August 2008 Supplement: Technical Feature

Measuring Modern Frequency Chirp Radars

From: Vol. 51 | No. 8 | August Supplement 2008 | Page 48

by Tom Hill, Tektronix Inc., Beaverton, OR

Modern radars using frequency chirp modulation present many measurement challenges to the designer and system engineer. Complex test systems involving many instruments have traditionally been required to validate radar performance. Automatic measurements in a single instrument can be the key to simplifying radar test and improving test reproducibility. This article discusses a variety of short-frame and long-frame measurements that are available to cover most all modern chirp radar systems with bandwidths up to 20 GHz.

Measurement Challenges

Modern wideband pulses, both short CW as well as longer FM chirped pulses, present difficulties for traditional pulse measurement techniques. Shortening a pulse increases the bandwidth and chirped pulses include a bandwidth as wide as the deviation of the FM modulation used, even if the timing is slower. The primary measurements needed for a chirp is the linearity of the frequency change—a measurement not previously needed.

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