System Analysis of Ultra-Wideband Instrumentation Radars: Impulse vs. Stepped-Chirp Approaches
Abstract
As part of an ongoing effort to determine the utility of ultra- wideband (UWB) radar systems for military application, an experimental program was developed and executed to collect terrain clutter data using high resolution waveforms in the ultra high frequency (UHF) spectral region. Two approaches to the design of the radar instrumentation to be used to collect these data were considered: an impulse system with a nominal 1 ns pulse duration and a conventional stepped-chirp instrumentation radar covering the same frequency range. A novel feature of the program was the use of a scanned linear aperture to simulate the use of a large, ideally weighted real aperture antenna system, In this paper, the theoretical analysis done to predict and compare the performance expected from either system approach is presented in terms of the noise-equivalent reflectivity of the clutter measurement system, the time to collect data, and the impact of the linearly scanned aperture on sensitivity, angular resolution, and data collection time.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA276624
Entities
People
- James Ralston
Organizations
- Institute for Defense Analyses