On Planning of Transmit Signal Frequencies of

MFCW Radar for Test Range Application

Mihir Kumar Meher Rajarshi Biswas Sobha Barik
Radar Systems Group Radar Systems Group Electro-Optic Tracking Group
ITR, DRDO ITR, DRDO ITR, DRDO
Chandipur, Balasore, India Chandipur, Balasore, India Chandipur, Balasore, India
mk.meher@rediffmail.com bisraj.nitsil@gmail.com scbarik2004@gmail.com

Abstract—Multi-Frequency Continuous Wave (MFCW) is a II. D UAL AND M ULTI - FREQUENCY BASED R ANGING
developing technology for detecting, locating and tracking of
A dual frequency radar operates by transmitting two sep-
objects. In test ranges MFCW technique is used for time space
position and Doppler information of airborne weapon systems. arate CW (continuous wave) signals of frequencies f1 and
The use of well planned multiple frequencies in MFCW Radar f2 closely spaced. The echos for the two frequencies after
overcomes the range ambiguity problem encountered in phase homodyne operation can be expressed as
difference of arrival (PDOA) technique. In addition to this,
multi-frequency based technique provides frequency diversity for si (t) = ρi (t) exp(−j Φi (t)), where i = 1, 2 (1)
robust range estimation when signals are highly faded at some
frequencies. This paper describes the planning of transmit signal where
4πfi Rt
frequencies based on maximum unambiguous range, Doppler and Φi (t) = , i = 1, 2 (2)
Doppler resolution. The duration of transmit is discussed along c
with the selected frequencies to be transmitted. This technique ρi (t) and Φi (t) are the range dependent amplitude and phase
can be used for ranging of both stationary and dynamic targets of the reply corresponding to the ith frequency fi , c is the
in skin as well as beacon mode of tracking. velocity of electromagnetic wave propagation and Rt is the
Index Terms—MFCW, PDOA, Doppler resolution, range pre-
one way range of the moving target.
cision, skin, beacon.
If the target is approaching / receding with a constant radial
velocity v then,
I. I NTRODUCTION
Rt = R0 ∓ vt (3)
MFCW Radar is a vital instrument in test ranges for perfor- R0 is one way range at time t = 0 . Doppler shift of the reply
mance evaluation of air borne weapon systems. It is required to which depends on the radar-target geometry is given by
have long range, high precision and high resolution capabilities  
for proper evaluation. The dual frequency phase difference of 1 dΦi (t)
fdi (t) = − , i = 1, 2 (4)
arrival (PDOA) based estimation of range has the problem of 2 π dt
phase wrapping resulting in limited unambiguous range [1] Hence from equation (2) instantaneous phase of the reply can
[2]. This is not suitable for range estimation of targets in Test be expressed as
Ranges. The use of well planned multiple frequencies unwrap 4πfi R0
the phase and eliminate the range ambiguity. In a dual or multi- Φi (t) = ± 2πfdi t + , i = 1, 2 (5)
c
frequency radar the maximum unambiguous range and the
The phase difference ∆Φ12 (t) = Φ1 (t) − Φ2 (t) at the receiver
range measurement precision are inversely proportional to the
corresponding to the two frequencies f1 and f2 is given by
separation between two transmitted frequencies instead of the
absolute frequencies. So to achieve a large unambiguous range 4 π∆f12 R0
∆Φ12 (t) = ±2 π∆fd12 t + (6)
the frequency separation should be small and to have a better c
precision the separation should be large. This paper discusses where ∆f12 = f1 − f2 and ∆fd12 = fd1 − fd2
the method for planning of transmit signal frequencies based If ∆fd12 is within the Doppler resolution of radar, fd1 and
on given maximum unambiguous range, Doppler and Doppler fd2 cannot be resolved, i.e. ∆fd12 ≈ 0. From equation (6) we
resolution which satisfy the large unambiguous range and high can find out the range as,
precision requirement. c∆Φ12 cm12
R0 = + (7)
In the remainder of the paper Section II explains the Dual 4 π∆f12 2∆f12
and Multi-frequency Based Ranging, Section III deals with the where, m12 ∈ N0 . Note that m12 = 0 for range without phase
frequency and time of transmit planning, Section IV provides wrapping. The maximum unambiguous range for a given ∆f
the range estimation technique for MFCW radar followed by (difference between two transmit frequencies in a pair) is,
Section V which illustrates typical target scenarios. Section VI c
concludes the paper. Ruamax = (8)
2 ∆f

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The precision of range measurement for a given ∆f and
received SNR is expressed as
c round trip time delay for the maximum unambiguous range.
δR = √ (9)
4 π∆f SN R
In order to have large unambiguous range ∆f should be
small and for better precision ∆f should be large. Both
the requirements can not be achieved simultaneously in dual
frequency radar. Hence, multiple frequency pairs are used
where one pair with small ∆f solves the range ambiguity and
other pairs with higher ∆f improve measurement precision. In
MFCW radar signals of different frequencies are transmitted
in pairs. The true range of target is expressed as [1] [3],
c∆Φij cmij
R0 = + , where,
4 π∆fij 2∆fij
· ∆Φij = Φi − Φj , i < j,
· ∆fij = fi − fj , where i < j, fi > fj
· mij ∈ N0 is unknown till resolved.
III. F REQUENCY AND TIME DURATION PLANNING
In order to decide the maximum value of ∆f for a MFCW
radar we are constrained by the the radar Doppler resolu-
tion for a given maximum radial velocity. In this context,
the largest value of ∆f provided the corresponding ∆fd is
within the Doppler resolution forms the basis for transmit
frequency planning. The procedure for frequency planning for
a given maximum unambiguous range, Doppler and Doppler
resolution are,
Step 1 : Compute ∆fmin (minimum transmit frequency
difference) for a given maximum unambiguous range
Step 2 : Compute ∆fdmin (minimum Doppler frequency
difference) for ∆fmin calculated in step 1
Step 3 : Compute Doppler resolution for given radial
velocity resolution of radar
Step 4 : Take successive integer multiples of ∆fdmin
upto a value less than Doppler resolution of radar
Step 5 : Compute ∆f s for the ∆fd s from step 4
Step 6 : For a reference frequency f0 (discussed below)
calculate the absolute frequencies
Here the spacing between two consecutive frequencies is not
same the. Equal spacing will result in large no of frequencies
till the Doppler resolution requirement is met and increase the
complexity of transmitter.
On reception Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) of base band
signal is computed to determine the Doppler shift correspond-
ing to the different frequencies as calculated in steps 1 to
6 above. But It is not possible to do so as the Doppler
frequencies are not resolvable which is the criterion for
frequency planning. Then another signal with frequency f0
which is away from the highest frequency computed above by
more than two times maximum Doppler plus a guard band
for filter design is used. Also all these frequencies cannot be
transmitted simultaneously for the same reason of Doppler
resolution. Hence pair of signals of frequencies f0 (to be
transmitted always) and the other one as computed in steps
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1 to 6 is transmitted. The duration of transmission of a pair
is determined by the Doppler resolution requirement and the
It should be more than the observation time corresponding to
desired Doppler resolution plus the round trip time delay for
the maximum unambiguous range.
IV. R ANGE ESTIMATION OF STATIONARY AND DYNAMIC
TARGETS
As mentioned in equation (10) the computation of range
depends on the phase difference between the frequency pair
received. Let the frequencies transmitted be f0 , f1 , f2 , f3 , f4
where f0 > f1 > f2 > f3 > f4 . These are transmitted in pairs
as f0,1 ,f0,2 ,f0,3 and f0,4 . We can compute ∆Φ0i where, i =
(10) 1, 2, 3, 4 from FFT of received base-band signal corresponding
to each pair. Now ∆Φ1j = ∆Φ0j − ∆Φ01 where j = 2, 3, 4.
From equation (10) for i = 1 and j = 2,
R0 =
c∆Φ12
, (11)
4 π∆f12
where ∆f12 corresponds to maximum unambiguous range
which is more than the ranging capability of radar and hence
the integer ’m’ is dropped in equation (11). For i = 1 and j =
3, 4 there will be range ambiguity but the range precision is
improved. By combining the ranges computed for all pairs true
range with high precision can be determined [4]. For dynamic
target necessary correction in phase difference computed from
the Doppler corresponding to reference frequency is applied to
each pair and then the range values of each pair are combined
to find the initial range R0 . Range for t > 0 can be computed
by integration of velocity.
V. I LLUSTRATION
This section illustrates the frequency planning and range
estimation for the following radar and target parameters,
Radar Parameters:
Maximum unambiguous range, Ruamax = 2 × 106 m
Maximum radial velocity, Vrmax = 9000 m/s
Velocity Resolution, Vres = 1 m/sec
Reference frequency of radar, f0 = 10.5 GHz
SNR for detection(at the i/p of LNA) = 10 dB
Target Parameters:
Slant range of target SR = 1250329 m (should be less
than Ruamax = 2000000 m)
Radial velocity of target approaching Vrtar = 220 m/s
The steps for frequency planning are illustrated below,
c
Step 1: Applying equation (8) ∆fmin = 2 Rua = 75 Hz.
max
Step 2: ∆fdmin corresponding to the calculated ∆fmin is =
2 Vrmax ∆fmin
c = 0.0045 Hz.
Step 3: fdres (Doppler resolution) for the given velocity reso-
lution = 2 Vres
c
f0
= 70 Hz.
Step 4: Here successive inter multiples of ∆fdmin = 0.0045 Hz
is computed to form a Geometric Progression (GP) series up to
the term less than fdres = 70 Hz. The common ratio is chosen
 TABLE I TABLE II
C OMPUTED ABSOLUTE FREQUENCIES
c
∆f0j Rua = 2 ∆f R
j 0j
∆f0j Absolute Frequency (Hz) (m) Rua
j
(Hz) (Hz)
1 1800000 83.33333333 15003.94800
0 0 f0 = 10,500,000,000 2 1800075 83.32986126 15004.57316
1 1800000 f1 = 10,498,200,000 3 1800375 83.31597584 15007.07382
2 1800075 f2 = 10,498,199,925 4 1801875 83.24661811 15019.57711
3 1800375 f3 = 10,498,199,625 5 1809375 82.90155440 15082.09356
4 1801875 f4 = 10,498,198,125 6 1846875 81.21827411 15394.67581
5 1809375 f5 = 10,498,190,625 7 2034375 73.73271889 16957.58706
6 1846875 f6 = 10,498,153,125
7 2034375 f7 = 10,497,965,625
TABLE III
j k
so that the no of frequencies computed is not large or small. R − Rua RR ∆Φ0j
j k
R
j ua
Large common ratio results in less no of frequencies lacking Rua
(m) (rad)
the robustness to fading while small value generates large no of 1 15003 79 5.957232000
frequencies which increases the complexity of transmitter and 2 15004 47.76171826 3.601765718
3 15007 6.150593626 0.463900590
receiver. Here the common ratio chosen is 5. So the values 4 15019 48.04266389 3.626574950
of ∆fd s are 0.0045 Hz, 0.0225 Hz, 0.1125 Hz, 0.5625 Hz, 5 15082 7.756476684 0.587946750
2.8125 Hz and 14.0625 Hz. 6 15394 54.88832487 4.246805750
7 16957 43.28571429 3.689100750
Step 5: The values of ∆f s corresponding to ∆fd s computed
above are 75 Hz, 375 Hz, 1875 Hz, 9375 Hz, 46875 Hz and
234375 Hz. Here the ∆f are w.r.t f1 computed in step 6.
radial velocity and constant radial acceleration.
Step 6: As discussed in Section III the frequency f1 should be
away from f0 by more than two times the maximum Doppler.
9
The maximum Doppler fdmax = 2×9000×10.5×10 = 630000 Case 1: Stationary or Zero Doppler target
3×108
Hz. Consider a stationary target at range = 1250329 m. The
Hence f1 =(10500000000 - 1800000)Hz = 10498200000 Hz. computations involved in determining the range of target
Now the ∆f s wrt f0 are 1800000 Hz, 1800075 Hz, 1800375 by radar are indicated in Table II, Table III, Table IV and
Hz, 1801875 Hz, 1809375 Hz, 1846875 Hz and 2034375 Hz Table V. Table III indicates computation of ambiguous phase
The absolute frequencies are given in Table I. Observation differences for frequency pairs f0,j , j ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}.
time Tobs for 70 Hz Doppler resolution should be greater than Table IV shows 21 bits quantized ambiguous phase differ-
1
70 sec = 14.2857 msec. Here Tobs = 15 msec is considered. ences ∆Φijq and the corresponding range values for pairs of
The round trip time delay TD for 2000000 m maximum frequencies f1,j , j ∈ {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}. Here for the illustration
unambiguous range = 2000000
150 = 13.333 ms. Hence the duration purpose the ambiguous phase is calculated for a given known
of transmit ’τ ’ of a pair should be greater than 28.3333 msec. range. In radar the phase difference is determined by FFT and
Here τ =30 msec is taken. then the range is estimated. The size of FFT depends on the
The transmitted frequency pairs along with the duration are maximum radial velocity and observation time. Here 2K point
provided in the Fig 1. FFT is considered.
In column 5 of Table IV the range value calculated for each
frequency pair is negative. To find out the positive range value
the unambiguous range for each frequency pair is added to the
corresponding negative range value as shown in column 4 of
Table V. In column 5 of Table IV if the range value is positive,
corresponding unambiguous value is not added.

TABLE IV

∆Φ1jq c ∆Φ1jq
∆Φ1j ∆f1j 4π∆fij
j (rad)
(rad) (Hz) (m)
21 bits
2 -2.355466282 -2.355463450 75 -749767.3035
Fig. 1. Time-frequency plot 3 -5.493331410 -5.493329006 375 -349716.1865
4 -2.330657050 -2.330656104 1875 -29674.83521
5 -5.369285250 -5.369283290 9375 -13672.76764
The illustration of range computation is provided consid- 6 -1.710426250 -1.710424529 46875 -871.1120605
ering three cases stationary or zero radial Doppler, constant 7 -2.268131250 -2.268128411 234375 -231.0296631

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 TABLE V TABLE VII
P HASE CORRECTION TABLE FOR Case 3
c
∆f1j Rua1j Rcomputedij δR = √
j 4 π∆f SN R
(Hz) (m) (m) (m) Phase Correction
Frequency pair
(rad)
2 75 2000000 1250232.697 3183.098865
3 375 400000 50283.81348 636.6197731 f0,1 0.481357716
4 1875 80000 50325.16479 127.3239546 f0,2 0.980022081
5 9375 16000 2327.232361 25.4647909 f0,3 1.479591549
6 46875 3200 2328.887939 5.092958185 f0,4 1.981325798
7 234375 640 408.9703369 1.018591637 f0,5 2.492839617
f0,6 3.058898229
f0,7 3.936829450
TABLE VI
P HASE CORRECTION TABLE FOR Case 2
stationary within the observation period. The change in radial
Phase Correction
Frequency pair
(rad) velocity should be less than 1 m/s (radial velocity resolution)
f0,1 0.481040667 in 15 msec (Tobs ) interval. Hence maximum radial acceleration
f0,2 0.978689677 of the target is 66.667 m/s2
f0,3 1.476421625 An approaching target with constant radial acceleration
f0,4 1.974568264
f0,5 2.474788353 ar =10 m/s2 , initial velocity 220 m/s and range 1250329 m
f0,6 2.985375699 is considered for illustration. In this case the radial velocity is
f0,7 3.547799323 changing from pair to pair. The required phase corrections
indicated in Table VII are applied to determine the initial
range. The correction value for a frequency pair depends
There are six range values as shown in column 4 of Table on maximum unambiguous range for that pair, duration of
V. The value corresponding to frequency pair f1,2 is without transmit, instantaneous radial velocity and acceleration. Sub-
ambiguity but with less precision, whereas range values for the sequently instantaneous range is computed by integrating the
frequency pairs f1,3 ,f1,4 ,f1,5 ,f1,6 and f1,7 are with ambiguity radial velocity.
but improved precision. f1,7 being the highest precision. The
precision for different frequency pairs are indicated in column VI. C ONCLUSION
5 of Table V. The SNR considered is 40 dB. The LNA In this paper we have discussed the frequency selection
input 10 dB SNR becomes 40 dB after 2K point FFT as the technique for MFCW radar based on maximum unambigu-
bandwidth is reduced by 30 dB. The true range of the target ous range, Doppler and Doppler resolution.The computation
is computed by combining these values as given below [4]. of range for three different cases stationary/zero Doppler,
5   constant radial velocity and acceleration target is illustrated.
X Rcomputed1j+1
Rtrue = Rua1j+2 + Rcomputed17 MFCW Radar with the proposed frequency planning can
j=1
Rua1j+2 be used in test ranges for performance evaluation of short,
= 3 × 400000 + 3 × 16000 + 3 × 640 + 408.9703369 medium and long range weapon systems.
= 1250328.9703369 m R EFERENCES
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Case 2: Constant radial velocity estimation of rfid tags. In RFID, 2009 IEEE International Conference
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[2] I Skolnik Merrill. Introduction to radar systems. Mc Grow-Hill, Special
and initial range 1250329 m is considered for illustration. Indian Edition, 2007.
The phase correction to be applied to each frequency pairs [3] Yimin Zhang, Moeness Amin, and Fauzia Ahmad. Time-frequency
for 30 msec duration is provided in Table VI. The correction analysis for the localization of multiple moving targets using dual-
frequency radars. IEEE Signal Processing Letters, 15:777–780, 2008.
value for a frequency pair depends on maximum unambiguous [4] Miguel A Solano, Juan S Ipiña, J-M Zamanillo, and Constantino Pérez-
range for that pair, duration of transmit and radial velocity. The Vega. X-band gunn diode oscillator for a multiple-frequency continuous-
correction is added for approaching target and subtracted for wave radar for educational purposes. IEEE Transactions on Education,
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receding target.
The initial range is computed after applying the phase
corrections in the same way as for the stationary case. Subse-
quently instantaneous range is determined by integrating the
radial velocity.

Case 3: Constant radial acceleration

As discussed above the observation time Tobs and radial ve-
locity resolution of radar are 15 msec and 1 m/s respectively.
The computation of FFT requires that the signal should to be

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