In the following, we clarify What is range ambiguity in PRF?, What is range ambiguity?, What is the ambiguity resolution?
What is range ambiguity in PRF?
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What is range ambiguity?
Range ambiguity in the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) occurs when the radar pulse resonates from successive transmitted pulses that overlap in time. This overlap makes it difficult to determine the exact distance to a target because the radar receiver cannot distinguish between echoes of different transmitted pulses. This ambiguity arises when the time it takes for the radar pulse to travel to the target and back (the range) is longer than the pulse repetition interval (PRI), which is the opposite of the PRF.
What is the ambiguity resolution?
Range ambiguity, in a general radar context, refers to the inability to uniquely determine the distance to a target due to overlapping echoes or reflections received by the radar. This occurs when the round-trip travel time of the radar pulse is such that multiple pulses are in the air simultaneously. As a result, the radar receiver cannot correctly associate each received echo with its corresponding transmitted pulse, leading to uncertainty in the range measurement.
Ambiguity resolution in radar signal processing refers to the process of mitigating or resolving range ambiguities described above. Techniques such as stepped PRFs (where the PRF varies from pulse to pulse) or coherent processing methods (such as Doppler processing) can be used to resolve range ambiguities. These methods help the radar system distinguish between echoes of different transmitted pulses and accurately determine the range to the target.
The term “unambiguous range” in radar refers to the maximum distance up to which range measurements can be made without the ambiguity of the encounter range. It is determined by the PRI of the radar pulses. Beyond this unambiguous range, the radar cannot accurately determine the distance to a target due to overlapping echoes from successive pulses. Therefore, the unambiguous range defines the maximum distance in which the radar can reliably measure the unambiguous range.
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