The automated pulse measurements operate on a record of data captured in a bandwidth selectable up to a 800 MHz,which is tunable anywhere up to to the 26.5 GHz RF coverage for the RSA7100 Any or all of the measurements with numeric results can be included in the pulse table display as seen in Figure 9. This gives continuous real-time visibility of varying RF signals without interruption.
It is a chirped pulse with chirp width of about 500 MHz, which requires the greater bandwidth of the oscilloscope. Now that the pulses are found, a table can show all of the parameters to be reported, as seen in Figure 15. They are disabled whenever the display has a non-linear scale, as the lines would also go non-linear. Pulse Trace is selected as the display in Figure 16 and Width is entered as the parameter to display.
To increase flexibility, boxed system manufacturers are incorporating modular devices in these systems for easier upgrades. In comparison to other closed-loop options for radar test, test equipment vendors can leverage their equipment in multiple industries and see economies of scale driving down test instrumentation solution cost while creating more capable test instrumentation. They also produce higher latency because they are not optimized for a specific test, are typically not phase coherent, and are often prescripted or open-loop systems. It typically is not true test equipment, so you have to do a lot of firmware and software work to get the system up and running effectively at the beginning of all new test programs. COTS FPGA-enabled instrumentation or RFSoCs feature low capital cost, low-latency capabilities, and the flexibility to be tailored for complex systems with unique requirements.
Once the problem is discovered to exist, and the frequencies are known where it is doing its work, the FMT can be set up to capture a record only when the transient slips into the right part of the blue display components. This is why the spectrum trace in the upper window has only the intended carrier and not a clue that there is a problem. These points can then be manually modified around specific frequency events of interest.
Direct RF Processing: Secure Electronic Warfare Systems Should Never Require Compromise – or be Compromised
The baseband pulses were used to modulate the power output of the radar transmitter. The measurements available using this method were timing and voltage amplitude. If triggering based on events related to different frequencies is needed, then the RSA Series spectrum analyzer is required.
Waveguide to Coax Adapters
Tektronix Arbitrary Waveform Generators, Real-time Spectrum Analyzers and High-Bandwidth Oscilloscopes offer the capabilities you need to manage the requirements of modern radar applications. Tektronix innovative radar testing equipment reduces testing uncertainty during the design process and delivers confidence in the integrity of increasingly complex designs. SPx Monitor is a specialised software application designed to save time aand resources when identifying system issues. The output video is constructed in real-time based on the camera’s position and orientation, depicting the view from the camera. It generates realistic video streams by rendering a customisable 3D-modelled scene, which can include moving targets and terrain. This is invaluable for post-mission analysis, debugging system anomalies, and assessing performance under specific conditions, as well as for regression testing.
Monitoring Example: Weather Radar using RSA Series
Real Time Spectrum Analysis drives to the next level of insight.The advantage of real-time measurement capability is the ability to capture transient events in the frequency domain; real time multi-domain triggering. A swept spectrum analyzer offers Ringospin wide frequency and dynamic ranges, but its ability to characterize time domain data is limited. When choosing the correct tool, most engineers us an oscilloscopes when performing time domain measurements, but spectrum analyzers are best suited for frequency domain measurements. While swept spectrum analyzers offer wide frequency and dynamic ranges, their ability to characterize time domain data is limited. Built as compact, high-performance RF modules and subsystems, Mi-Wave radar target simulators support a range of microwave and millimeter-wave radar bands commonly used in commercial, automotive, and defense applications. Modern radar systems, particularly those operating in millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequencies, demand extremely precise measurements.
- The SignalVu vector signal analysis software uses the digitized voltage waveform stored in the oscilloscope and uses the same software as the RSA Series to make all of the RF measurements.
- Radar and EW trends demand radar modeling and target simulation across all stages of the design process unlike other types of testing which only occur at certain stages in the design process.
- Advanced trigger types, such as pulse width trigger, can be used to capture and examine specific RF pulses in a series of pulses that vary in time or in amplitude.
- All frequency domain measurements are made on the timesampled acquisitions of stored data.
- Just like the RSA, the pulse measurements are performed on data in the acquisition memory on a continuous capture/ analyze cycle, or on waveforms stored on the instrument hard disk drive.
Emerging Trends in Radar Technology and Testing
He SignalVu vector signal analysis software that includes Option SVP – Advanced Signal Analysis has the same automated pulse measurement functionality of the RSA Series. The RSA Series pulse measurement suite provides a comprehensive set of pulse parameter measurements for up to 800 MHz bandwidth, including readouts of timing,distortions, amplitude, frequency, phase and pulse time. As mentioned earlier, figure 10 is a DPX spectrum display of a chirp that has a second lower power chirp overlapped in frequency as well as several single-frequency pulsed carriers and two Continuous Wave (CW) interferers. Interference to radar pulses and situations of multiple signals on the same frequency can all be discovered. This allows us to acquire large amounts of time domain data,then either display it as time domain data translate it to the frequency domain utilizing an Fast Fourier Transform. Oscilloscopes offer excellent time domain analysis and trigger capability, but lack in dynamic range, especially at high frequencies.
- Very fast transition times or very short duration (sub-nanosecond or shorter) can be accurately seen on a 70 GHz bandwidth oscilloscope such as the DPO70000SX family.
- Achieving a high level of realism in simulated radar scenarios remains a significant challenge for these devices, particularly in replicating the complex interactions between radar waves and diverse targets in dynamic environments.
- Any of the parameters with a numeric result can also have these results plotted versus pulse number, giving visibility of time-trends of errors.
- All these systems are producing more data at faster rates with a series of sensors working together to use software to control the systems.
- The origin of oscilloscope performance parameters traces back to characterizations of early radar pulses.
To accelerate the rate of technology advancements in radar and EW and ensure design robustness, manufacturers are adapting traditional test and measurement equipment to meet new requirements. Overall, test instrumentation is evolving to meet the needs of new radar and EW technology by leveraging and adapting to industry convergence, software-defined instrumentation, multipurpose test instrumentation, and modular test instruments. By using modular hardware and software platforms, you can adapt your test systems for a wide variety of needs, from faster design to reduced schedule risk to compliance with future and more complex system requirements. As the technologies and testing for these industries converge in our newly connected world, test instrumentation must expand frequency coverage and work at larger operating bandwidths with higher channel counts.
Example Measurements with Radar Test Equipment
To test the robustness and accuracy of these radar systems, you need to balance more channels with high-density and detailed EW simulation. The requirement to know more information earlier about smaller radar targets or an environment has led to greater demand for systems that are multistatic and drones, which must work together to operate effectively in a more connected world. To help simulators update more quickly and test these faster systems, you need test systems that can process data quickly and update the current state of models to accurately represent the simulation environment. As a result, radar and EW systems have higher range requirements, so their antenna systems at the component level must feature more elements per antenna for the radar to conduct more precise beam steering with phase and amplitude control. You need to conduct signal integrity testing to ensure and maintain high data throughput and the ability to use customizable system I/O. Larger industry trends like software-driven and multipurpose platforms, low latency, a connected world, big data, and machine learning and artificial intelligence are accelerating new radar and EW system innovation.
These simulators generate measurable signals for testing evaluation circuits or logic. Radar Target Simulators enable engineers to evaluate radar receivers, signal processors, and complete radar systems in a controlled environment. These simulators provide a controlled and repeatable method for emulating moving radar targets without the need for live field testing.
