ECE6272 Course Syllabus

ECE6272

Fundamentals of Radar Signal Processing (3-0-3)

Technical Interest
Group

Digital Signal Processing

Prerequisites

ECE 4270

Corequisites

None

Catalog Description

Signal modeling including radar cross section, multipath, and clutter. Properties of the ambiguity function and coded waveforms. Algorithms for doppler processing, detection, and radar imaging.

Textbook(s)

Richards, Mark , Radar Signal Processing (2nd edition), McGraw-Hill-Professional, 2014. ISBN 9780071798327 (required)

Strategic
Performance
Indicators (SPIs)

SPIs are a subset of the abilities a student will be able to demonstrate upon successfully completing the course.

Outcome 1 (Students will demonstrate expertise in a subfield of study chosen from the fields of electrical engineering or computer engineering):
1.	Explain radar system design concepts and radar signal processing functions for search and track radar systems and elaborate on the performance versus costs design trade space.
2.	Design, assess and be conversant of the properties of the radar range equation for search, track and volume radar modes.


Outcome 2 (Students will demonstrate the ability to identify and formulate advanced problems and apply knowledge of mathematics and science to solve those problems):
1.	Analyze radar system performance, both in search and track modes, and with low and medium pulse repetition frequencies.
2.	Understand and model radar signal processing algorithms and make quantifiable quality assessments of radar detection and track performance.


Outcome 3 (Students will demonstrate the ability to utilize current knowledge, technology, or techniques within their chosen subfield):
1.	Design and code radar signal processing algorithms and demonstrate radar system operations with simulated transmit/receive data.

Topical Outline

Fundamentals of radar systems  (2 hours)
   - propagating EM waves in space and time
   - Doppler shift
   - Range equation
   - system structure

Signal Models  (4 hours)
   - Radar cross section of targets and clutter
   - multipath
   - statistical signal models, Swerling models
   - advanced (compound) statistical signal models for clutter
   - convolutional models in range and angle
   - frequency domain models

Waveforms  (9 hours)
   - The ambiguity function
   - Basic waveforms: simple pulse, LFM, coherent pulse train
   - Coded waveforms: frequency, phase (biphase, Costas), MCW, step-freq
   - Optimum waveforms for time delay, velocity, acceleration measurements
   - Measurement accuracy, Cramer-Rao bounds

Sampling and quantization  (3 hours)
   - Sampling complex bandpass signals
   - Sampling rates in range, angle, Doppler, space
   - I/Q imbalance and correction techniques
   - Digital I/Q

Doppler processing  (6 hours)
   - Matched filter (vector formulation)
   - MTI as approximation to matched filter for unknown target velocity
   - DFT/pulse Doppler approx to matched filter for known target velocity
   - Improvement factor
   - DPCA for airborne MTI

Optimal Detection  (9 hours)
   - Neyman-Pearson detection and the likelihood ratio
   - threshold detection, targets in Gaussian noise
   - coherent and noncoherent integration; binary integration
   - Optimal detectors for non-Gaussian interference
   - CFAR

Synthetic Aperture Radar  (9 hours)
   - The SAR principle from aperture, Doppler, chirp viewpoints
   - SAR overview: system issues, range migration, processor structure
   - SAR modes: strip map, spotlight, Doppler beam sharpening, Inverse SAR
   - Spotlight SAR and polar format data collection
   - Polar format processing
   - Range migration and chirp scaling algorithms for spotlight SAR        
   - Autofocus: correlation, phase gradient algorithms
   - Interferometric 3D SAR

TOTAL: 42 hours