4/28/2010

Armedforces Articles

Radar Operating Frequency

Radar Operat ing Frequency

ICx Technologies Inc.
Cat egor y: Radar Oper at ing Fr equency | 21/ 08/ 2007 - 12:13:40

Radar performance must first be quant ified on t he basis of propagat ion efficiency in various media (air, foliage and ground) wit h respect t o t he required det ect ion range. The general principle is t hat t he lower t he frequency, t he more efficient t he propagat ion of radio waves t hrough t he medium. In t he presence of obscurant s, propagat ion is most favorable when t he RF wavelengt h is much larger t han t he part icle size composing t he propagat ion medium. This is why radars t end t o have much bet t er performance t han opt ical syst ems t hrough smoke, dust , fog and rain. However, using a lower frequency dict at es a larger ant enna for a given angular resolut ion. As a rule of t humb, t he physical dimensions of an ant enna are relat ed t o t he required resolut ion by t he following equat ion: 70 where / w

is t he half-power ant enna beam widt h (resolut ion) in degrees, t he wavelengt h and w t he ant enna longit udinal dimension. Using t he above equat ion, an imaging radar at Ka-band (35 GHz) wit h a t wo-degree angular resolut ion would require a 30 cm ant enna while a foliage penet rat ing radar working at UHF (900 MHz) would have a 12-met er ant enna t o achieve comparable angular resolut ion. Applicat ions dict at e t he radar det ect ion range. A radar int ended for airborne surveillance may require a det ect ion range in excess of 1000 km t o provide an adequat e response t ime t o count er an incoming t hreat . To assure range performance out t o 1000 km under rain condit ions, propagat ion propert ies would require operat ing around S-band (2~3 GHz) or even L-band (1~2 GHz). In anot her applicat ion, a police radar used for measuring speed of vehicles would only require a maximum range of 500 m. Given t he short er range required, pract ically any frequency up t o W-band (110 GHz) could be used. In t his case, ant enna size and component cost s are most likely t o influence t he choice of operat ing frequency. Propert ies of t arget s must also be considered in select ing t he operat ing frequency as opt imal det ect ion is achieved when radar resolut ion mat ches t he t arget size. As radar resolut ion depends on ant enna beam widt hs (azimut h and elevat ion) and range resolut ion, t he higher frequencies are best suit ed because t hey yield small ant ennas and lit t le fract ional bandwidt h t o achieve range resolut ion. The fract ional bandwidt h may be expressed as t he percent age of radar signal bandwidt h wit h respect t o t ransmit frequency. In an applicat ion t o prot ect flight lines from int rusions by pedest rians and crawling persons, a Ka-band radar is ideal because it allows small size for easy deployment and high range resolut ion wit h lit t le fract ional bandwidt h. Cost of RF component s is anot her fact or t o consider in select ing t he operat ing frequency. The higher t he frequency, t he more expensive are t he component s. Wit h t he recent development s in t he t elecommunicat ions indust ry, very affordable component s are now found up t o 5.8 GHz (C-band). Component s at X-band (~ 9 GHz) are now manufact ured wit h high yields and prices have been declining st eadily over t he last few decades. Component s at V and W bands are st ill expensive because of t he manufact uring t olerances required for t he short wavelengt hs (millimet er wave) and of limit ed demand. The t able below present s t he various frequency bands used for radar wit h t heir most common applicat ions. Frequency Band Designat ion Nominal Range Specific Radar Frequency Assignment (1) Typical applicat ion HF VHF UHF L S 3 ~ 30 MHz 30 ~ 300 MHz no specific bands 216 ~225 MHz Over t he horizon radar Very long range Ground penet rat ion radar 300 ~ 1000 MHz 420 ~ 450 MHz 902 ~ 928 MHz 1.0 ~ 2.0 GHz 2.0 ~ 4.0 GHz 1.215 ~ 1.390 GHz 2.305 ~ 2.385 GHz 2.417 ~ 2.483 GHz 2.700 ~ 3.650 GHz 5.250 ~ 5.85 GHz Very long range Foliage penet rat ion Long range surveillance Long range surveillance Air t raffic cont rol Air surveillance Air t raffic cont rol Airborne alt imet er Long range ground surveillance Airborne weat her radar Weat her observat ion Marine radar Police radar Ku 12.4 ~ 18 GHz 13.4 ~ 14.0 GHz 15.7 ~ 17.7 GHz 24.05 ~ 24.25 GHz 33.4 ~ 36.0 GHz Guidance Medium range ground surveillance K Ka 18 ~ 27 GHz 27 ~ 40 GHz Police radar Short range ground surveillance Target ing Imaging V 40 ~ 75 GHz 59 ~ 64 GHz Aut omot ive ant i-collision

4.0 ~ 8.0 GHz

8.0 ~ 12.4 GHz 8.500 ~ 10.55 GHz

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(1) NTIA, Office of Spect rum Management , Oct ober 2003

Radar Operating Frequency

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