TARGET RESOLUTION: CAPABILITIES OF MODERN RADAR AND FUNDAMENTAL LIMITS
Abstract
The growth in radar requirements, from crude shortrange measurements to dense-target resolution at long ranges, is paralleled by a corresponding increase in the sophistication of radar systems: from simple constantcarrier pulses to post-detection integration, coherent integration of pulse trains, pulse compression signals, and the coherent processing of trains of such signals. The study starts with an interpretation of the radar uncertainty relation in its significance for target resolution, showing the role of waveform design as a means of achieving a match between the transmitted signal and the characteristics of the target environment. This provides a framework into which the various principles of high-resolution radar are fitted. In discussing the limitations on resolution performance, it is shown that achievable target resolution depends on the characteristics of the target environment in which the radar operates, the number of targets, and the size of the delay-Doppler space they occupy. These findings are applied to two practical examples: (1) the ground mapping radar using the synthetic aperture principle and (2) the case of extended target 'clouds' consisting of a large number of discrete scatterers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0605221
Entities
People
- A. W. Rihaczek
Organizations
- The Aerospace Corporation