A radar pulse must be amplified to ensure that the transmitted signal is strong enough to travel through the atmosphere and effectively illuminate potential targets. Amplification increases the power of the radar pulse to overcome losses experienced during transmission, such as atmospheric attenuation and scattering. This ensures that the radar pulse maintains sufficient energy levels to interact with objects in the environment and return meaningful echoes to the radar receiver for detection and measurement.
The pulse width in radar is crucial because it directly affects the range resolution of the radar system. Range resolution refers to the radar’s ability to distinguish closely spaced objects along the line of sight. A shorter pulse width results in better range resolution, allowing the radar to discern smaller targets or separate closely spaced targets more effectively. Conversely, a longer pulse width can blur or merge targets together, reducing the radar’s ability to resolve fine details in the observed scene.
Pulse compression is used in radar systems to achieve high range resolution while maintaining adequate transmitted pulse energy. By compressing the radar pulse in time through techniques such as paired filtering or turf modulation, pulse compression effectively reduces pulse duration without sacrificing energy. This concentrated pulse of energy improves the radar’s ability to discern targets with high accuracy, particularly in environments with clutter or multiple reflections, improving target detection capabilities and overall radar performance.
The radar operates in a pulsed mode primarily to separate outgoing transmitted signals from incoming echoes. By emitting short pulses of radio frequency energy and then switching to a receive mode during the intervals between pulses, radar systems can accurately measure the delay and characteristics of the returned signals. This pulsed operation allows the radar to distinguish echoes from different targets, mitigate the effects of clutter and interference, and optimize the use of transmitted power for effective detection and tracking of objects in various scenarios operational.