target.
• In many cases, the separation of desired echoes from unwanted signals
can be accomplished by proper filtering in the receiver. If this is not done,
then special processing must be accomplished prior to the determination
of a valid signal.

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 RADAR RECEIVER
The ideal radar receiver is required to:
• Amplify the received signals without adding noise or introducing any
form of distortion;
• Optimize the probability of detection of the signal
by its bandwidth characteristics
• Provide a large dynamic range to accommodate large clutter signals;
• Reject interfering signals so that the required information can be
optimally detected.

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SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER
• The radar receiver is superhetrodyne type. Its basic
principle of operation is the translation of all received
channels to an intermediate frequency (IF) band where the
weak input signal is amplified before being applied to a
detector.

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SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER

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 SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER
RF tuning & amplification:
• This RF stage within the overall block diagram for the receiver provides
initial tuning to remove the image signal. It also provides some
amplification.
• This RF amplifier also increases the signal level so that the noise
introduced by later stages is at a lower level in comparison to the
wanted signal.
• All radios will need a sufficiently high level of image rejection,
and this is provided by the RF tuning.
Mixer:
• The mixer can be one of the key elements within the overall RF design
of the receiver. Ensuring that the mixer performance matches that of
the rest of the radio is particularly important.
• Both the local oscillator and incoming signal enter this block within the
super heterodyne receiver. The wanted signal is converted to the
intermediate frequency.

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 SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER
There is a fixed difference in frequency between the local oscillator and the
rf-signal at all times by tuning the local oscillator. This difference in frequency
is the IF. This fixed difference in tuning ensures a constant IF over the
frequency range of the receiver.

There aren't any components which can distinguish a negative frequency of a

positive frequency. therefore we can measure the magnitude of the frequency
only: fIF = | flocal oscillator – fRF |

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 SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER
The mixer should have :
 low conversion loss
 May introduce little additional noise of its own
 minimize spurious response
 not to be susceptible to burnout.
Specially when it is used as the front end without a low noise amplifier.
Local Oscillator:
• Like other areas of the RF circuit design, the local oscillator circuit
block within the super heterodyne radio can take a variety of forms.
• Early receivers used free running local oscillators.
• Today most receivers use one or more of a variety of forms frequency
synthesizer.
 SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER

IF Amplifier & Filter:

This super heterodyne receiver block provides the majority of gain and
selectivity. Often comparatively little gain will be provided in the previous
blocks of the RF circuit design of the radio. The IF stages are where the
main gain is provided. Being fixed in frequency, it is much easier to
achieve high levels of gain and overall performance.

Audio Amplifier:
• Once demodulated, the recovered audio is applied to an audio
amplifier block to be amplified to the required level for loudspeakers or
headphones

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 SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER
Detector:
The detector in a microwave receiver serves to convert the IF pulses into
video pulses. The simplest form of detector is the diode detector. It detects
the pulse envelope: The condenser has got the function of a low pass and
blocks the IF- frequency.
SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER

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 RECEIVER SENSISTIVITY &
SELECTIVITY
Receiver sensitivity is a measure of the
SENSITIVITY minimum signal strength that a receiver
can detect

Radio selectivity is a measure of the

SELECTIVITY performance of a radio receiver to
respond only to the radio signal it is
tuned.

The noise figure is the difference in

decibels (dB) between the noise output
of the actual receiver to the noise
NOISE FIGURE output of an “ideal” receiver with the
same overall gain and bandwidth when
the receivers are connected to matched
sources at the standard noise
temperature T0
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SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER

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SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER

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 SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER

THRESHOLD DETECTION:TWO PROBLEMS

False Alarm: If the threshold is set as low then the noise may be
detected as target.
Missed Detection: If the threshold is set high then real target will be
missed. 1
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SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER

CONSTANT FALSE ALARM

(CFAR) is a property of
threshold or gain control
device that maintain an
approximately constant
rate of false target
detections when the noise
or clutter levels ,or ECM
into the detectors are
variable.

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SUPERHETERODYNE RECEIVER

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RADAR DISPLAYS

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 RADAR DISPLAYS
• The purpose of the display is to visually present the information
contained in the radar echo signal in a form suitable for
operator interpretation and action.
• When the display is connected directly to the video output of
the receiver, the information displayed is called raw video. This
is the "traditional” type of radar presentation.
• When the receiver video output is first processed by an
automatic detector or automatic detection and tracking
processor (ADT), the output displayed is sometimes called
synthetic video.

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DISPLAYS

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DISPLAYS

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TYPES OF RADAR DISPLAYS

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TYPES OF RADAR DISPLAYS

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TYPES OF RADAR DISPLAYS

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 TYPES OF RADAR DISPLAYS
CATHODE RAY TUBE DISPLAY
 It has been widely used as radar display.
 A cathode-ray tube consists of an electron gun, a deflection system, and
a fluorescent screen. All of the elements of a CRT are enclosed in the
evacuated space inside the glass CRT.
Two basic types:
a)Deflection Modulated CRT:A Scope in which the target is indicated by
the deflection of the electron beam. The ‘A’ scope displays the receiver
output amplitude as a function of range or time.

b)Intensity Modulated CRT: An echo

is indicated by intensifying the electron
beam and presenting a luminous spot
on the face of the CRT

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 RADAR DISPLAYS
PLAN POSITION INDICATOR
A typical radar display for a surveillance radar is the PPI, or plan
position indicator.
The PPI is a representation that maps in polar coordinates the
location of the target in azimuth and range.

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 RADAR DISPLAYS
 The PPI in the past has been implemented with an intensity
modulated CRT.
 The amplitude of the receiver o/p modulates the electron beam
intensity.(called the z axis of CRT)as the electron beam is made to
sweep outwards(the range coordinate)from the center of the tube.

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 DUPLEXERS

• A pulse radar can time share a single antenna between the

transmitter and receiver by employing a fast acting switching
device called a 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 (an arc discharge)at the i/p to the receiver when the
transmitter is operating, so that high power flows to the antenna
and not to the receiver .
• On reception ,the duplexer directs the echo signal to the receiver.
• Solid state ferrite calculators and receiver protector devices
usually solid state diodes can also be part of the duplexer.

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 DUPLEXERS

 The branch-type duplexer, shown in above Fig is one of the earliest

duplexer configurations. It consists of a TR (transmit-receive) switch
and an ATR (anti-transmit receive) switch, both of which are gas-
discharge tubes.
 When the transmitter is turned on, the TR and the ATR tubes ionize;
that is, they break down, or fire. The TR in the fired condition acts as
a short circuit to prevent transmitter power from entering the
receiver.
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 DUPLEXERS
Since the TR is located a quarter wavelength from the main
transmission line, it appears as a short circuit at the receiver but as an
open circuit at the transmission line so that it does not impede the flow
of transmitter power.
•Since the ATR is displaced a quarter wavelength from the main
transmission line, the short circuit it produces during the fired
condition appears as an open circuit on the transmission line and thus
has no effect on transmission.
•During reception, the transmitter is off and neither the TR nor the ATR
is fired. • The open circuit of the ATR, being a quarter wave from the
transmission line, appears as a short circuit across the line.
•Since this short circuit is located a quarter wave from the receiver
branch line, the transmitter is effectively disconnected from the line
and the echo signal power is directed to the receiver.
•The branch-type duplexer is of limited bandwidth and power handling
capability, and has generally been replaced by the balanced duplexer
and other protection devices. It is used, inspite of these limitations, in
some low-cost radars. 3
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 BALANCED DUPLEXER
• The balanced duplexer,, is based on the short- slot hybrid junction
which consists of two sections of waveguides joined along one of their
narrow walls with a slot cut in the common wall to provide coupling
between the two.

Two TR tubes are used. one

in each section of wave-
giide. In the transmit
condition, Fig. , power is
divided equally into each
waveguide by the first hybrid
junction (on the left).

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 BALANCED DUPLEXER
• Both gas-discharge TR tubes breaks down and reflect the incident
power out the antenna arm as shown
• The short-slot hybrid junction has the property that each time power
passes through the slot in either direction, its phase is advanced by
90°.

• The power travels as indicated by the solid lines. Any power that
leaks through the TR tubes (shown by the dashed lines) is directed to
the arm with the matched dummy load and not to the receiver.

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 BALANCED DUPLEXER
• In addition to the attenuation provided by the TR tubes. the
hybrid junctions provide an additional 20 to 30 dB of isolation.
• On reception the TR tubes do not fire and the echo signals pass
through the duplexer and into the receiver as shown .
• The power splits equally at the first junction and because of‘ the
90° phase advice on passing through the slot. the signal
recombines in the receiving anti and not in the arm with the
dummy load.
Advantages:
• The balanced duplexer is a popular form of duplexer with good
power handling capability and
• Supports wide bandwidth.

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 TR TUBE
• The TR tube is a gas-discharge device designed to break down
and ionize quickly at the onset of high RF power, and to
deionize quickly once the power is removed.
• One construction of a TR consists of a section of waveguide
containing one or more resonant filters and two glass-to-metal
windows to seal in the gas at low pressure. A noble gas like
argon in the TR tube has a low breakdown voltage, and offers
good receiver protection and relatively long life.
• TR tubes filled only with pure argon, however, have relatively
long deionization times (long recovery times) and are not
suitable for short-range applications.
• Adding water vapor or a halogen gas to the tube speeds up the
deionization time, but such tubes have shorter lifetimes than
tubes filled only with a noble gas. Thus a compromise must
usually be accepted between fast recovery time and long life.
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TR TUBE

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 TR TUBE
• To insure reliable and rapid breakdown of the TR tube on
application of high power, an auxiliary source of electrons is
supplied to the tube to help initiate the discharge. This may be
accomplished with a “keep-alive,” which produces a weak d-c
discharge that generates electrons that diffuse into the TR where
they assist in triggering the breakdown once RF power is applied by
the transmitter.
• An alternative is to include a small source of radioactivity, such as
tritium (a radioactive isotope of hydrogen), which produces low-
energy-level beta rays to generate a supply of electrons.4° The
tritium is in compounded form as a tritide film.

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 TR TUBE
• The radioactive source, sometimes called a tritiated ignitor,
has the advantage of not increasing the wideband noise level
as does a keep-alive discharge (by about 50 K) and has longer
life (by an order of magnitude),
• The tritium igniter needs no active voltages, so it allows the
receiver protector to function with the radar off without the need
for a mechanical shutter to protect the radar from nearby
transmissions.
• Being a radioactive device, however, does cause concern about
its handling and disposal. The combination of the tritium-
activated TR followed by a diode limiter has been called a
passive TR-limiter.

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 TR TUBE
• The TR is not a perfect switch; some transmitter power always
leaks through to the receiver.
• The envelope of the RF leakage might be similar to that shown
in Fig. The short-duration, large-amplitude spike at the leading
edge of the leakage pulse is the result of the finite time required
for the TR to ionize and break down.

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 TR TUBE
• Typically, this time is of the order of 10 nanoseconds. After the
gas in the TR tube is ionized, the power leaking through the
tube is considerably reduced from the peak value of the spike.
This portion of the leakage pulse is called the flat.
• Damage to the receiver front-end may result when either the
energy contained within the spike or the power in the flat
portion of the pulse is too large.
• The spike leakage of TR tubes varies with frequency and
power.
• In addition to these there are solid state duplexers ,circulators
as duplexers.

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 CIRCULATOR AS DUPLEXER
 Circulators is a 3 or 4 ports device that can ,in principle, offer
isolation of the transmitter and receiver without the need for the
conventional duplexer configuration.
 In the 3 port circulator, the tx may be connected to port 1.It
radiates out of the antenna in port 2.
 The received echo signal from the antenna is directed to port 3
which connects to the receiver.

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 CIRCULATOR AS DUPLEXER
• Here receiver is not directly connected to port 3.
• TR Tube and diode limiters are placed between port 3 and
receiver to protect the receiver.
• Diode limiters decide how much current can pass to the
receiver depending upon it’s capacity.
• Actually circulator itself works as a duplexer.
• Here passive TR limiters are used in order to provide the
protection of the receiver.
• Advantage:
• Circulators can be made to withstand high pek and average
power, but large power capability generally comes with large
size and weight. The larger circulator however can handle
50KW of average power while the small circulator is rated at
50W.

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