CW and Frequency Modulated Radar

 Doppler Effect
 CW Radar-Block Diagram
 Isolation between Transmitter and Receiver
 Non-zero IF receiver
 Receiver Bandwidth Requirements
 Applications of CW radar
 Related Problems

 FM-CW radar
 Range and Doppler measurement
 Block diagram and Characteristics
 FM-CW altimeter
 Multiple Frequency CW radar
 Based on Waveform Generation, RADAR’s are classified as
1. Pulsed Radar
 Transmits a short burst of EM energy, after which receiver turns on to
listen to the echo.
 Range is measured based on time elapse between transmitted and
received pulse.
2. Continuous wave Radar
 CW radar transmit a high-frequency signal continuously.

Continuous Wave

Pulsed wave
 The Radar which operates with continuous signal(wave) for
detecting non stationary objects .
 It is also called CW Doppler Radar
 Utilizes Doppler effect
 When there is a relative motion between Radar and Target,
then there will be a frequency shift in the received echo pulse
compared to the transmitted pulse(Doppler effect )
 It only measures the speed of the target but not the distance of the
target from the radar
Q. What is Doppler effect?. How it is used in Radar?
OR
Q. Explain about Doppler effect?
 Doppler effect implies that the frequency of a wave when transmitted by the source is
not necessarily the same as the frequency of the transmitted wave when picked by the
receiver.
 The received frequency depends upon the relative motion between the transmitter
and receiver.
 If transmitter and receiver both are moving towards each other the received signal
frequency increases, this is true even one is moving.
 If they are moving apart the received signal frequency decreases
 If both are stationary, the frequency remains the same.
 This change in frequency is known as Doppler shift.
 Doppler shift depends upon the relative velocity between radar and target
 If either the observer or source is in motion, then it results in a frequency shift,
called as Doppler effect.
 If R is the distance from the radar to target, the total number of wavelengths λ
contained in the two-way path between the radar and the target are 2R/λ.
 Each wavelength corresponds to a angular excursion of 2π radians.
 The total angular excursionφ in the two way propagation path is then

 If the target is in motion relative to the radar, R is changing and so will the phase.
 Differentiating φ w.r.t time gives the Angular frequency ωd

 where vr is the radial velocity or rate of change range with time

 d φ /dt is the rate of change of φ with time is the angular frequency, where
fd is the Doppler frequency shift.
 The relative velocity may be written as Vr= V.cos θ where V is the target speed and θ is
angle made by the target trajectory and the line joining radar and target.

θ
Target

Radar

 When θ=0 the Doppler frequency is maximum.

 The Doppler frequency is zero when the trajectory is perpendicular to the radar line of
sight (θ= 900).
Figure: Doppler frequency fd as a function of radar frequency and target relative
velocity
Q. Draw the block diagram of CW Radar and explain its
working?
OR
Q. Draw the block diagram of CW Radar and explain
significance of each block
 It is possible to detect moving targets by radiating un modulated Continuous wave
energy instead of radiating in the form of pulses.
 Continuous Wave radars makes use of Doppler effect for target speed
measurements.

Figure : (a) Block diagram

of a Simple CW radar
(b) Response characteristic
of the doppler filter
 Consider the simple CW radar as shown the block diagram.
 The transmitter generates a continuous (unmodulated) oscillation of frequency f0
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 f0 by an amount
±fd
 The plus sign associated with the Doppler frequency shift applies if the distance
between target and radar is decreasing (approaching 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 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 of fd is lost in this process.
 The beat frequency amplifier eliminates the echoes from stationary targets and
amplifies the Doppler echo signal.
 The low-frequency cutoff must be high enough to reject the d-c component
caused by stationary targets.
 The upper cutoff frequency is selected to pass the highest Doppler frequency
expected.
Advantages of CW Radar
 CW Doppler radar has no blind speed.
 CW Doppler radar is capable of giving accurate measurements of relative
velocities.
 CW Doppler radars are always on, they need low power and are compact in size.
 They can be used for small to large range with high degree of efficiency and
accuracy.
 The performance of radar is not affected by stationary object.

Blind Speed: If the target has the uniform velocity, then the
Doppler phase shift has angular excursion of 2Π radians, then
target appears stationary , gives wrong information
Disadvantages of CW Doppler radar
 The target range can not be calculated by CW Doppler radar.
 Unable to detect targets with zero Doppler shift, including stationary targets
 More sensitive to clutter
 There is possibility of ambiguous results when number of targets are more.
Applications of CW Radar
 CW Doppler radars are used where only velocity information is of interest and actual
range is not needed.
 E.g: In LAW and Enforcement radar applications
 Police speed monitors
 In rate of climb meter for vertical-takeoff-aircraft
 Control of traffic lights, regulation of toll booths, vehicle counting etc
 For intruder alarm, for measurement of velocity of missiles.
 Measuring motion of wave on water level.
 Runway monitors.
 Cricket ball speed measurement.
Q. Describe methods to achieve isolation between transmitter and
receiver of a CW Doppler radar if same antenna is to be used for
transmission and reception?
OR
Q. Explain how isolation between transmitter and receiver is
obtained in CW Radar?
 A single antenna serves the purpose of both transmission and reception in the
simple CW radar.

 For single antenna ,the necessary isolation is obtained by the separation in

frequency (as a result of doppler effect).

 But in practice there is considerable transmitter leakage.

 Two Effects that limit the amount of transmitter leakage power are:

1. The maximum power the receiver input circuitry can withstand, without
being physically damaged or having its sensitivity reduced, is quite low.

2. The transmitter noise which enters the receiver from the transmitter
reduces receiver sensitivity.
The amount of isolation required depends on the

i. Transmitter power and

ii. The accompanying transmitter noise
iii. The ruggedness and sensitivity of the receiver.

For example, If the safe value of power which might be applied to a receiver is
10mW and if the transmitter power is 1 kW, the isolation between transmitter and
receiver must be at least 50 dB

Isolation between transmitter & receiver might be obtained with a single

antenna by using following Methods

Hybrid Junction such as Magic-T, Rat race, or short slot coupler provides 20-
30dB amount of isolation
Limitation: 6dB loss in overall performance
Ferrite isolation device : Circulator - provides 20-50dB amount of isolation
Turnstile junction: provides 40-6 0dB amount of isolation
Separate polarizations: Limited to short range radars
 The largest isolations are obtained with Two antennas
 One for transmission, the other for reception-physically separated from one another.
 Isolations of the order of 80 dB or more are possible with high-gain antennas. The more
directive the antenna beam and the greater the spacing between antennas, the greater will be
the isolation.
 The separate antennas of the AN/MPQ-46 CW tracker-illuminator of the Hawk missile
system are shown
 The correct degree of isolation between transmitters and receivers can be
implemented by one of two methods:
1) Use two antennas, physically separated by a given distance, or;
2) Use the appropriate duplexer with a single-antenna system.
Limitation of Zero IF receiver:
 Receivers of simple CW Radar is also called homodyne receivers, or super heterodyne
receivers with zero IF.
 CW Radar receiver is not very sensitive because of increased noise at the lower
intermediate frequencies caused by flicker effect.
 Flicker-effect noise occurs in semiconductor devices such as diode detectors and
cathodes of vacuum tubes.
 The noise power produced by the flicker effect varies as 1/fα where α is
approximately unity.
Noise power= 1/f
 At the lower range of frequencies (audio or video region), the detector of the CW
receiver can introduce a considerable amount of flicker noise, resulting in reduced
receiver sensitivity.
 For short-range, low-power, applications this decrease in sensitivity might be tolerated
 But for maximum efficiency with CW radar, the reduction in sensitivity caused by the
simple Doppler receiver with zero IF cannot be tolerated.
Q. Explain the principle of operation of CW Doppler Radar with non-
zero IF receiver?
Non zero IF Receiver:
 The effect of Flicker effect noise is overcomed in the super heterodyne receiver
 In order to increase the sensitivity and efficiency we go for CW Radar with Non-
zero IF.
 Separate antennas are shown for transmission and reception.

 Instead of the usual local oscillator found in the conventional super heterodyne
receiver,

 The local oscillator (or reference signal) is derived in the receiver from a portion of
the transmitted signal mixed with a locally generated signal of frequency equal to
that of the receiver IF.

 Since the output of the mixer consists of two sidebands on either side of the carrier
plus higher harmonics, a narrow band filter selects one of the sidebands as the
reference signal.

 The improvement in receiver sensitivity with an intermediate-frequency super

heterodyne might be as much as 30 dB.
 Bandwidth B, BW or Δf is the difference between the upper and lower cut-off
frequencies of a radar receiver, and is typically measured in hertz.

 In case of a baseband channel or video signal, the bandwidth is equal to its upper
cut-off frequency. In a Radar receiver the bandwidth is mostly determined by the IF
filter stages.

 IF amplifier should be wide enough to pass the expected range of Doppler

frequencies.

 Usually expected range of Doppler frequencies will be much higher than the
frequency spectrum occupied by the signal energy .
 So a wide band amplifier is needed, which result in an increase in noise and a
lowering of the receiver sensitivity and S/N.
 If the frequency of the Doppler-shifted echo signal are known beforehand,
narrowband filter-that is just wide enough to reduce the excess noise without
eliminating a significant amount of signal energy might be used.
 If the received waveform were a sine wave of infinite duration, its frequency spectrum would
be a delta function as shown in the figure (a) below and the receiver bandwidth would be
infinitesimal.

 But a sine wave of infinite duration and an infinitesimal bandwidth cannot occur in nature.
The more normal situation is an echo signal which is a sine wave of finite duration.

 The frequency spectrum of a finite-duration sine wave has a shape of the form

[sinπ(f-f0)δ]/π(f-f0)]
where f0 and δ are the frequency and duration of the sine wave, respectively, and

f is the frequency variable over which the spectrum is plotted (Fig b).
•Assume a CW radar with an antenna beamwidth of ϴB deg. scanning at the rate of
ϴs deg/s.
•The time on target (duration of the received signal) is δ= ϴB / ϴs sec.
•Thus the signal is of finite duration and the bandwidth of the receiver must be of the
order of the reciprocal of the time on target ϴB / ϴs.i.e.
ᴧf=1/ δ= Ɵs/ ƟB
•EX:
•If the antenna beamwidth were 20 and if the scanning rate were 360/s (6 rpm), the
spread in the spectrum of the received signal due to the finite time on target would be
equal to 18 Hz, independent of the transmitted frequency.
Filter Banks in CW radar Receiver
 A bank of narrowband filter is required to measure the frequency of echo signals.
The filter bank also increases signal to noise ratio of radar receiver.

Figure: (a) Block diagram of IF Doppler filter bank (b) frequency-response characteristic of Doppler filter bank.
 BW of each filter is wide enough to accept the signal energy. But not so wide to
accept the noise.
 The more the filters used less will be the SNR loss and less chance of missing a
target.
 The ability to measure the magnitude of Doppler frequency and improvement in
signal to noise ratio is better in IF filter bank than in video filter bank.
 Also the sign of Doppler shift (+ or -) is available which is not present in video
filter bank.
 Each filter of filter bank has different bandwidth.
 Limitations:
 Filter Bank of Doppler frequencies complexity of receiver increases
 This Limitation can be overcome by permitting a time sharing of Doppler
frequency range
 Bank of Doppler frequencies can be replace by a single narrowband tunable filter
-Searches the frequency over the band of expected doppler frequencies
 In many applications of CW radar it is of interest to know if the target is
approaching or receding.
 This might be determined with separate filters located on either side of the
intermediate frequency.
 If the echo-signal frequency lies below the carrier, then the target is receding;
whereas if the echo frequency is greater that the carrier, then the target is
approaching.

Figure: Spectra of received signals. (a) No Doppler shift, no relative target motion; (b) approaching
target; (c) receding target.
 It is possible to determine its sign from a technique borrowed from single-sideband
communication.
 If the transmitter signal is given by,
Et = Eocos wot
 The echo signal from the moving target will be,
Er = K1E0cos [(wo + wd)t + φ]
where, E0 = amplitude of the transmitted signal
K1 = a constant determined from the radar equation
wo = angular frequency of transmitted signal, rad/sec
wd = dopper angular frequency shift, rad/sec
φ = a constant phase shift, which depends upon the range of initial
detection (i.e., distance between the radar and the target)
 To find out whether the target is approaching or receding from radar, received
signal must be spit into two channels which is shown in figure
 The sign of the Doppler frequency, and therefore the direction of target motion,
may be found by splitting the received signal into two channels as shown
 In channel A the signal is processed as in a simple CW radar. The receiver signal and a portion
of the transmitter signal heterodyne in the detector (mixer) to yield a difference signal,
EA = K2E0cos(±wdt + φ)
 The channel B has π/2 phase delay introduced in the reference signal. The output of the
channel B mixer is
EB = K2E0 cos(±wdt + φ +π/2)
 If the target is approaching (positive doppler),the outputs from the two channels are,
EA = K2E0 cos(wdt + φ)
EB = K2E0 cos(wdt + φ +π/2)
on the other hand, if the target is receding (negative doppler),
EA(−) = K2E0 cos(wdt - φ)
EB(−) = K2E0 cos(wdt - φ - π/2)
 The sign of wd and the direction of the target’s motion may be determined according to
whether the output of channel B leads or lags the output of channel A.
 One method of determining the relative phase relationship between the two channels is to
apply the outputs to a synchronous two-phase motor. The direction of motor rotation is an
indication of the direction of the target motion.
 Police speed monitor
 Rate-of-climb meter (During aircraft take off)
 Vehicle counting
 As a replacement for “5th wheel speedometer” in vehicle testing
 Antilock braking system
 Collision avoidance
 In railways as speedometer instead of tachometer
 Advance warning system for approaching targets
 Docking speed measurement of large ships
 Intruder alarms
 Measurement of velocity of missiles, baseball etc
1Q. A 8.5 GHz police radar measures a Doppler frequency of 1932Hz from a car
approaching the stationary police vehicle, Calculate the speed of the car.

Sol: Given F=8.2GHz

fd=1932Hz
Vr=?

Vr= fd*c/2f
Vr= 35.341m/s
Vr= 127.2km/hr
2Q. The transmitter power were 1 KW and safer value of power which might be
applied to a receiver were 10mW. Find the isolation between transmitter and
receiver?
Sol: Isolation; I = 10 log(Pt/PR)
I= 10 log 10^5
= 50dB
3Q. With a CW transmit frequency of 5 GHz. Calculate the doppler frequency seen by
a stationary radar when the target radial velocity is 100km/hr
Sol: fd= 2Vr f0/ C
=925.93Hz
 FM CW radar is capable of measuring the relative velocity and the range of the
target with the expense of bandwidth.
 The inability of the simple CW radar to measure range is related to the relatively
narrow spectrum (bandwidth) of its transmitted waveform.
 By providing timing marks into the Tx signal the time of transmission and the time
of return can be calculated. This will increase the bandwidth
 More distinct the timing, more accurate the result will be and more broader will the
Tx spectrum
 The spectrum of a CW transmission can be broadened by the application of
modulation, either amplitude. frequency, or phase.
 An example of an amplitude modulation is the pulse radar. The narrower the pulse,
the more accurate the measurement of range and the broader the transmitted
spectrum
 A widely used technique to broaden the spectrum of CW radar is to frequency-
modulate the carrier. The timing mark is the changing frequency.
Range and Doppler measurement:
 In the frequency-modulated CW radar (abbreviated FM-CW), the transmitter
frequency is changed as a function of time.

 Assume that the transmitter frequency increases linearly with time, as shown by the
solid line in the next slide.

 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.

 If the echo signal is heterodyned with a portion of the transmitter signal in a

nonlinear element such as a diode, a beat note fb will be produced.

 If there is no Doppler frequency shift, the beat note (difference frequency) is a

measure of the target's range and fb = fr where fr is the beat frequency due only to
the target's range.
 If the rate of change of the carrier frequency is f0 (dot) ,then the beat frequency is
given by

Figure: Frequency-time relation-ships in FM-CW radar. Solid curve represents transmitted signal;
dashed curve represents echo. (a) Linear frequency modulation; (b)triangular frequency modulation;
(c) beat note of (b).
 In any practical CW radar, the frequency cannot be continually changed in one
direction.

 Periodicity in the modulation is necessary, as in the triangular frequency-

modulation waveform shown in the figure (b). The modulation need not necessarily
be triangular. It can be saw tooth, sinusoidal, or some other shape.

 The resulting beat frequency as a function of time is shown in figure(c) for

triangular modulation.

 If the frequency is modulated at a rate fm over a range Δf the beat frequency is

fr = (2R/C).2fm.Δf = 4Rfm.Δf /C

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

 Block diagram illustrating the principle of the FM-CW radar

 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 of 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.

 If the target is not stationary 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 as shown in the figure (a).
 Figure: Frequency-time relationships in FM-CW radar when the received
signal is shifted in frequency by the Doppler effect (a) Transmitted (solid
curve) and echo (dashed curve) (b) beat frequency

 On one portion of the frequency-modulation cycle, the beat frequency (Fig.

b) is increased by the Doppler shift, while on the other portion, it is
decreased.

 If for example, the target is approaching the radar, the beat frequency fb(up)
produced during the increasing or up 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 beat frequency due to range fr can be calculated as

 The FM-CW radar principle is used in the aircraft radio altimeter to measure height
above the surface of the earth.

 Relatively short ranges of altimeters permit Low Tx power and low antenna gain.

 Since the relative motion between the aircraft and ground is small, the effect
of the Doppler frequency shift may usually be neglected.

 Frequency range: 4.2 to 4.4 GHz (reserved for altimeters)

 Solid state Tx is used here.

 High sensitive super-heterodyne Rx is preferred for better sensitivity and stability

Figure: Block diagram of a FM-CW radar using sideband super heterodyne receiver
 A portion of the frequency-modulated transmitted signal is applied to a 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 is the same as the intermediate
frequency used in the receiver.

 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, fo(t) - fIF and rejects the carrier and the upper sideband.

 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 the range frequency fr and the Doppler velocity 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 the range, and the other feeds a
switched frequency counter to determine the Doppler velocity (assuming fr > fd).

 Only the averaging frequency counter need be used in an altimeter application.

 A target at short range will generally result in a strong signal at low frequency,
while one at long range will result in a weak signal at high frequency.

 Therefore the frequency characteristic of the low frequency amplifier in the FM-
CW radar may be used to provide attenuation at the low frequencies corresponding
to short ranges and large echo signals.

 Less attenuation is applied to the higher frequencies, where the echo signals are
weaker.
Unwanted signals in FM altimeter:

1. The reflection of the transmitted signals at the antenna caused by

impedance mismatch.
2. The standing-wave pattern on the cable feeding the reference signal to the
receiver, due to poor mixer match..
3. The leakage signal entering the receiver via coupling between transmitter and
receiver antennas. This can limit the ultimate receiver sensitivity, especially at
high altitudes.
4. The interference due to power being reflected back to the transmitter, causing a
change in the impedance seen by the transmitter. This is usually important
only at low altitudes.
 It can be reduced by an attenuator introduced in the transmission line at low
altitude or by a directional coupler or an isolator.
5. The double-bounce signal.
Advantages of FM-CW Radar

 Range can be measured by simple broadening of frequency spectrum.

 FM modulation is easy to generate than linear modulation.

 Synchronization is not required as in multiple frequency CW radar.

 For measuring range, single frequency is required.

Disadvantages of FM-CW Radar

 FM CW radar can be used to detect single targets only.

 Accuracy of FM CW radar is less compared to Multiple frequency radar.

 Measurement of range is more difficult when FM signal is non uniform or mixer is

not operating in linear region.
 The multiple frequency CW radr s used to determine the accurate distance(Range).

 .Consider a CW radar radiating a single-frequency sine wave of the form sin 2πfot

 The signal travels to the target at a range R and returns to the radar after a time T =
2R/c where c is the velocity of propagation.

 The echo signal received at the radar is sin [2πfo(t –T)].

 If the transmitted and received signals are compared in a phase detector, the output is
proportional to the phase difference between the two and is given by :

Δφ= 2πf0T =4πfoR/c.

 The phase difference may therefore be used as a measure of the range, or

 However, the measurement of the phase difference Δφ is unambiguous only if Δφ does

not exceed 2π radians. Substituting Δφ = 2π into above eqn gives the maximum
unambiguous range as λ/2.
 Unambiguous range may be extended considerably by utilizing two separate CW
signals differing slightly in frequency.
 The transmitted waveform is assumed to consist of two continuous sine waves of
frequency f1 and f2 separated by an amount Δf.
 For convenience, the amplitudes of all signals are set equal to unity.
 The voltage waveforms of the two components of the transmitted signal v1T and
v2T may be written as:

where Ø1 and Ø2 are arbitrary (constant) phase angles.

 The echo signal is shifted in frequency by the Doppler effect. The form of the
Doppler-shifted signals corresponding to the two frequencies f1 and f2 are:
Where Ro = range to target at a particular time t=to
fd1 = Doppler frequency shift associated with frequency f1
fd2 = Doppler frequency shift associated with frequency f2
 Since the two RF frequencies f1 and f2 are approximately the same (that is f2 = f1+
Δf, where Δf <<<f 1) the Doppler frequency shifts fd1 and fd2 can be assumed to
be equal to each other.
 Therefore we may write fd1 = fd2 = fd
 The receiver separates the two components of the echo signal and heterodynes each
received signal component with the corresponding transmitted waveform and
extracts the two Doppler-frequency components given below:
 The phase difference between these two components is

Hence

 which is the same as that of R with Δf substituted in place of fo.

 The two-frequency CW technique for measuring range was described as using the
Doppler frequency shift.
 A large difference in frequency between the two transmitted signals improves the
accuracy of the range measurement since large Δf means a proportionately large
change in ΔØ for a given range.
 However, there is a limit to the value of Δf since ΔØ cannot be greater than 2π
radians if the range is to remain unambiguous.
 The maximum unambiguous range Runamb is:
 Therefore the frequency difference must not be too large if unambiguous
measurements are to be made.

 The selection of Δf represents a compromise between the requirements of accuracy

and ambiguity.

 Both accurate and unambiguous range measurements can be made by transmitting

three or more frequencies instead of just two.

 For example, if the three frequencies f1,f2 and f3 are such that f3 – f1 = k( f2–f1)
where k is a factor of the order of 10 or 20, the pair of frequencies f3, f1 (with
greater Δf) gives an ambiguous but accurate range measurement while the pair of
frequencies f2, f1(with lesser Δf) resolve the ambiguities in the measurement of
Range.

 Likewise, if further accuracy is required a fourth frequency can be transmitted and

its ambiguities resolved by the less accurate but higher unambiguous measurement
obtained from the three frequencies, f1, f2 and f3.

 As more frequencies are added the spectrum and target resolution approach that
obtained with a pulse or an FM-CWwaveform.
 Therefore Δf must be less than c/2Runamb. Note that when Δf is replaced by the
pulse repetition rate, above eq gives the maximum unambiguous range of a pulse
radar.
 The two-frequency CW radar is essentially a single-target radar since only one
phase difference can be measured at a time. If more than one target is present, the
echo signal becomes complicated and the meaning of the phase measurement
becomes doubtful.
 The theoretical accuracy with which range can be measured with the two-frequency
CW radar can be found and it can be shown that the theoretical rms range error is

 Where E = energy contained in received signal and

 No = noise power per hertz of bandwidth.

The above Equation indicates that the greater the separation Δf between the
two frequencies, the lesser will be the rms error.
• The multiple-frequency CW radar technique has been applied to the accurate
measurement of distance in surveying and in missile guidance.

• The Tellurometer is the name given to a portable electronic surveying instrument

which is based on this principle.

• In addition to its use in surveying, the multiple CW frequency method of measuring

range has been applied in
1. Range-instrumentation radar for the measurement of the distance to a transponder-
equipped missile,

2. The distance to satellites,

3. In satellite navigation systems based on range measurement

4. For detecting the presence of an obstacle in the path of a moving automobile by

measuring the distance,

5. The Doppler velocity, and the sign of the Doppler (whether the target is approaching or
receding).
• Example1: Determine the Range and Doppler velocity of an approaching
target using a triangular modulation FMCW Radar. Given : Beat frequency
fb(up) = 15KHz and fb (down) = 25KHz , modulating frequency : 1MHz, Δf :
1KHz and Operating frequency : 3Ghz
Solution:
We know fr = ½[fb(up)+ fb (down)] = ½( 15+25) = 20 Khz
fd = ½[ fb (down) - fb(up)] = ½( 25-15) = 5 Khz
The Range R in terms of fr , fm and Δf is given by :
R = c fr / 4fm.Δf = (3x10^8)20x10^3 / 4(1x10^6x1x10^3) mtrs =
1500 mtrs = 1.5 Kms