Scribd
Upload
43 views2 pages

9.3 Mixers: Receivers, Displays, and Duplexers

1) Radar receivers often use mixers as the first stage rather than low-noise RF amplifiers. Mixers have higher noise figures but are acceptable for many radar applications when other factors are important. 2) Schottky-barrier diodes are commonly used as the mixing element in mixers due to their lower noise figures and lower flicker noise than conventional diodes. 3) The conversion loss of a mixer measures its efficiency in converting RF power to IF power, and is typically 5-6.5 dB for microwave crystals. Broadband mixers have a minimum theoretical conversion loss of 3 dB.

Uploaded by

Suguna
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
43 views2 pages

9.3 Mixers: Receivers, Displays, and Duplexers

1) Radar receivers often use mixers as the first stage rather than low-noise RF amplifiers. Mixers have higher noise figures but are acceptable for many radar applications when other factors are important. 2) Schottky-barrier diodes are commonly used as the mixing element in mixers due to their lower noise figures and lower flicker noise than conventional diodes. 3) The conversion loss of a mixer measures its efficiency in converting RF power to IF power, and is typically 5-6.5 dB for microwave crystals. Broadband mixers have a minimum theoretical conversion loss of 3 dB.

Uploaded by

Suguna
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

RECEIVERS, DISPLAYS, AND DUPLEXERS-

In making a measurement of the receiver noise-figure, the noise source or signal generator
is usually inserted by a directional coupler ahead of the duplexer and other RF components so
that Ihe overall noise-figure of the system is measured rather than that of the receiver alone.

9.3 MIXERS
Many radar superheterodyne receivers do not employ a low-noise RF amplifier. Instead, the
first siage is simply the mixer. Although the noise figure of a mixer front-end may not be as low
;is other devices thai can be used as receiver front-ends, it is acceptable for many radar
*. applications when other factors besides low noise are important. The function of the mixer is
K> converl RF energy to IF energy with minimum loss and without spurious responses. Silicon
point-contact and Schottky-barrier diodes"' 24 based on the nonlinear resistance characteristic
of melal-to-semiconductor contacts have been used as the mixing element.45 Schottky-barrier
diodes are made of eilher silicon or GaAs, with GaAs preferred for the higher
* microwave frequencies. The Schottky-barrier diodes have had tower noise figures and lower
dicker noise than conventional point-contact diodes, but the silicon point-contact diode has
had better burnout properties. An integral part of the mixer is the local oscillator. The IF
* amplifier is also of importance in mixer design because of its influence on the overall
noise-figure.

— C onvcrsion loss and noise-temperature ratio. The conversion loss of a mixer is defined as

* L = available RF power (9 11)


— ' available IF power
It is a measure of the efficiency of the mixer in converting RF signal power into IF. The
conversion loss of typical microwave crystals in a conventional single-ended mixer
configuration varies from about 5 to 6.5 dB. A crystal mixer is called "broadband" when the
^ signal and image frequencies are both terminated in matched loads. A signal imp ressed in
the RF signal channel ofa broadband mixer is converted in equal portions to the IF signal and the
RF image. Therefore the theoretical conversion loss can never be less than 3 dB with this
configuration. (The image frequency is defined as that frequency which is displaced from the
local oscillator frequency/ LO by the IF frequency, and which appears on the opposite side of
^ the local oscillator frequency as the signal frequency/ KF. It is equal to 2/ LO —/RF)
Short-circuiting or open-circuiting the image-frequency termination results in a "narrow-
band " mixer. The conversion loss is less in the narrowband than in the broadband mixer. In
* principle, it can be aboul 2 dB lower. 6 The design of a broadband mixer has been simpler to
achieve and less critical than a narrowband mixer.
» Ihe twise-lemperature ratio of a crystal mixer (not to be confused with effective noise
temperature) is defined as
actual available IF noise power , „
.
« > _ ______ f_ ________________ in wa I
' available noise power from an equivalent resistance

where F, — crystal mixer noise liy.inr nml /., l/(>( = conversion loss. The noise temperature
ratio ofa crystal mixer va i i rs ■pprexlflllllljf inveiscly with frequency from about 100 kHz (the
exact vnlur dtptndl upon ihr ilmilr") down to | small fraction of a hertz. This is called^Iidcer
84filNTR0DUCT10N TO RADAR SYSTEMS

operating noise temperature.'''') If the receiver effective noise temperature is T,, then
T,= Ta + Tt = T0F, (9.8)
where Fs is the system noise-figure including the effect of antenna temperature.
The effective noise temperature of a receiver consisting of a number of networks in
cascade is

r.-T, + £ + 7 ^ r + • ■ ■ (9.9)
where TL and Gt are the effective noise temperature and gain of (he ith network.
The effective noise temperature and the noise figure both describe the same characteristic
of a network. In general, the effective noise temperature has been preferred fgr describing
low-noise devices, and the noise figure is preferred for conventional receivers. For radar
receivers the noise figure is the more widely used term, and is what is used in this text.

Measurement of noise figure. The noise figure of a radar receiver can degrade in operation and
cause reduced capability. Therefore some means for monitoring the noise figure should be
provided in operating radars so that a worsening of receiver sensitivity can be detected and
corrected. The monitoring of the noise figure can be accomplished either automatically or
manually by the operator.
The receiver noise-figure can be measured with a broadband noise source of known
intensity, such as a gas-discharge tube22 or a solid-state noise source. The noise figure is
determined by measuring ( l ) t h e noise power output N, of the receiver when a matched
impedance at temperature To — 290 K. is connected to the receiver input and (2) the noise
power output N2 when a matched noise generator of temperature T 2 is connected to the
receiver input.2 The temperature T2 is the equivalent noise temperature of the broadband noise
generator. The noise figure can be shown to be

where Y - N 2 /N,.
The measurement of noise figure can be made during radar operation without degrading the
receiver sensitivity by pulse-modulating the noise source in synchronism with the radar trigger
and injecting the noise into the receiver during the "flyback" or "dead time" of the radar, just
prior to the triggering of the next transmitter pulse. The measurement of the receiver output
with the noise source on (N 2) and the noise source off (Ni) can be made on alternate pulse
periods.
The receiver noise-figure or sensitivity can also be measured by use of a calibrated signal
generator. With a matched resistance at the receiver input, the output power is due to receiver
noise alone. The signal generator power is then applied to the receiver input and adjusted until the
signal-plus-noise power is equal to twice the receiver noise power read with the matched
resistance. The input signal under this condition is sometimes said to be the minimum discernible
signal. It is also proportional to the receiver noise-figure.
The sensitivity of a radar may be visually displayed by using the measurement of receiver
noise to display the normal range rings on the PPI only within the range at which the radar can
detect targets reliably. This provides the operator with a continuous and immediate indication
of radar sensitivity. When noise jamming is present, the appearance or nonappear-ance of the
range rings can be made to be a function of azimuth as well as range.

You might also like