Detection Performance for Over Resolved Targets

Abstract

This report is an investigation into how detection probabilities of scatterers are affected as radar range resolution divides the target into multiple scatterers. The work is applied to several scatterer models: the constant amplitude, Rayleigh, and dominant plus Rayleigh scatterers. Throughout the treatment, detection probability is plotted against signal-to-noise ratio with the degree of resolution as a parameter. All other conditions such as total target cross section, false alarm probability, and number of pulses are held constant for each set of curves. In this work, detection is based on at least one threshold crossing out of the M range cells of which the target has been resolved. As M increased, improvements in detection performance were noted only at high signal levels for a limited variety of scatterers: a single pulse Rayleigh and dominant plus Rayleigh, the multiple pulse slow fluctuating Rayleigh and dominant plus Rayleigh. All other targets showed a loss over all signal-to-noise ratios as the number of resolution cells was increased. It is shown that an improvement occurs with increasing resolution, so long as the estimated cross section in each range cell has a large error variance. This holds for single as well as multiple pulse waveforms of which the pulses represent dependent samples (slow fluctuating target). Analogous effects of distributed clutter on false alarm count are discussed in the concluding remarks. Additional key words: High resolution, Charts, Mathematical models, and Computations.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1984
Accession Number
ADB089870

Entities

People

  • K. G. Hillman
  • V. C. Vannicola

Organizations

  • Rome Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Classification
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • False Alarms
  • Frequency
  • High Resolution
  • Identification
  • Integrators
  • Mathematical Models
  • Models
  • Probability
  • Probability Density Functions
  • Radar
  • Random Variables
  • Security
  • Warning Systems

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Radar Systems Engineering.
  • Theoretical Analysis.