TABLE OF CONTENTS Analysis and modeling of radar at the system level utilizes parameters of the radar components and operating modes, and of the environment in which the radar operates. Parameters of the major radar components and of radar targets are described in this chapter. Parameters of measurement error sources and the environment are described in Chapters 8 and 9 respectively. Further details on the parameters and their use in models is given with the model development in Chapters 5 through 11. A list of symbols used for the parameters is provided in Appendix A.
A key characteristic of radar transmitters is the RF power generated. This is usually characterized by the peak and average RF power output:
P P = transmitter peak RF power
P A = transmitter average RF power
The RF pulse duration that a transmitter is capable of generating is also important. The peak power may be maintained for some period, usually determined by the heating of small components of the transmitter tube or solid-state device used to generate the power. This period is usually described by a maximum pulse duration:
? M = maximum transmitter pulse duration
The resulting maximum pulse energy is then:
where:
| E M | = maximum transmitter pulse energy |
The average transmitted power is usually limited by the prime power available to the radar, the heat removal from the larger transmitter components, and the capability for scheduling radar transmissions. The ratio of average to peak power is called the transmitter...
