The homework of Freshman seminar: The introduction of Radar

I‘m 董中旭(2017200501033)，the student of the Glasgow university of UESTC\EEE Class 1

What is the radar?

Radar is the English translation of Radar in English, "radio detection and ranging". The basic task of the radar is to detect the target of interest and determine the state parameters such as the distance, the square, and the speed of the target. The radar is mainly composed of an antenna, a transmitter, a receiver (including a signal processor), and a display.

Radar is a special radio observation device of modern times. It is a radio technology instrument used to find and measure the target position. If it is used in a narrower range, it is a radio technology instrument that measures the azimuth and distance of passive moving targets (such as aircraft and warships).

Classification of radar
Classified by function:

Warning radar, guided radar, guided radar, gun sight radar, airborne fire control radar, altimetry radar, blind landing radar, terrain avoidance radar, terrain tracking radar, imaging radar, weather radar, etc.
Classified by work system:

Conical scanning radar, monopulse radar, passive phased array radar, active phased array radar, pulse compression radar, frequency agile radar, MTI radar, MTD radar, PD radar, synthetic aperture radar, noise radar, impact radar, Dual/multi-base radar, sky/ground wave over-the-horizon radar, etc.
Classified by working wavelength:

Meter wave radar, decimeter wave radar, centimeter wave radar, millimeter wave radar, laser / infrared radar, and so on.
Classified by measurement target coordinate parameters:

Two-coordinate radar, three-coordinate radar, speed-measuring radar, altimetry radar, guidance radar, etc.
How the radar works
 

One of the working principles of radar:

Reflection of electromagnetic waves

Everyone knows that bats hide in dark places during the day and fly out to find food at night. However, why can it fly in the dark without hitting obstacles, such as trees or houses? For thousands of years people have said this because its eyes are afraid of light, but they can see things in the dark. In fact, this speculation is not very correct. Let's uncover the secret of the bat. In the mouth of the bat, we can make a sound that we can't hear. The sound oscillates every second, between 25,000 and 70,000. The sound that the ear can feel, the number of vibrations per second is about 16 to 20,000), which is beyond the range that human ears can feel, so it is called ultrasound. The bat's auditory organs are very special, and it can sense this kind of ultrasound. When it flies in the dark, it often emits ultrasound in the mouth. When the sound wave encounters an obstacle in a certain direction, it immediately reflects back from there, and some of it is reflected in the bat's ear. It knows that there is an obstacle in that direction, so it avoids it in time. It can also be known by experience: the echo is urgent, the obstacle is near, the echo is slow, and the obstacle is far. In other words, it judges the distance of the obstacle based on the speed of the echo, and judges the direction in which the obstacle is located according to the direction of the echo.

Ultrasonic waves are mechanical waves, and their inherent reflection characteristics can be used to measure distances. Similarly, acoustic waves, water waves, and even electromagnetic waves (including radio waves, infrared rays, visible light, ultraviolet rays, X-ray rays, gamma rays) of mechanical waves are used in specific situations. Both have reflective properties, and radar is the electromagnetic wave.

The second working principle of radar:

The speed of electromagnetic waves is known

The speed of electromagnetic waves is many times higher than that of sound waves, and its speed is 300,000 km/s. I want to know how big this speed is. For example, electromagnetic waves can circle the earth seven and a half times in a second. Another interesting example is that if you listen to the concert in the studio, the sound has already passed through the radio station a considerable distance before you hear the singer's voice. A listener who is a thousand kilometers away from you can even hear beautiful songs through the radio.
The third working principle of radar: directional emission of electromagnetic waves

The so-called directional emission is the use of a narrow beam to emit pulsed electromagnetic energy at a specific instant. It has an important advantage, that is, it can save energy. The radar station can "see" far away with a small power, and the effect is good. For example, when a person reads a book in a big room at night, he does not need to illuminate with a light. In the entire big room, just a lamp, it will shine on the book, even a small number of light bulbs will be enough to not hurt the eyes. Indeed, the rest of the room is dark at this time, but this does not hinder reading, but it will make us more clear about the book.

This is also true for radar work. Because it concentrates energy in a small space, it is the best way to "illuminate" the target.

To what extent should the radar beam be narrow? The narrower the beam, the greater the energy concentrated in it, and the more accurately the direction of the target is found. Suppose that an enemy plane appears in the area illuminated by the action of the radar. How long does it take to sweep the space around the location of the radar station with a narrow needle-like beam? At the same time, can you not let the enemy slip through the net? The time spent, I think a lot. During this time, any aircraft can escape the search area of ​​the radar. That is to say, the "needle" beam is not suitable. The narrowing of the beam has a reasonable limit, which is to meet the various requirements imposed on the radar to the same extent. For radar stations with different missions, the way to solve this problem is also very different. The airborne radar station should have a wider beam and the radar station aimed at the cannon should be narrower. In many cases, the beam often has a special shape to accommodate the specific task of the radar station.

From this point of view, the basic principle of radar is the directional emission of electromagnetic waves, its reflection on the conductor, and the correct understanding of the propagation speed of the electric wave. Obviously, deep understanding and mastery of radar technology is an essential foundation.

Usually, radio broadcasts use medium or short waves. Radar, generally works in ultrashort waves or microwaves. Radars operating in the ultrashort wave band are called ultrashort wave radars or meter wave radars; radars operating in the microwave band are commonly known as microwave radars. Microwave radar is sometimes subdivided into decimeter wave radar, centimeter wave radar, millimeter wave radar and so on.

So why can't radar work in medium or short waves like a radio station? This is determined by the working principle of the radar. Clairvoyance is the reflection of electromagnetic waves on the target to "see" the target. There is a law of wave reflection: the larger the target, the stronger the reflection. Therefore, the shorter the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave used by the radar, the stronger the reflection in other targets such as airplanes or missiles. Therefore, the radar must work in the ultrashort wave or microwave band to effectively function and detect the target. At the same time, the radar antenna is an important part of the radar. If the radar works in the middle wave band, to achieve directional emission, it is necessary to arrange dozens or even hundreds of metal rods that can oscillate electromagnetic waves to form an array antenna. It will be a very large antenna, which is neither economical nor difficult to implement in practice. Therefore, the wavelength at which the radar works cannot be too long.