The following four (4) books are provided FREE with your registration, (total list price value $519): “Radar Technology”, Dr. Eli Brookner (Editor), Lexbook, 282 Marrett Rd., (formerly published by Artech house), Hardcover $123 list price. “Aspects of Modern Radar”, Dr. Eli Brookner (Editor), Lexbook, 282 Marrett Rd., (formerly published by Artech house), Hardcover $131 list price.  “Radar System Analysis and Modeling” David K. Barton, Artech House, 2004, Hardcover $129 list price. One very useful feature of this new book is the inclusion of a CD with the Mathcad® Version 11 programs used to generate the curves in the book. Thus the reader can change the parameters of the figures to suite his case of interest. Also, the CD includes an Evaluation Version Mathcad® Version 11 Single User Edition. This is a full version of the $2000 Mathcad software which the user can use for 120 days after installation. Mathcad is an easy, user friendly language. “Tracking and Kalman Filtering Made Easy”, by Dr. Eli Brookner, John Wiley Interscience,  1998, Hardcover list price $110. Fantastic book, gives  extremely  simple, geometric and physical introduction to the voltage methods for sidelobe canceling, least-squares filtering, G-H filtering and Kalman Filter. How they are all related is shown. Systolic array implementation given. The latest printings,  (4th and beyond) have new sections; when Kalman Filter is optimal; other forms of Kalman Filter and ; a small section on Non-linear  filters.

This course is geared to those unfamiliar as well as those experienced with radar design. It covers radar basics and advanced topics from a simple, physical point of view.  It covers present technology and techniques as well as future trends and techniques.

This course is an updated version of the Radar Technology course given previously.  Those who have taken the Radar Technology previously should find it worthwhile taking this revised version. Extra lecture added in order to include coverage of NEW material consisting of (but not limited to): Radar height-range coverage diagram determination using the powerful SPAWAR’s (updated May ‘05)  AREPS 3.3 and EREPS 3.0 programs. The AREPS program provides coverage for arbitrary propagation conditions (ducts [evaporation, surface, or elevated], subrefraction or superrefraction) and terrain conditions (based on DTED data). The latest powerful AREPS program accounts  for surface roughness scattering and evaluates sea and land clutter backscatter versus range. The attendees will be informed on how to obtain FREE, these PC based, versatile programs,  valued at thousands of dollars; Also covered will be: Anomalous Propagation and what to do about it; STAP, AMTI, DPCA; Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) processing; digital beamforming: System Temperature

Updated course is framed around books Radar Technology (1977) and Aspects of Modern Radar (1988) edited by Eli Brookner; updated version of the book “Tracking and Kalman Filtering Made Easy” (1998) by Eli Brookner; and new version of  Barton’s radar systems book “Radar System Analysis and Modeling” (2004).

Also given out free are supplementary notes consisting of copies of over 800 vugraphs plus 8 survey paper reprints by Dr. Eli Brookner that are covered in the lecture.  These 8 survey paper prints plus others are:

1. “Phased Arrays Around the World - Progress and Future Trends”, IEEE International Symposium on Phased Arrays Systems and Technology, Boston, MA , updated march 2005.

2. “Major Advances in Phased Arrays: Parts I and II”. Microwave Journal, May & June 1997.

3. “Current Status of Phased Array Radars – or All you wanted to know about Phased Arrays but was afraid to ask!! “Old Crows”. Third Radar Conference, Johns Hopkins Univ., 1997.

4. “Antenna Pulsewidth Distortion Paradox Explained”. Proceedings of the IEEE, May 1988.

5. “Large Phased Array Radars”, Chapter 7 in book “Nuclear Arms Technologies”, 1988.

6. “Radar Imaging for Arms Control”, Chapter 11 in book “Arms Control Verification”, 1986.

7. “Adaptive-Adaptive Array Processing”, Proc. IEEE April 1986.

8. “Derivation of a Satellite Radar Architecture for Air Surveillance”, Microwave Journal, Feb. 1986.

9. “Application of Digital Technology to Radar”. Proc. IEEE, Feb. 1985.

10. “Trends in Radar Signal Processing”, Microwave Journal, Oct., 1982.

11. “Radar Performance During Propagation Fades in the Mid-Atlantic Region”, IEEE Trans. On Antennas and Propagation, July 1998 (authored jointly with E. Ferraro and G.D. Ouderkirk).

The Radar Technology textbook for the course gives parameters for 96 American, Russian, French, Dutch and English radars (Table 1).  Photos for nearly all 96 radars plus others are provided in the text.  The Aspects of Modern Radar book updates this table giving the parameters of over 200 surface and airborne radars.

The recent book “Tracking and Kalman Filtering Made Easy”, takes the mystery and drudgery out of the g-h, g-h-k and Kalman filters.  This book covers the filters from simple physical and geometric approaches.  Extensive, simple and useful design equations, procedures and curves are presented.  Extensive homework problems and their solutions are given.  Covered in simple terms; is the voltage least-squares filtering problem, the orthognal transformations (Givens, Gram-Schmidt and Householder) for doing least-squares filtering, and finally the extended Kalman filter.

For the beginner, basics such as the radar equation, MTI (Moving Target Indicator) and pulse doppler processing, antenna-scanning techniques, pulse compression, CFAR, RAC and SAW devices are explained in simple terms.

For the experienced, the most recent radar technology and techniques are covered in simple terms, e.g., the detection of low flying, low cross-section targets, techniques for coping with multipath when tracking low flying targets (e.g. the use of an even difference over sum pattern), off-axis monopulse, complex monopulse and multiple carrier frequencies, the Dome antenna, CCDs, BBDs, SAW devices, SAW monolithic convolvers, microstrip antennas, ultra low antenna sidelobes (<-50 dB), stacked beam and phased array systems, (1-D, 2-D, Limited Field of View [LFOV]), Moving Target Detection (MTD), fiber optics.  These will be explained so that the inexperienced can follow as well.

For both the novice and experienced covered are tracking, prediction and smoothing in simple terms (the mystery taken out of g-h and Kalman filters); the latest developments in solid state discrete and monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs), from UHF to mm waves and in tubes (e.g., gyrotrons), state-of-the-art and future trends in signal digital processing architectures and hardware; strip and spotlight synthetic aperture radar (SAR): Displaced Phase Center Antenna (DPCA) technique; trends in signal and data processing; FPGAs; systolic processing; GaAs technology;  digital beam forming; Adaptive-Adaptive Array Processing for near optimum jammer suppression with orders of magnitude reduction in computation complexity and in transient time.

Lecture 1     October 25

FUNDAMENTALS OF Radar: Part 1

History of Radar

Major achievements since WWII: Phased Arrays. Principles explained with COBRA DANE used as example. Covered will be: Near and Far Field Definitions, Phased Steering, Time Delay Steering, Subarraying, Array Weighting, Monopulse, Duplexing, Array Thinning, Ionospheric Dispersion Compensation embedded element, Tour of COBRA DANE (6 stories) via color slides.

Radar equation derived; search and track forms

Frequency Tradeoffs:

            Search vs Track,

            Ambiguous Doppler and Range,

            Chinese Remainder Theorem for Ambiguity

            Removal, Detection in Clutter   

Lecture 2    November 1

FUNDAMENTALS OF Radar: Part 2

Frequency Tradeoffs (continued)

            Blind Velocity region, range eclipsing    

            Detection of Low Flying, Low Cross-Section Targets

            Antenna Lobing Pattern in Elevation

            Ground Multipath Problem and Techniques for coping with it, e.g., use of an even S£D, Off-Axis
            Monopulse, Complex Monopulse.

            Two Frequency Radar Systems;

            Marconi L- and S-band S631, Signal (Holland)

            Flycatcher X and Ka System

Lecture 3 November 8

FUNDAMENTALS of Radar: Part 3

Propagation: standard superrefraction,

            Subrefraction, ducts, evaporation ducts

Determination of radar coverage using EREPS 3.0 program and new AREPS 3.3 program.

            OTH Radar: Tube and OTH Relocatable Solid State System

            Environmental Factors

            Dependence of clutter model on grazing angle and size radar resolution cell discussed.

            Weibull clutter

Polarization Choice

Lecture 4 November 22

FUNDAMENTALS of Radar: Part  4

Antenna Scanning Systems:

            Fixed Beam System: Wake Measurement Radar (WMR)

            2-D Scanners; 3-D Scanners

            Stacked Beam: Marconi, Martello; SMARTELLO ARSA-4

Frequency Scanning in Elevation Only Systems: ITT Series 320

Phased Scanning in Elevation Only Systems:  TPS-59, GE-592, Alenia, Selenia RAT-31DL,

Phased-Frequency Scanners: Raytheon Fire Finder and Plessy New AR320; Limited and Hemispherical Scanning (Dome Antenna) related and explained in simple terms.

Lecture 5  December 6

FUNDAMENTALS of Radar: Part 5

Ultra Low Antenna Sidelobes (40 dB down or more)

Slotted waveguide (AWAC, TPS-70), Dipole, Stripeline Arrays

 Reflectors.

Commercial Radars: Collision Avoidance, subsurface

Moving Target Indicators (MTI)

Two-Pulse Cancellor, Pulse Doppler Processing, Moving Target Detector (MTD), Optimum Clutter Cancellor, Maximum Entropy Method (MEM) STAP, AMTI, DPCA

Lecture  6  December 20

TRENDS IN SIGNAL PROCESSING: Part 1

What is Pulse Compression?

Matched Filters

Chirp Waveform Defined

Analog Processing

            Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) Devices

            Reflective Array Compressor (RAC), as Chirp

            Fourier Transformer, Delay Lines

            Bandpass Filters, Oscillators, Resonators (as Filters and Oscillators)

            IMCON Devices explained and state of the art given

            The Analog programmable Monolithic SAW Convolver BBD/CCD/CTD. What are they?

Lecture  7   January 10

TRENDS IN SIGNAL PROCESSING: Part 2

Digital Processing

            Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)

            Butterfly, Pipeline and In-Place Computation explained in simple terms

            Winograd Fourier Transform Algorithm (WFTA)

            Maximum Entropy Method (MEM) Spectral

            Estimator

            Digital hardware: state of the art  A/Ds, FPGAs  and Memory

Signal Processor Architectures

            Pipeline FFT, Distributed, Hybrid, Systolic Sidelobe Canceler, Adaptive-Adaptive Processing

Digital Beam Forming; its advantages (e.g., multiple beams, fewer A/D bits)

Distributed Beam Steering

Lecture  8   January 24

COMPONENT TRENDS

Solid State Transmitters

All Solid State PAVEPAWS described in detail; its advantages over tube radar highlighted

BMEWS radar

Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuitry (MMIC); integrated circuitry technology applied to microwave circuitry just as was done in the computer field for logic and memory circuitry).

Potential of inexpensive array modules and other microwave circuitry. THAAD (GBR), SPY-3

IRIDIUM, MEADS, COBRA, AMSAR

Tube Basics: Magnatron, TWT, Klystron, Gyrotrons.

Microstrip Antennas: Inexpensive Monolithic, Wideband.

SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR

Strip, Spotlight, Digital processing,

Practical use of super resolution for factor of  2 improvement in resolution,

Lecture  9  January 31

TRACKING, PREDICTION AND SMOOTHING

Covered using simple Algebra and Physical understanding

The mystery taken out of Kalman Filters

Tracking Problem

What is a-b (g-h) Filter: Simple explanation, derivations and physical feel then given

Prediction Errors due to:

            Target Dynamics

            Measurement Noise

Transient Response; Critically Damped Filter,

Fading Memory; Benedict-Bordner Filter

Example Designs; Stability; Track Initiation

Kalman Filter: Explained in simple physical terms

Random Target Dynamics Model

Minimum Least Squares Estimation

Why Kalman Filter?

Physical Feel for relationship to Weiner Filter

Matrix Notation

Simple Derivation

Tracking Initiation

α-b-g (g-h-k) Filter

Lecture 10   February 7           

HOW TO LOOK LIKE A GENIUS IN DETECTION WITHOUT REALLY TRYING

Single Scan Detection

A simple procedure for determining detection through the use of Meyer Plots is presented.  Also given will be ways to obtain very accurate results for simulations using MATLAB and MATHCAD.

No detailed mathematics presented, the emphasis being  to obtain results quickly and physical understanding the target models.  Covered are the different target models – non-fluctuating, Marcum, Swerling, Weinstock, Chi-Square, Rayleigh, Lognormal, Rice and YGIAGAM. Also covered are the different losses – beam shape, CFAR, mismatch.

Cumulative probability of Detection

Range equation and Universal Curves.

Course Fee Schedule:

On-line Registration and Payment

On-line registration is closed for this course, but registration is still available on-site or by contacting the office at 781-245-5405

Copyright © 2004 IEEE Boston Section. All rights reserved.
Maintained by R M Stelting

Updated Thursday June 11, 2009