A simple device for long-term radar cross section recordings

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Radar Systems
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Recording long-term radar echo amplitude variations requires high-speed sampling.
• Traditional methods can lead to large data files and delayed analysis.
• Short radio frequency (RF) pulses are crucial for high-resolution radar applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a sample and hold circuit with settable delay for capturing radar echo amplitude variations.
• To enable real-time display of amplitude changes over extended periods (up to 100 seconds).
• To reduce data file sizes in short RF pulse radar systems.

Main Methods:

• Design of a sample and hold circuit utilizing two integrated circuits.
• Implementation of a settable delay feature for precise timing.
• Integration with a Ka-band short pulse radar system.

Main Results:

• Achieved 1% uncertainty for 70 ns pulses.
• Enabled recording of radar echo amplitude variations with time scales up to 100 seconds.
• Demonstrated real-time display of lengthy amplitude variations.
• Reduced file size by at least the inverse of the radar's duty cycle.

Conclusions:

• The developed sample and hold circuit effectively records long-term radar echo amplitude variations.
• The circuit facilitates real-time analysis and significant data reduction in short RF pulse radar.
• This technology enhances the efficiency of radar data acquisition and processing.