Design and Implementation of True Random Noise Radar System

Abstract

The design theory and experimental results of a true random noise radar system are presented in this paper. Target range information can be extracted precisely by correlation processing between the delayed reference and the signal received from a target, and the velocity information by the Doppler processing with successive correlation data. A K-band noise radar system was designed using random FM noise signal, and the characteristics of the fabricated system were examined with laboratory and outdoor experiments. A C-band random FM noise signal was generated by applying a low-frequency white Gaussian noise source to VCO(Voltage Controlled Oscillator), and a K-band Tx noise signal with 100 MHz bandwidth was obtained by using a following frequency multiplier. Two modified waveguide horn arrays were designed and fabricated, and used for the Tx and Rx antennas. The required amount of Tx/Rx isolation was attained by using a coupling cancellation circuit as well as keeping them apart with predetermined spacing. A double down-conversion scheme was used in the Rx and reference channels, respectively, for easy post processing such as correlation and Doppler processing. The implemented noise radar performance was examined with a moving bicycle and a very high-speed target with a velocity of 150 m/s. The results extracted by the Matlab simulation using the logging data were found to be in a reasonable agreement with the expected results.