Module 2

RADAR EQUATION
 SNR
 Envelope 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)
 Important Formulae
 Illustrative Problems
RADAR EQUATION

Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR):

The results of statistical noise theory will be applied to obtain:

 The signal-to-noise ratio at the output of the IF amplifier necessary to achieve a specified
probability of detection without exceeding a specified probability of false alarm.
The output signal-to-noise ratio thus obtained is substituted into the final modified radar equation,
we have obtained earlier.
The details of system that is considered:
 IF amplifier with bandwidth BIF followed by a second detector and a video amplifier with
bandwidth BV as shown in the figure below.
 The second detector and video amplifier are assumed to form an envelope detector, that is, one
which rejects the carrier frequency but passes the modulation envelope.
 To extract the modulation envelope, the video bandwidth must be wide enough to pass the low-
frequency components generated by the second detector, but not so wide as to pass the high-
frequency components at or near the intermediate frequency.
 The video bandwidth BV must be greater than BIF/2 in order to pass all the video modulation.

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 Figure 1.6: Envelope detector.

Step 1: To determine the Probability of false alarm when noise alone is assumed to be present as
input to the receiver:

The noise entering the IF filter (the terms filter and amplifier are used interchangeably) is assumed to be
Gaussian, with probability-density function given by

Where:
 p(v) dv is the probability of finding the noise voltage v between the values of v and v + dv
 ψ0 is the variance, or mean-square value of the noise voltage, and the mean value of v is taken
to be zero.
(Compare this with the Standard Probability density function of Gaussian noise

With σ2 replaced by ψ0and (x—x0) replaced by v with mean value of zero)

If Gaussian noise were passed through a narrowband IF filter whose Bandwidth is small compared with
its mid band frequency-the probability density of the envelope of the noise voltage output is shown by
Rice to be of the form of Rayleigh probability-density function

………..(6)

where R is the amplitude of the envelope of the filter output. The probability that the envelope of the
noise voltage will lie between the values of V1andV2is

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The probability that the noise voltage envelope will exceed the voltage threshold VT is

…………(7)

Whenever the voltage envelope exceeds the threshold VT, a target is considered to have been detected.
Since the probability of a false alarm is the probability that noise will cross the threshold, the above
equation gives the probability of a false alarm, denoted by Pfa.

The probability of false alarm as given above by itself does not indicate that Radar is troubled by the false
indications of Target. The time between the false alarms TFA is a better measure of the effect of Noise on
the Radar performance. (Explained with reference to the figure below)
The average time interval between crossings of the threshold by noise alone is defined as the false- alarm
time TFA

Where TK is the time between crossings of the threshold VT by the noise envelope, when the slope of the
crossing is positive.
The false-alarm probability may also be defined as the ratio of the duration of time the envelope is
actually above the threshold to the total time it could have been above the threshold, i.e.

…………. (8)

Fig 1.7: Envelope of receiver output illustrating false alarms due to noise.

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Where tK and TK are shown in the Figure above. The average duration of a noise pulse is approximately
the reciprocal of the bandwidth B, which in the case of the envelope detector is BIF. Equating eqs. 7 and
8 we get

……….(9)

A plot of the above equation is shown in the figure below with (VT2/2 ψ0) as the abscissa. As can be seen,
average time between false alarms Tfa is directly proportional to the Threshold to noise ratio and
inversely proportional to the Bandwidth.

Fig. 1.8: Average time between false alarms as a function of the threshold level VT and the receiver
Bandwidth B. ψ0 is the mean square noise voltage

Step 2 :
To determine Probability of detection when a sine wave signal is present along with noise:
Thus far, a receiver with only a noise input was discussed. Next, consider a sine-wave signal of amplitude
A to be present along with noise at the input to the IF filters. The frequency of the signal is the same as
the IF mid band frequency fIF. The output of the envelope detector has a probability-density function
given by

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 ………….(10)

where Io ( Z ) is the modified Bessel function of zero order and argument Z.

When the signal is absent, A = 0 and the above equation for PDF for signal plus noise reduces to the
probability-density function for noise alone. This Equation is sometimes called the Rice probability-
density function.

The probability that the signal will be detected (which is the probability of detection) is the same as the
probability that the envelope R will exceed the predetermined threshold VT. The probability of
detection Pd is therefore:

……….(11)

(After the expression of PDF for Ps(R)[Eq. 10] is substituted into the first part of the above equation we
get the probability of detection as in [eqn.11]). But this equation cannot be evaluated by simple means,
and numerical & empirical techniques or a series approximation must be used.

The expression for Pd given by equation (11) after series expansion is a function of the signal amplitude
A, threshold voltage VT ,and mean noise power Ψ0 . In Radar systems analysis, it is more convenient to
use Signal to Noise power ratio (S/N) rather than signal to noise voltage ratio A/Ψ 0½ .These are related
by:

The probability of detection Pd can then be expressed in terms of S/N , and Threshold- Noise ratio
V T2 /2Ψ .The probability of false alarm is also a function of V 0 2T /2Ψ as given by : 0 P = Exp( FA -V 2/2ψ ).T
0

The two expressions for Pd and PFA can now be combined by eliminating the Threshold- Noise ratio
VT2/2Ψ0 that is common in both expressions so as to get a single expression relating the probability of
detection Pd ,Probability of false alarm PFA and signal to Noise ratio S/N.The result is plotted in the figure
below.

A much easier empirical formula developed by Albersheim for the relationship between S/N,PFA and Pd
is also given below :

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 S/N = A + 0.12AB + 1.7 B

Where A = ln [ 0.62/ PFA] and B = ln [ Pd /(1- Pd) ]

Fig. 1.9: Probability of detection for a sine wave in noise as a function of the signal-to-noise (power)
ratio and the probability of false alarm

System design sequence:

Both the false-alarm timeTFA and the detection probabilityPdare specified by the system
requirements.
The radar designer computes the probability of the false alarm using the above Tfa& the relation
Pfa = 1/ Tfa . B

Then from the figure above or using the Albersheim’s empirical equation given above the
required signal-to-noise ratio to achieve the above Pfa & Pd is determined.

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For example, suppose that the desired false-alarm time was 15 min and the IF bandwidth was 1 MHz.
This gives a false-alarm probability of 1.11 x 10-9. Figure above indicates that a signal-to-noise ratio of
13.1 dB is required to yield a 0.50 probability of detection, 14.7 dB for 0.90, and 16.5 dB for 0.999.

This is the signal-to-noise ratio that is to be used in the final modified Radar Equation we have obtained
earlier.

Integration of Radar Pulses:

The relation between the signal to noise ratio, the probability of detection and the probability of false
alarm as shown in the figure or as obtained using the Albersheim’s empirical equation applies for a single
pulse only. However, many pulses are usually returned from any target on each radar scan and can be
used to improve detection. The number of pulses nB returned from a point target as the radar antenna
scans through its beam width is
nB = θB . fP / θ’S = θB . fP / 6 ωm

where θB= antenna beam width, deg

fP= pulse repetition frequency, Hz θ’S =
antenna scanning rate, deg/s
ωm= antenna scan rate, rpm

The process of summing all the radar echo pulses for the purpose of improving detection is called
integration.
Integration may be accomplished in the radar receiver either before the second detector (in the IF) or
after the second detector (in the video).
Integration before the detector is called pre detection or coherent integration. In this the phase
of the echo signal is to be preserved if full benefit is to be obtained from the summing process
Integration after the detector is called post detection or non coherent integration. In this phase
information is destroyed by the second detector. Hence post detection integration is not
concerned with preserving RF phase. Due to this simplicity it is easier to implement in most
applications, but is not as efficient as pre detection integration.
If n pulses, all of the same signal-to-noise ratio, were integrated by an ideal pre detection integrator, the
resultant or integrated signal-to-noise (power) ratio would be exactly n times that of a single pulse. If the
same n pulses were integrated by an ideal post detection device, the resultant signal-to-noise ratio would
be less than n times that of a single pulse. This loss in integration efficiency is caused by the nonlinear
action of the second detector, which converts some of the signal energy to noise energy in the
rectification process.

Due to its simplicity, Post detection integration is preferred many a times even though the integrated
signal-to-noise ratio may not be as high as that of Pre-detection. An alert, trained operator viewing a
properly designed cathode-ray tube display is a close approximation to the theoretical post detection
integrator.

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The efficiency of post detection integration relative to ideal pre-detection integration has been
computed by Marcum when all pulses are of equal amplitude. The integration efficiency may be defined
as follows:

Where n = number of pulses integrated

(S/N )1= value of signal-to-noise ratio of a single pulse required to produce a given probability
of detection(for n = 1)

(S/N )n = value of signal-to-noise ratio per pulse required to produce the same probability of
detection when n pulses ( of equal amplitude ) are integrated

The improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio when n pulses are integrated post detection is n.Ei(n) and
is the integration-improvement factor. It may also be thought of as the effective number of pulses
integrated by the post detection integrator. The improvement with ideal pre detection integration
would be equal to n. Integration loss in decibels is defined as Li(n) = 10 log [1/Ei(n)].
The integration-improvement factor (or the integration loss) is not a sensitive function of either the
probability of detection or the probability of false alarm.

The radar equation with n pulses integrated can be written

where the parameters are the same as in the earlier Radar equation except that (S/N)n, is the signal-to-
noise ratio of one of the n equal pulses that are integrated to produce the required probability of
detection for a specified probability of false alarm. Substituting the equation for integration efficiency

into the above Radar equation gives the final modified Radar equation including integration efficiency.

Radar Cross Section of Targets:

The radar cross section of a target is the (fictional) area intercepting that amount of power which when
scattered equally in all directions, produces an echo at the radar equal to that from the target. Or in
other terms

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Where R= distance between radar and target
Er= strength of reflected field at radar
Ei= strength of incident field at target
For most common types of radar targets such as aircraft, ships, and terrain, the radar cross section does
not necessarily bear a simple relationship to the physical area, except that the larger the target size, the
larger will be the cross section.

Scattering and diffraction: are variations of the same physical process. When an object scatters an
electromagnetic wave, the scattered field is defined as the difference between the total field in the
presence of the object and the field that would exist if the object were absent (but with the sources
unchanged). On the other hand, the diffracted field is the total field in the presence of the object. With
radar backscatter, the two fields are the same, and one may talk about scattering and diffraction
interchangeably.

Radar cross section of a simple sphere: is shown in the figure below as a function of its circumference
measured in wavelengths.(2πa/λ where a is the radius of the sphere and λ is the wavelength). The plot
consists of three regions.
1. Rayleigh Region:
The region where the size of the sphere is small compared with the wavelength (2πa/λ 1) is
called the Rayleigh region.
The Rayleigh scattering region is of interest to the radar engineer because the cross sections of
raindrops and other meteorological particles fall within this region at the usual radar
frequencies. 2. Optical region:
It is at the other extreme from the Rayleigh region where the dimensions of the sphere are large
compared with the wavelength (2πa/λ 1). For large 2πa/λ, the radar cross section approaches
the optical cross section πa2.
3. Mie or Resonance region:
Between the optical and the Rayleigh region is the Mie, or resonance, region. The cross section
is oscillatory with frequency within this region. The maximum value is 5.6 dB greater than the
optical value, while the value of the first null is 5.5 dB below the optical value. (The theoretical
values of the maxima and minima may vary according to the method of calculation employed.

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 Figure 1.10: Radar cross section of the sphere. a = radius; λ= wavelength.

Since the sphere is a sphere no matter from what aspect it is viewed, its cross section will not be aspect-
sensitive. The cross section of other objects, however, will depend upon the direction as viewed by the
radar. (Aspect angle)

Radar cross section of a cone-sphere:

An interesting radar scattering object is the cone-sphere, a cone whose base is capped with a
sphere such that the first derivatives of the contours of the cone and sphere are equal at the
joint. Figure below is a plot of the nose-on radar cross section. The cross section of the cone-
sphere from the vicinity of the nose-on direction is quite low.
Scattering from any object occurs from discontinuities. The discontinuities, and hence the
backscattering, of the cone-sphere are from the tip and from the join between the cone and the
sphere.
The nose-on radar cross section is small and decreases as the square of the wavelength. The
cross section is small over a relatively large angular region. A large specular(having qualities of
a mirror)return is obtained when the cone-sphere is viewed at near perpendicular incidence to
the cone surface, i.e., when θ= 90 - α, where α= cone half angle. From the rear half of the cone-
sphere, the radar cross section is approximately that of the sphere.

The nose-on cross section of the cone-sphere varies, but its maximum value is approximately
0.4λ2 and its minimum is 0.01λ2 for a wide range of half-angles for frequencies above the
Rayleigh region. The null spacing is also relatively insensitive to the cone half-angle.

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 Figure 1.11: Radar cross section of a cone sphere with 15 0 half angle as a function of the diameter
pin Wave lengths.

In order to realize in practice the very low theoretical values of the radar cross section for a cone
sphere, the tip of the cone must be sharp and not rounded, the surface must be smooth
(roughness small compared to a wavelength), the join between the cone and the sphere must
have a continuous first derivative, and there must be no holes, windows, or protuberances on
the surface.

Shaping of the target, as with the cone-sphere, is a good method for reducing the radar cross
section. Materials such as carbon-fiber composites, which are sometimes used in aerospace
applications, can further reduce the radar cross section of targets as compared with that
produced by highly reflecting metallic materials.

Transmitter Power:

The peak power: The power Pt in the radar equation is called the peak power. This is not the
instantaneous peak power of a sine wave. It is the power averaged over that carrier-frequency cycle
which occurs at the maximum power of the pulse.
The average radar power Pav: It is defined as the average transmitter power over the pulse-repetition
period. If the transmitted waveform is a train of rectangular pulses of width τ and pulse-repetition period
Tp = 1/ f p , then the average power is related to the peak power by

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Duty cycle: The ratio Pav/Pt, τ/TP, or τ.fP is called the duty cycle of the radar. A pulse radar for detection
of aircraft might have typically a duty cycle of 0.001, while a CW radar which transmits continuously has
a duty cycle of unity.

Writing the radar equation in terms of the average power rather than the peak power, we get

The bandwidth and the pulse width are grouped together since the product of the two is usually of the
order of unity in most pulse-radar applications.

Pulse Repetition Frequencies and Range Ambiguities:

The pulse repetition frequency (prf) is determined primarily by the maximum range at which
targets are expected. If the prf is made too high, the likelihood of obtaining target echoes from
the wrong pulse transmission is increased. Echo signals received after an interval exceeding the
pulse-repetition period are called multiple time around echoes.
Consider the three targets labeled A, B, and C in the figure(a) below. 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 in the figure (b)below. The
multiple-time-around echoes on the A-scope cannot be distinguished from proper target echoes
actually within the maximum unambiguous range. Only the range measured for target A is correct;
those for B and C are not.
One method of distinguishing multiple-time-around echoes from unambiguous echoes is to
operate with a varying pulse repetition frequency. The echo signal from an unambiguous range
target will appear at the same place on the A-scope on each sweep no matter whether the prf is
modulated or not. However, echoes from multiple-time-around targets will be spread over a
finite range as shown in the figure (c) below. The number of separate pulse repetition
frequencies will depend upon the degree of the multiple time around targets. Second-time
targets need only two separate repetition frequencies in order to be resolved.

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 Fig. 1.12: Multiple-time-around echoes that give rise to ambiguities in range. (a) Three targets A, B
and C, where A is within Runamb, and B and Care multiple-time-around targets(b)the appearance of
the
three targets on the A-scope (c) appearance of the three targets on the A-scope with a changing prf.

System Losses:

The losses in a radar system reduce the signal-to-noise ratio at the receiver output. They are two
kinds, predictable with certain precision beforehand and unpredictable. The antenna beam-
shape loss, collapsing loss, and losses in the microwave plumbing are examples of losses which
are predictable if the system configuration is known. These losses are real and cannot be ignored.
Losses not readily subject to calculation and which are less predictable include those due to field
degradation and to operator fatigue or lack of operator motivation. They are subject to
considerable variation and uncertainty.

Plumbing loss: This is loss in the transmission lines which connects the transmitter output to the antenna.
(Cables and waveguides). At the lower radar frequencies the transmission line introduces little loss,
unless its length is exceptionally long. At higher radar frequencies, loss/attenuation will not be small and
has to be taken into account.

Connector losses: In addition to the losses in the transmission line itself, additional losses occurs at each
connection or bend in the line and at the antenna rotary joint if used. Connector losses are usually small,
but if the connection is poorly made, it can contribute significant attenuation. If the same transmission
line is used for both receiving and transmission, the loss to be inserted in the radar equation is twice the
one-way loss.

Duplexer loss: The signal suffers attenuation as it passes through the duplexer. Generally, the greater
the isolation required from the duplexer on transmission, the larger will be the insertion loss. Insertion
loss means the loss introduced when the component is inserted into the transmission line. For a typical
duplexer it might be of the order of 1 dB.
In S-band (3000 MHz) radar, for example, the typical plumbing losses will be as follows:

100 ft of RG-113/U A1 waveguide transmission line (two-way): 1.0 dB

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Loss due to poor connections (estimate): 0.5 dB
Rotary-joint loss: 0.4 dB
Duplexer loss: 1.5 dB
Total plumbing loss: 3.4 dB

Beam-shape loss: The antenna gain that appears in the radar equation was assumed to be a constant
equal to the maximum value. But in reality the train of pulses returned from a target with scanning radar
is modulated in amplitude by the shape of the antenna beam. To properly take into account the pulse-
train modulation caused by the beam shape, the computations of the probability of detection (as
explained earlier) would have to be performed assuming a modulated train of pulses rather than
constant-amplitude pulses. But since this computation is difficult, a beam-shape loss is added to the
radar equation and a maximum gain is employed in the radar equation rather than a gain that changes
pulse to pulse.

Scanning loss: When the antenna scans rapidly enough , the gain on transmit is not the same as the gain
on receive. An additional loss has to be computed, called the scanning loss. The technique for computing
scanning loss is similar in principle to that for computing beam-shape loss. Scanning loss is important for
rapid-scan antennas or for very long range radars such as those designed to view extraterrestrial objects.

Collapsing loss: If the radar were to integrate additional noise samples along with the wanted Signal-to-
noise pulses, the added noise results in degradation called the collapsing loss.

Non ideal equipment: The transmitter power in the radar equation was assumed to be the specified
output power (either peak or average). However, all transmitting tubes are not uniform in quality, and
even any individual tube performance will not be same throughout its useful life. Also, the power is not
uniform over the operating band of frequencies. Thus, for one reason or another, the transmitted power
may be other than the design value. To allow for this variation, a loss factor of about 2 dB is introduced.

Receiver noise figure also varies over the operating frequency band. Thus, if the best noise figure over
the band is used in the radar equation, a loss factor has to be introduced to account for its poorer value
elsewhere in the frequency band.
If the receiver is not the exact matched filter for the transmitted waveform, a loss in Signal-to-noise ratio
will occur.
A typical value of loss for a non-matched receiver might be about 1 db. Because of the exponential
relation between the false-alarm time and the threshold level a slight change in the threshold can cause
a significant change in the false alarm time. In practice, therefore, it may be necessary to set the
threshold level slightly higher than calculated so as to insure a tolerable false alarm time in the event of
circuit instabilities. This increase in the threshold is equivalent to a loss.

Operator loss: An alert, motivated, and well-trained operator performs as described by theory. However,
when distracted, tired, overloaded, or not properly trained, operator performance will decrease. The
resulting loss in system performance is called operator loss.

Field degradation: When a radar system is operated under laboratory conditions by engineering
personnel and experienced technicians, the above mentioned losses give a realistic description of the
performance of the radar. However, when a radar is operated under field conditions the performance

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usually deteriorates even more than that can be accounted for by the above losses. To minimize field
degradation Radars should be designed with built-in automatic performance-monitoring equipment.
Careful observation of performance-monitoring instruments and timely preventative maintenance will
minimize field degradation.

There are many causes of loss and inefficiency in a Radar. Although each of them may be small, the
sum total can result in a significant reduction in radar performance. It is important to understand the
origins of these losses, not only for better predictions of radar range, but also for the purpose of
keeping them to a minimum by careful radar design.
Important formulae:

Range of a Radar R = cTR / 2

Maximum unambiguous Range R unambig. = C /2fp
Basic Radar equation : Rmax = [ (Pt .G. Ae. σ)/ (4π)2.
1/4
Smin ] Gain of an antenna G = 4π Ae /λ 2

Noise figure of a receiver Fn = No / kTo BnGa

Also given by

If the minimum detectable signal Smin is that value of Si corresponding to the

minimum ratio ofoutput (IF) signal-to-noise ratio (So/No )min necessary for detection,
then

And modified Maximum possible range in terms of the IF amplifier output signal to
noise ratio and noise figure

Relationships between Probability of false alarm,Probability of detection and S/N : 

Pfa = 1/ Tfa . B
 PFA = Exp( -VT2/2ψ0 ).



 Albersheim empirical relationship between S/N, PFA and Pd:

S/N = A + 0.12AB + 1.7 B

Where A = ln [ 0.62/ PFA] and B = ln [ Pd /(1- Pd) ]

The radar equation with n pulses integrated :

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