ECE 6272
Fundamentals of Radar Signal Processing
Lecture #15:
Ambiguity Resolution,
Blind Zones, & Pulse Pair
Processing
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture# 15, Slide 1
ECE6272
Fundamentals of
Radar Signal Processing
Module #50
Staggered PRF in Pulse Doppler
and Blind Zones
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 2
Reminder: Blind Speeds
MTI filters are digital filters,
so frequency response is
periodic
2-Pulse Canceller Frequency Response
2
1.5
H (F )
0.5
Nulls at multiples of PRF Hz
0
-1.5
Because sampling rate in slow time is
PRF
Blind to targets at
corresponding radial velocity:
Doppler coverage = PRF Hz
Could fix by raising PRF, but
We fixed this in MTI by using
pulse-to-pulse staggered PRFs
We cant do this in pulse
Doppler
Why Not?
Fall 2010
vblind
=
-1
0.5
1
-0.5
0
Doppler Frequency (multiples ofPRF)
1.5
PRF
c PRF
=
2
2 F0
T1 = 1/PRF1
T2 = 1/PRF2
T1 = 1/PRF1
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 3
Staggered PRFs for Pulse Doppler
0
M-1
slow time (pulse #)
L-1
fast time (range bin #)
Independent FFT on each row
fast time (range bin #)
The first step in pulse Doppler
is to convert to range-Doppler
with a slow-time DFT
DFT requires data sampled
at a constant sampling
interval (PRI in slow time)
L-1
0
K-1
frequency (Doppler) bin
So MTI-style staggered PRF is out
Instead, we stagger the PRF on a CPI-to-CPI basis
Constant within a CPI DFT still meaningful
Different from one CPI to the next
Alters the spacing of clutter replicas in the spectrum
Data on different CPIs is on different Doppler frequency scales
Detection from multiple CPIs combined
Common in airborne pulse-Doppler systems
Expensive in time, computation, and energy
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 4
Blind Speeds in CPI-to-CPI Stagger
Blind @
PRF #1
replication of
clutter
Two or more CPIs
transmitted and aliases of
moving target
processed
noise
In this example,
PRF2 < PRF1
Typically repeat
3PRF1
PRF1
for 3 to 8 PRFs
2
Values of F that are
obscured by clutter
are called Doppler
blind zones
Intervals of PRF Hz
Therefore different
for different PRFs
Fall 2010
moving
target
clutter
PRF1
2
PRF1
2
+ PRF1 + 3PRF1
2
Not blind
@ PRF #2
F
3PRF2
2
PRF2 PRF2
2
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
PRF2
2
+ PRF2 + 3PRF2
2
Lecture#15, Slide 5
Range Blind Zones: Eclipsing
Monostatic radar cannot receive while a
pulse is being transmitted, an effect called
eclipsing
Periodic blind zones in range at all Doppler
shifts result
Transmitted
pulse
0
receiver on
Fall 2010
T
cT/2
2T
cT
time,
range
receiver on
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 6
Near-In Clutter Eclipsing
Strong near-in clutter may lengthen the
effective blind zone in range
e.g., altitude line
Transmitted
pulse
T
cT/2
receiver on
Fall 2010
2T
cT
time,
range
receiver on
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 7
Blind Zone Map
Transmitted
pulse
1
T
T
cT/2
T=
1
PRF
2T
cT
time,
range
Fall 2010
Changing PRF
expands the map in
one dimension,
contracts it in the
other
PRF =
receiver on
Blind zone map
receiver on
Eclipsing, near-end
clutter, and blind
speeds combine to
produce a 2-D
pattern of ranges and
velocities where
targets are
undetectable
F
PRF
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
PRF
2
PRF
2
+ PRF
Lecture#15, Slide 8
Parameters for Example
Blind Zone Map
Assume pulse compression waveform with = 1
MHz, = 11
range resolution = range bin spacing = c/2 = 150 m
uncompressed pulse is 11 s long = 11 range bins
Assume PRF = 10.4 kHz
so PRI = 96 s = 96 range bins
Assume 104 Doppler filters
either explicit bandpass filters, or 104-point DFT
so Doppler bins are 100 Hz wide
Assume two-sided clutter spectrum width is 3.4 kHz
34 Doppler bins
Relatively fat clutter spectrum (~1/3 of spectrum width)
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 9
Blind Zone Map for 1 PRF
No near-in
clutter
eclipsing
considered
96
cells
Positive
Doppler
frequencies
only shown
17
cells
Slide courtesy of N. Levanon
Fall 2010
11
cells
34
cells
PRF=10.4 kHz
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 10
M of N Blind Zone Map
Goal is to design a set of staggered PRFs
that collectively provide a large space in
range and Doppler where detection is not
prevented by eclipsing or clutter
Usually based on multiple PRFs with an M
out of N detection logic
if the target is eclipsed or covered by clutter in 1 or
2 PRFs, it will hopefully be in the clear on other
PRFs
8 PRFs with detection on at least 3 is common in
multimode airborne radar
Mainly in medium PRF modes, where ambiguities
in both range and Doppler are expected
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 11
Example: 1 of 2 Detection - 1
Fall 2010
10 s pulse length
100 Hz Doppler resolution
20 m/s clutter spread
Eclipsing due to pulse length only
Blind zone map for PRI=120 s
Blind zone map for PRI=100 s
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 12
Example: 1 of 2 Detection - 2
Combined blind zone map
Regions that are clear on at
least 1 of 2 PRIs
Note first pulse duration and DC clutter are always blind
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 13
BlindZone GUI
blindzone.zip available on T-Square in Extra Goodies section
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 14
Parameters for Blind Zone Example
Fc
=
10
GHz,
3 cm
10.4 KHz PRF 20 KHz
PRI / t p
{50,51,52,....,95,96}
1 s range cell =
150 m
tp =
=
=
Number
of range cells
1000,
max range 150 km
Doppler resolution =
100 Hz velocity cell =
1.5 m/s
Number=
of velocity cells
200,
=
max velocity 300 m/s
Clutter notch = 17 velocity cells
Pulse eclipsing = 1 range cell
Near clutter masking = 10 range cells
8 different PRIs are
used. A cell in the
blind-zone map is
considered clear if it is
not blind on 3 or more
PRIs
3 out of 8 detection
Design question:
Which set of 8 PRIs
yields the clearest
blind zone map?
Slide courtesy of N. Levanon
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 15
Typical 3 of 8 Blind Zone Map
PRI = { 50 53 55 58 61 64 68 72 } s
Slide courtesy of N. Levanon
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 16
Genetic Algorithm Blind Zone Map
PRI = {51 53 60 63 67 84 89 93 } s
Davis, P.G. and Hughes, E.J.
Medium PRF Set Selection Using
Evolutionary Algorithms, IEEE
Trans on AES, vol. 38(3), pp. 933939, July 2002.
Slide courtesy of N. Levanon
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 17
ECE6272
Fundamentals of
Radar Signal Processing
Module #51
Ambiguity Resolution
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 18
Ambiguous Range of Targets
Target range Rt > unambiguous range Rua
Once steady state reached, target appears at a shorter,
ambiguous apparent range Ra after every pulse
2 Rt c
2 Rua c
pulse #1
t
target from pulse #1
pulse #2
t
target from pulse #2
2 Ra c
t
pulse #4
target from pulse #3
t
pulse #5
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 19
Ambiguous Range of Targets
Target range Rt > unambiguous range Rua
Once steady state reached, target appears at a shorter,
ambiguous apparent range Ra after every pulse
2 Rt c
2 Rua c
pulse #1
Fall 2010
pulse #2
2 Ra c
pulse #3
target from pulse #1
target from pulse #2
target from pulse #3
pulse #4
pulse #5
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 20
Ambiguous Range Formula
If true range Rt > Rua, then apparent range is
Ra = ( ( Rt ) )
Rua
(())x notation means modulo x
Equivalently, given the measurement Ra and
known ambiguous range Rua,
R=
Ra + kRua for some k
t
Normalizing to the range bin spacing R,
Rua
Rt
, nt =
, etc.)
nt =
na + kN for some k (N =
R
R
Equivalently, na = ( ( nt ) )
N
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 21
Range with Multiple PRFs
Number of range bins in PRF #i is Ni (i=0,1,):
so Rua= N i R
i
If we use multiple PRFs (thus multiple values
of Rua):
assume range bins are the same size for each PRF
nt =
na0 + k0 N 0 =
na1 + k1N1 =
Equivalently,
( )N
nai = ( nt )
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 22
Aside: Chinese Remainder Theorem
Given pairwise relatively prime integers
N0, N1, ,Nr-1 and the system of equations (congruences)
, , na
( nt )) N , na (( nt ))=
(=
(( nt )) N
N
na0
r 1
r 1
There is a unique solution for nt (modulo N = N0N1Nr-1)
given by
nt
=
=
(( k n
( ( n
0 0 a0
0 a0
+ k11na1 + + kr 1 r 1nar 1
+ 1na1 + + r 1nar 1
r 1
(( ))
1
,
=
ki =
N Ni =
N
k
j i
i
=j 0, j i
Fall 2010
) ) N ,
) ) N
i ki i
Ni
( ( i ki ) )
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Ni
1
=
Lecture#15, Slide 23
Solution Using the Chinese
Remainder Theorem
For 3 PRFs, to make it more specific:
and because 3 PRFs is a common choice in
airborne radars for ambiguity resolution
nt=
( ( n
0 a0
+ 1na1 + 2na2
))N N N
0
=
i =
i N j
i ki
j =0
j i
1
( e.g.,=
1N 0 N 2 )
i are smallest integers such that
=
( ( 0 N1N 2 ) ) 1,=
( ( 1N0 N 2 ) ) 1,=
( ( 2 N0 N1 ) ) 1
N0
Fall 2010
N1
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
N2
Lecture#15, Slide 24
CRT Example
True range cell # = nt = 19
# range cells per PRF N0=11, N1=12, N2=13,
=
na0 8,=
na1 7,=
na2 6
0 = 6, 1 = 11, 2 = 7
1
e.g., 0 satisfies ( ( 0 12 13) )11 =
=
=
check: ( ( 6 12 13
) )11 ( ( 936
) )11 1
0 = 936, 1 = 1573, 2 = 924
e.g., 0 = 61213 = 936
nt=
Fall 2010
( ( n
0 a0
+ 1na1 + 2na2
))N N N =
1
19
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 25
CRT Problems
Measurement errors in data can cause
very large range errors
Same CRT example, but suppose we
erroneous!
na0 8,=
na1 7,=
na2 7
measure =
Then it turns out nt = 943!
instead of 19
A number of algorithms exist in the
literature to solve the problem in the
presence of errors
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 26
Example Graphical Equivalent of CRT - 1
True ranges Rt corresponds to range bin #s 6 and 11
Measure with a PRF corresponding to 7 range cells per
PRI
Then the data will appear like this:
Individual pulse data
PRI #1
PRI #2
PRI #3
PRI #4
PRI #5
Sum of all responses
(actual detection data)
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 27
Example Graphical Equivalent of CRT - 2
True ranges Rt corresponds to range bin #s 6 and 11
Assume three PRFs with, respectively, 7, 8, and 9 range
cells per PRF
Then, using process similar to previous page, the targets
will appear (in steady state), respectively, as follows:
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 28
Measurements
True cells= #6 (unambiguous), #11 (ambiguous) result in
these measurements when N0 = 7, N1 = 8, N2 = 9
Extend by concatenation and find coincidences:
#6
Fall 2010
#11
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 29
Other Algorithms
The graphical algorithm will also fail
given a measurement error
But it serves as the basis for more
sophisticated approaches based on
finding the tightest clusters of
measurements
There are also techniques based on
coding theory that seem clever
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 30
Why Dont We Just Figure It Out From
the Pulse-by-Pulse Detection Pattern?
Individual pulse data
In other words, pay
attention during the
build-up to steady
state:
PRI #1
PRI #2
PRI #3
PRI #4
PRI #5
Sum of all responses
(actual detection data)
We rarely make the basic detection test on single, individual pulses
Instead, we integrate multiple pulses to improve SIR and then do
detection test
pulse Doppler DFTs
Noncoherent integration, or
Coherent integration (this include Doppler processing), or
M-of-N detection processing
So we mix several PRIs together before we make the detection test
Measurements in example would really be detections on a full CPI at the stated PRIs,
not just one pulse at each PRI
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 31
Ghosts
In general, need N+1 PRFs to resolve N targets
Insufficient number of PRFs can lead to
ghosting
Same example using only 1st and 3rd PRF:
target #2
target #1
#6
#11
#20
ghost!
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 32
Resolving Velocity Ambiguity
Its the same problem
Doppler shift is measured modulo the PRF
DFT size and PRF establish the size of the
Doppler (velocity) bins
Some techniques published based on
Nyquist sampling/reconstruction theory
usually put constraints on the PRFs that
can be used
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 33
ECE6272
Fundamentals of
Radar Signal Processing
Module #52
Pulse Pair Processing
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 34
Pulse Pair Processing
Technique used widely in
meteorological radar for estimating
echo
power
mean velocity
spectral width
These measures used in turn in
algorithms for detecting severe
weather, accumulated rainfall, etc.
Often referred to as PPP
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 35
PPP Spectral Model
PPP assumes the Doppler spectrum of the
data for a given range consists of a single
moving target component, plus a noise
floor
no clutter
no multiple targets
Usually (always?) assume Gaussian shape
Sy(F)
area =
power
Sn(F)
spectrum
width
F
Sw(F)
white noise floor
F0
Fall 2010
mean velocity
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 36
Autocorrelation Function and
Power Spectrum
Given a finite sequence of complex data samples
from a given range, y[m], m (0,,M-1), the
(deterministic) autocorrelation function is defined
as
M k 1
sy [k ]
m =0
y [ m] y [ m + k ]
Its Fourier transform is
=
S y ( ) F=
{s y [ k ]} Y ( )
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 37
Estimating Power
In the time domain:
Px s=
=
y [ 0]
M 1
M 1
[ m] y [ m]
y [ m] y =
m 0=
m 0
=
this is really the energy in the finitelength signal
dividing energy by time duration
would convert it to power
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 38
Mean Frequency, Time Domain
Suppose the signal is an ideal complex
sinusoid, and consider sy[1]:
y [ m ] = Ae j 2 F0Tm
s y [1]
M 2
m =0
M 2
y [ m ] y [ m + 1]
j 2 F0T ( m +1)
Ae
Ae
=
+ j 2 F0Tm
M 2
j 2 F0T
m 0=
m 0
M 2
2 j 2 F0T
2
j 2 F0T
A e
=
(1)
( M 1) e
m =0
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 39
Mean Frequency, continued
s y [1]
=
M 2
j 2 F0T
e =
j 2 F0T
M
1
e
(
)
m =0
amount of phase
rotation per sample
By inspection, we can obtain
arg s y [1]
F0 =
2 T
The sum over m doesnt appear to contribute
anything
but in practice it provides some averaging of noise
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 40
PPP Mean Estimator
1
F0 =
arg s y [1]
2 T
This is the pulse pair processor for estimating
mean frequency
works for more general signals than the pure
sinusoid, provided there is a single dominant
frequency component with adequate SNR
assumes no aliasing
of gives you aliased frequency
Multiply by /2 to convert to velocity units
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 41
Gaussian Spectrum
Work with continuous-time case
Assume that Doppler mean is estimated and
removed from data to give new zero-Doppler
data sequence y'(t) (sampled version y'[m])
Assume spectral energy is Gaussian shaped:
S y ( F ) =
2 F
F 2 2 F2
Then so is the continuous-time autocorrelation
function:
2 2 2 F2 z 2
s y ( z ) = A e
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 42
Sampled Version
Sampled autocorrelation function:
=
s y [ k ] s=
y ( z ) z = kT
2 2 2 F2 k 2T 2
A e
Corresponding DTFT, still in units of Hz:
S y ( F ) =
Fall 2010
2 F T
F 2 2 F2
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 43
PPP Spectral Width Estimator
Assuming a Gaussian spectrum, we can
estimate its variance from the
autocorrelation lags:
s y [1]
2
F
Fall 2010
A
e
s y [ 0 ] e
=
2 2 2 F2 T 2
2 2 F2 T 2
s y [1]
= 2 2 ln
2 T
s y [ 0]
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 44
Simplified Width Estimator
Use a series expansion of ln{ } to get
rid of the logarithm calculation:
x 1 1 x 1 1 x 1
ln x = +
+
+
x
2 x 3 x
x 1
1
1
=
x
x
Apply to width
0
s
[
]
1
y
2
2 2 1
F =
estimator:
2
2 T
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
s y [1]
Lecture#15, Slide 45
Frequency-Domain PPP
There are equivalent estimators for
power, mean frequency, and spectrum
width that operate on the power
spectrum instead of the autocorrelation
function
See text for details
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 46
NEXRAD Processing Algorithms
The WSR-88D
(NEXRAD) radar of the
National Weather Service
uses pulse pair processing
for power and spectral
moments:
power: average between 24
and 512 samples, 1 dB
accuracy
velocity: 40 to 200 samples,
v ~= 4 m/s
spectral width: 40 to 200
samples, v ~= 4 m/s
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 47
Nice NEXRAD Display
Reflectivity (power)
Fall 2010
Velocity
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 48
Tornado Signatures
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 49
Hurricane Katrina reflectivity 8/29/05 08:49:26 CDT
NEXRAD data, KLIX radar (New Orleans)
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 50
Hurricane Katrina velocity 8/29/05 08:49:26 CDT
NEXRAD data, KLIX radar (New Orleans)
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 51
Hurricane Katrina spectral width 8/29/05 08:49:26 CDT
NEXRAD data, KLIX radar (New Orleans)
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 52
Doppler Stuff I
Havent Covered
Read the book for
Clutter mapping and the moving target
detector for air surveillance, air traffic
control
MTI and pulse Doppler transients
Non-DFT Doppler spectrum estimators
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 53
Assignments
Reading:
6.1 6.2
Homework
HW #5
DL: due Tuesday 10/19
HW #6
On-campus: due Thursday 10/21
DL: due Thursday 10/28
Computer Project #3: Pulse Doppler processing
On-campus students: due Tuesday 10/26
DL students: due Tuesday 11/2
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture#15, Slide 54
End of Lecture 13
Next:
Detection
Fall 2010
Copyright Mark A. Richards, All Rights Reserved.
Lecture# 15, Slide 55
