5

A Nonmathematical
Approach to Radar

NIMROD cockpit

odern radar systems are coherent, meaning they

measure both amplitude and phase of echo signals. As will shortly be seen, the phase is measured
relative to a reference, usually the transmitted signal. Measuring the amplitude and phase provides a powerful
basis on which almost all advanced (and some not quite as
advanced) techniques are built. A powerful tool often used by
the radar engineer to represent the amplitude and phase of a
received echo is a graphic device called the phasor. Though no
more than an arrow, the phasor is key to nonmathematically
understanding many seemingly esoteric concepts encountered
in radar work such as the spectrum of a pulsed signal, the
time-bandwidth product, digital filtering, the formation of real
and synthetic antenna beams, and sidelobe reduction.
Unless you are already skilled in the use of phasors, dont yield
to the temptation to skip ahead to chapters about radar. Having
mastered the phasor, you will be able to unlock the secrets
of many intrinsically simple physical concepts that otherwise
you may find yourself struggling to understand. This is because
phasors represent the relationships between signals and can be
used to combine signals and describe the resultant. As well as
being easy to visualize, they have a rigorous mathematical basis
so results can be trusted both quantitatively and qualitatively.

This chapter begins by briefly describing the phasor. To demonstrate its application, phasors are then used to explain several
basic concepts that are essential to understanding material presented in later chapters. In addition, the decibel (dB) is introduced. It is necessary to become familiar with the dB because
it is such a universal measure of many quantities used in radar.

Phase 
X

5.1 How a Phasor Represents a Signal

A phasor is nothing more than a rotating arrow (vector), yet
it can represent a sinusoidal signal completely (Fig. 5-1). The

Figure 5-1. A phasor rotates counterclockwise, making one

complete revolution for every cycle of the signal it represents.

63

64

PART II: Essential Groundwork

y

A
A sin kt

A sin kt

A
Time

kt

kt

Figure 5-2. For a sine wave, projection of the phasor onto the y axis gives the signals instantaneous amplitude.

A
A
A

y
+

arrow is scaled in length to the signals peak amplitude. It

rotates like the hand of a clock. Phase progression is represented as rotation and is positive in the counterclockwise
direction, making one complete revolution for every cycle of
the signal. The number of revolutions per second thus equals
the signals frequency.

Time

Figure 5-3. As a phasor rotates, projection onto the y axis

lengthens to a maximum positive value, returns to zero, lengthens
to maximum negative value, and then returns to zero again.

The length of the projection of the arrow onto a vertical line

through the pivot point equals the amplitude times the sine of
the angle between the arrow and the horizontal axis (Fig. 5-2).
Consequently, if the signal is a sine wave, this projection corresponds to the signals instantaneous amplitude.
As the arrow rotates (Fig. 5-3), the projection lengthens until it
equals the arrows full length, shrinks to zero, then lengthens
in the opposite (negative) direction, and so on, exactly as the
instantaneous amplitude of the signal varies with time. If the
signal is a cosine wave, the projection on the horizontal axis
through the pivot corresponds to the instantaneous amplitude.
The 90-degree angle between the horizontal and vertical axes
shows that the cosine wave is a sine wave with a 90-degree
phase shift.

Strobe
Light

Phase 
x

Figure 5-4. A phasor can be thought of as illuminated by a

strobe light that flashes on at the same time as a reference phasor
would be crossing the x axis. The strobe provides the phase
reference.

In the interest of simplicity, the arrow is drawn in a fixed position. It can be thought of as illuminated by a strobe light that
flashes on at exactly the same point in every cycle. The strobe
point is the instant the arrow would have crossed the x axis
had the signal the arrow represents been in phase with a reference signal of the same frequency (Fig. 5-4). In other words,
the strobe light is the reference signal or, in radar parlance, the
local oscillator (LO) signal.
The angle the arrow makes with the x axis, therefore, corresponds to the signals phaseand hence the name, phasor. If
the signal is in phase with the reference, the phasor will line

CHAPTER 5: A Nonmathematical Approach to Radar

up with the x axis (Fig. 5-5). If the signal is 90 out of phase

(i.e., in quadrature) with the reference, i.e., is in quadrature
with it, the phasor will line up with the y axis. For a signal that
which leads the reference by 90, the phasor will point up; for
a signal that lags behind the reference by 90, the phasor will
point down.
Generally, the rate of rotation of a phasor is represented by
the Greek omega, . While the value of can be expressed
in many different units (e.g., in revolutions per second or
degrees per second), it is most commonly expressed in
radians per second. A radian is an angle that, if drawn from
the center of a circle, is subtended by an arc the length of
the radius. Since the circumference of a circle is 2 times the
radius, the rate of rotation of a phasor in radians per second
is 2 times the number of revolutions per second, or the frequency (Fig. 5-6). Thus,

65

 (Leading)

 (Lagging)
In phase
with reference

In quadrature
with reference

Figure 5-5. If the signal a phasor represents is in phase with the

reference (strobe light), the phasor will line up with the x axis. If
signal is in quadrature, the phasor will line up with the y axis.

= 2 f
 = 2f

where f is the frequency of the signal, in Hz.

The real power of phasors lies in their ability to represent
the relationships between two or more signals clearly and
concisely. Phasors may be manipulated to portray the addition of signals of the same frequency but different phases, the
addition of signals of different frequencies, and the resolution
of signals into in-phase and quadrature components (a key
part of modern radar systems). Several common but important aspects of radar operationincluding target scintillation,
frequency translation, image frequencies, and the creation
of sidebandscan illustrate the kind of insights that may be
gained from phasors.

5.2 Combining Signals of Different Phase

To see how radio waves of the same frequency but different
phases combine, consider drawing two phasors from the same
pivot point. Sliding one laterally, one is added to the tip of
the other. A third phasor from the pivot point to the tip of the
second arrow can then be drawn. This phasor, which rotates
counterclockwise in unison with the others, represents their
sum (Fig. 5-7).
The sum can also be obtained without moving the second
phasor by constructing a parallelogram with two adjacent sides
made up of the phasors to be added. The sum is a phasor
drawn from the pivot point to the opposite corner of the parallelogram (Fig. 5-8). The value of such a seemingly simple representation of the sum of two signals can be used to explain
target scintillation.
Scintillation. Consider a situation where the reflections of
a radars transmitted waves are received primarily from two

R
t

Figure 5-6. Rate of rotation, , is generally expressed in radians/

second. Since there are 2 radians in a circle, = 2f.

A+B

B
A

Figure 5-7. To add phasors A and B, simply slide to the tip

of A. The sum is a phasor drawn from the origin to the tip of B.

A+B
B
A

Figure 5-8. Phasors can also be added by constructing a

parallelogram and drawing an arrow from the pivot to the opposite
corner.

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PART II: Essential Groundwork

d1

parts of a target (Fig. 5-9). The fields of the reflected waves

will merge. To see what the resulting wave will be like under
various conditions, the waves are represented by phasors.

d2

Figure 5-9. In this situation, a radar receives return primarily from

two points on a target. Distances to the points are d1 and d2.

Sum
2
1
1

Sum

2
d1 d2 ~

2

d1 ~
d2

Figure 5-10. If distances d1 and d2 to the two points on the target

are roughly equal, the combined return will be large, but if the
distances differ by roughly half a wavelength, the combined return
will be small as they will sum in near anti-phase.

To begin with, assume that the targets orientation is such that

the distances from the radar to the two parts of the target are
almost the same (or differ by roughly a whole multiple of a
wavelength). Therefore, the two waves are nearly in phase. As
illustrated by the left-hand diagram in Figure 5-10, the amplitude of the resulting wave very nearly equals the sum of the
amplitudes of the individual waves.
Next, assume that the orientation of the target changes ever
so slightly, as it might in normal flight, but enough so that the
reflected waves are roughly 180 out of phase. The waves now
largely cancel (right-hand diagram in Fig. 5-10).
Clearly, if the phase difference is somewhere between these
extremes, the waves neither add nor cancel completely, and
their sum has some intermediate value. Thus, the sum may
vary wildly from one moment to the next. Recognizing, of
course, that appreciable returns may be reflected from many
different parts of a target, this wildly varying sum explains
why a targets echoes scintillate. This also explains why the
maximum detection range of a target is predicted in statistical terms.
What happens to the rest of the reflected energy when the
waves dont add up completely? It doesnt disappear. The
waves just add up more constructively in directions different
to that of the radar receiver.

5.3 Combining Signals of Different Frequency

The application of phasors is not limited to signals of the
same frequency. They can also be used to illustrate what happens when two or more signals of different frequency are
added together or when the amplitude or phase of a signal of
one frequency is varied (i.e., modulated) at a lower frequency.

B
B
A

B
A

A
B

Time 1

Time 2

Time 3

Time 4

Figure 5-11. How signals of different frequencies combine. If the

strobe light is synchronized with the rotation of phasor A, it will
appear to remain stationary and phasor B will rotate relative to it.

To see how two signals of slightly different frequency combine,

consider drawing a series of phasor diagrams, each showing
the relationship between the signals at a progressively later
instant in time. If instants are chosen so they are synchronized
with the counterclockwise rotation of one of the phasors (i.e.,
adjusting the frequency of the imaginary strobe light so it is
the same as the frequency of one of the phasors), that phasor
will occupy the same position in every diagram (phasor A in
Fig. 5-11).
The second phasor will occupy progressively different positions. The difference from diagram to diagram corresponds to
the difference between the two frequencies.
If the difference is positive and the second frequency is higher,
the second phasor will rotate counterclockwise relative to the

CHAPTER 5: A Nonmathematical Approach to Radar

Mixer

B
Received
Signal, fs

Extract
Amplitude
Fluctuation*

fB < fA

Figure 5-12. If the frequency of B is greater than that of A, phasor B will

rotate counterclockwise relative to A. Otherwise, it will appear to rotate
clockwise.

Local
Oscillator

* By passing the sum through a

nonlinear circuit and its output
through a bandpass filter.

Figure 5-13. A received signal may be translated to a lower

frequency fIF by adding it to an LO signal and extracting the
amplitude modulation of the sum.

first (Fig. 5-12). If the difference is negative and the second frequency is now lower, the second phasor will rotate clockwise
relative to the first.
As the phasors slip into and out of phase, the amplitude of
their sum fluctuates (or is modulated) at a rate equal to the
difference between the two frequencies. The phase of the sum
also is modulated at this rate. It falls behind during one-half
of the differencefrequency cycle and slides ahead during the
other half. As the phase changes, the rate of rotation of the sum
phasor changes: the frequency of the signal is also modulated.

Received
Signal, fIF
(fIF = fs fLO)

fLO

fB > fA

67

Fluctuation in amplitude of sum

fs
Time
fLO
Frequency, fIF = fs fLO

By representing signals of different frequencies in this way, many

important aspects of a radars operation can easily be illustrated
graphically using image frequencies or creating sidebands.
Frequency Translation. Since the amplitude of the sum of two
phasors fluctuates at a rate equal to the difference between the
rates of rotation of the phasors, a signal can be readily shifted
down in frequency by any desired amount. Adding one signal
to another at a suitably different frequency does this, and then
the amplitude fluctuation is extracted. Figure 5-13 shows how
this is carried out in a radar receiver. The frequencies of the
local oscillator ( fLO) and intermediate frequency ( fIF) are two
very important design parameters for any radar.
In the early stage of virtually every radio or radar receiver, the
received signal is translated to a lower intermediate frequency,
or IF (Fig. 5-13). Translation is accomplished by mixing the
signal with the output of a local oscillator, whose frequency is
offset from the signals frequency by an amount equal to the
desired intermediate frequency ( fIF).
In one mixing technique, the signal, fs is simply added to the
LO output, as in Figure 5-14, and the fluctuation in the amplitude of the sum is extracted (detected). In another mixing technique, the amplitude of the received signal itself is modulated
by the LO output. Amplitude modulation produces image frequencies or sidebands. In this case, the frequency of one of
the sidebands is the difference between the frequencies of the
received signal and LO signal fIF.1

Fluctuation
in phase

Figure 5-14. If the LO signal is stronger than the received signal,

then the fluctuation in amplitude of the sum is virtually identical to
the received signal except for being shifted to fIF.

1. For larger frequency differences, these relationships do not

necessarily hold. If a phasors frequency is less than half the
reference frequency or is between 1 and 2, 2 and 3, 3 and
4, etc. times the reference frequency, the phasors apparent
rotation will be reversed.

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PART II: Essential Groundwork

fs1
Time

fLO

Frequency, fIF = fs1 fLO

fs2
fLO

Time

Frequency, fIF = fLO fs2

Figure 5-15. Amplitude modulation of sum by signals whose

frequencies are above and below fLO by the same amount.

Local
Oscillator

Desired
Signal

Interfering
Image
fLO

fs2

fs1
fIF

fIF
Frequency

Figure 5-16. If operating frequency is higher than fLO, then the

image frequency is fLO fIF, and vice versa.

Image Frequencies. The phasor diagram of Figure 5-15

illustrates a subtler aspect of frequency translation. The
same amplitude modulation will be produced by a signal
whose frequency is above the LO frequency as by one whose
frequency is an equal amount below it. The phasors representing the two difference signals rotate in opposite directions, but the effect on the amplitude of the sum is essentially
the same. It fluctuates at the difference frequency in either
case.
Consequently, if a spurious signal exists whose frequency
is the same amount below the LO frequency as the desired
signal is above it (or vice versa), both of the signals will be
translated to the same intermediate frequency. The spurious
signal will thus interfere with the desired signal even though
their original frequencies are separated by twice the intermediate frequency. The spurious signal is called an image, and
its frequency is called the image frequency (Fig. 5-16). Another
consequence of images is that noise occurring at the image
frequency is added to the noise with which the desired signal
must compete. There are solutions to both of these image
problems.
Creation of Sidebands. When phasors representing two signals of different frequencies are added, the phase modulation
of the sum can be eliminated completely by adding a third
phasor, which is the same length as the second and rotates
at the same rate relative to the first phasor but in the opposite direction (Fig. 5-17). If the counterrotating phasors pass
through the axis on the first phasor (vertical axis in Fig. 5-17)
simultaneously, the phase modulation will cancel and only the
amplitude of the sum will fluctuate. The sum will be a pure
amplitude modulation (AM) signal. This is the same sort of
signal received from an AM broadcast station.
As in the earlier examples of modulation, the frequency at
which the amplitude of the sum is modulated is the difference
between the frequency of either one of the counterrotating
phasors and the frequency of the fixed phasor. All three phasors rotate in unison with that phasor. But this rotation doesnt
show up in the diagram because the imaginary strobe light,
which illuminates the phasors, flashes on only once in every
cycle of that phasors rotation.
In some instances AM is actually produced by generating
the signals represented by the counterrotating phasors separately and adding them to the signal that is to be modulated.
Generally, though, it is the other way around. The signals
represented by the counterrotating phasors are the inevitable
result of amplitude modulation.
As illustrated by the phasor diagram of Figure 5-18 and readily demonstrated with actual signals, whenever the amplitude of a signal of a given frequency, fc, is modulated at a

CHAPTER 5: A Nonmathematical Approach to Radar

SL

SU

SU

SL
SU

69

SL

SU

SL

Figure 5-17. If two counterrotating phasors, SL and SU, are added to a third phasor, C, and their phases and frequencies are such that all pass through
the same axis together, their sum will be a pure amplitude modulated signal.

lower frequency, fm, two new signals are invariably produced.

One of these, represented by the phasor SU, has a frequency
fm Hz above fc and another fm Hz below it, as illustrated in
Figure 5-18.
Since the frequencies of these signals lie on either side of fc
(Fig.5-19), the signals are called sideband signals, or simply sidebands. Since the signal that is modulated carries the modulation
that is, the modulation is added to and subtracted from the amplitude of this signalit is called the carrier.
The light lines that join the crests of the modulated wave in
Figure 5-18 delineate what is called the modulation envelope.
The frequency of the sidebands is the modulation frequency.
The average separation of the sidebands from the baseline is
the amplitude of the carrier.
Sidebands are similarly produced when the phase or frequency of a carrier signal is modulated. Only then is the phase

Amplitude

Carrier (C)
SL

Su

fm

fC

fm

Frequency

Figure 5-19. Since the frequencies of SL and SU are fm Hz above

andbelow fc, they are called sidebands.

Envelope fm = (fU fc) = (fC fL)

C
SL
C

SU

Time

Figure 5-18. If amplitude of a carrier signal C is varied sinusoidally

at rate, fm, two new signals, SL and SU, are produced.

70

PART II: Essential Groundwork

relationship of the sidebands to the carrier different (Fig. 5-20).

If the percentage by which the phase or frequency varies is
large, many sideband pairs separated by multiples of the modulation frequency are created.

SU
C

Sum
SL

The production of sidebands by the transmitter pulsed modulation in some cases causes echoes from a target and a ground
patch to be passed by the same Doppler filter even though
they have different Doppler frequencies (see Chapter 23 for
further details).

5.4 Resolving Signals into In-Phase and

Quadrature Components

mt

Figure 5-20. Frequency and phase modulation differ from

amplitude modulation in that the phase of the sideband signals is
shifted by 90.

2. This convention was adopted because current passing through

a resistance is in phase with the voltage across the resistance,
whereas a current passing through a reactance either leads or
lags behind the voltage by 90.

Figure 5-21. Instantaneous values of the I and Q components of

a signal are obtained by projecting phasor representation of
signal onto both the x and y axes.
Echo 1 Echo 2 Echo 3 Echo 4 Echo 5 Echo 6 Echo 7
Target

Echo 3
Echo 4

Echo 2

2
1

Echo 1
Transmitted Signal
Echo 8

Echo 5
Echo 6

Echo 7

Figure 5-22. A targets Doppler frequency shows up as a pulse-topulse shift in phase.

By resolving a received echo into in-phase (I) and quadrature

(Q) components, both phase and amplitude can be recovered.
Phase is exploited in techniques such as digital Doppler filtering, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and electronic beamforming. I and Q components have the same frequency and
peak amplitude but differ in phase by 90. Since a cosine wave
reaches its positive peak 90 before a sine wave does, the most
convenient way of picturing the two components is as a sine
wave (A sin ) and a cosine wave (A cos ). By convention,
the cosine wave is called the I component.2 Since 90 is onequarter of a circle, the sine wave is called the Q component.
If the signal is represented by a phasor, the instantaneous
amplitude of the I component can be found by projecting the
phasor onto the horizontal (x) axis. The instantaneous amplitude of the Q component can be found by projecting the phasor onto the y axis (Fig. 5-21).
For a phasor whose apparent rotation is counterclockwise
such that the frequency of the signal (represented by the phasor) is higher than the frequency of the reference signal (strobe
light), the I component goes through its positive maximum
90 before the Q component. On the other hand, for a phasor whose apparent rotation is clockwise the frequency of the
signal represented by the phasor is lower than that of the reference and the Q component goes through its maximum in a
positive direction 90 before the I component.
Distinguishing the Direction of Doppler Shifts. One of the
more striking examples of a requirement for resolving signals
into I and Q components is found in radars that employ digital Doppler filtering. For digital filtering, the IF output of the
receiver must be converted to video frequencies, where the carrier frequency is removed leaving, just the shape or envelope of
the signal. Once this conversion has been made, to preserve the
sense (positive or negative) of a targets Doppler shift, two video
signals must be provided: one corresponding to the cosine of
the Doppler frequency (I); and the other to the sine (Q).
A targets Doppler frequency shows up as a progressive shift
in the radio frequency phase, , of successive echoes received
from the target, relative to the phase of the pulses transmitted
by the radar (see Chapter 15). The phasor diagram in Figure
5-22 illustrates this echo-to-echo phase shift.

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CHAPTER 5: A Nonmathematical Approach to Radar

By sensing the progressive phase shift, the radar can produce a video signal whose amplitude fluctuates at the targets
Doppler frequency. The signal is illustrated for positive and
negative Doppler shifts in Figure 5-23. As the figure clearly
shows, however, the fluctuations in the amplitude of this
signal are the same for both positive and negative Doppler
shifts.
If both the I and Q components of the phase shift are sensed
the difference between positive and negative Doppler frequencies may be readily determined. The fluctuation of the
Q component will lag behind the fluctuation of the I component if the Doppler shift is positive (Fig. 5-24). Whereas the
Q component will lead the fluctuation of the I component if
the Doppler shift is negative (Fig. 5-25).
Differentiating between Signals and Images: Image
Rejection. Just as it is possible to distinguish between positive and negative Doppler frequencies by resolving the
received signals into I and Q components when they are
converted from IF to video frequencies, image frequencies
can be differentiated from signals when the radar return is
translated from the radars operating frequency to IF. As the
phasor diagram of Figure 5-26 illustrates, if a signals frequency is higher than the LO frequency the Q component of
the mixers output will lag 90 behind the I component. Yet if
the signals frequency is lower than the LO frequency the Q
component will lead the I component by 90. This difference
can be exploited in the design of a receivers mixer stage to
reject images.

Positive Shift
2
3

1
2

4
I1

I2

5
6

8
7

I2

1
I1

I
7

Time

Negative Shift
7
6

Time

Figure 5-23. Video signal proportional to in-phase component

of target echoes fluctuates at the targets Doppler frequency, but
fluctuation is the same for both positive and negative Doppler shifts.

1
2

Positive Shift
3Q

I1
8

90
2

Time

3
1

I2

Q1

Time
5

LO

8
7

Figure 5-24. If the Doppler frequency shift is positive and both

I and Q video signals are provided, Q will lag I by 90.

H
fLO
fIF

fIF
Frequency
1
Negative Shift

L
Q

I2
Q1

4
3

Q2

I
7

Q
I

(+)

()
I1

4
90

1
2

(+)

7
8

Q Leads I by 90

Q Lags I by 90

Figure 5-26. The mixer outputs Q component will lead the in-phase
component if the frequency of the received signal is lower than fLO and
will lag behind it if the frequency of the received signal is higher than fLO.

()

1
2

Figure 5-25. If the Doppler frequency shift is negative, Q will lead

I by 90.

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PART II: Essential Groundwork

The Ubiquitous Decibel

he decibel (dB) is one of the most widely used tools in the design
and construction of radar systems. If you are already familiar with decibels, can readily translate to and from them, and
feel at ease when the experts start throwing them about, then
skip this panel. Otherwise, you will find the few minutes it
takes you to read it well worthwhile.

What Decibels Are. The decibel is a logarithmic unit originally devised to express power ratios but is also used today to
express a variety of other ratios. Specifically,
Power ratio in dB = 10 log10

P2
P1

where P2 and P1 are the two power levels being compared. For
example, if P2/P1 is 1000 then the power ratio in decibels is 30.
Origin. Named after Alexander Graham Bell, the unit originated
as a measure of attenuation in telephone cable, the ratio of the
power of the signal emerging from a cable to the power of the
signal fed in at the other end. It so happened that 1 decibel
almost exactly equaled the attenuation of 1 mile of standard
telephone cable, the unit used until the decibel came along.
Also, one decibel relative to the threshold of hearing turned
out to be very nearly the smallest ratio of audio-power levels
that could be discerned by the human ear, so the dB was soon
also adopted in acoustics. From telephone communications,
the dB was quite naturally passed on to radio communications
and thence to radar.

dB 10,000 is just 40, a much smaller number. By tradition, it is

usual to express radar parameters in dB.
20

dB

10

20

40
60
Power Ratio

80

100

Another advantage also stems from the decibels logarithmic nature: two numbers expressed as logarithms can be
multiplied by simply adding the logarithms. Expressing
ratios in decibels therefore makes compound power ratios
easier to work with. Multiplying 2500/1 by 63/1 in your
head, for example, isnt particularly easy. Yet when these
same ratios are expressed in decibels, there is nothing to it:
34 + 18 = 52 dB.
2,500 63
=157,500

1
1
34 dB+18 dB=52 dB

Similarly, with logarithms the reciprocal of a number (one

divided by the number) can be obtained by giving the logarithm a negative sign. By merely changing the sign of a ratio
expressed in decibels, the ratio can instantly be turned upside
down. If 157,500 is 52 dB, then 1/157,500 is 52 dB.
157,500
= 157,500
1
1
52 dB =
= 0.000006349
157,500
52 dB=

1 Mile

Advantages. Several features of the decibel make it particularly useful to the radar engineer. First, since the decibel is logarithmic, it greatly reduces the size of the numbers
required to express large ratios.
A power ratio of 2 to 1 is 3 dB, yet a ratio of 10,000,000 to 1
is only 70 dB. Since the power levels encountered in a radar
cover a tremendous range, the compression in the sheer size
of numbers that decibels provide is extremely valuable.
In radar, detection performance varies inversely proportional
with the fourth power of range. Thus, all other parameters
being the same, a change in range from, say, 1 km to 10 km
causes a change in detection performance by a factor of 10,000
and such large numbers are typical of radar calculations. In

When it comes to raising ratios to higher powers or taking

roots, these advantages are magnified. If a ratio such as 63
is expressed in decibels, you can square it by multiplying by
two: 632 = 18 dB 2 = 36 dB. You can take its fourth root by
dividing by four: 4 63 = 18 dB 4 = 4 dB.
Perhaps the most compelling advantage is that in the world of
radarwhere detection ranges vary as the one-fourth power
of most parameters, target signal powers may vary by factors
of trillions, and losses of 20 or 30 percent may be negligible
it is a lot easier to talk and think in terms of decibels than in
terms of numbers expressed in scientific notation or ground
out of a calculator. Furthermore, by tradition, many radar
parameters are commonly expressed in decibels.
To be able to throw decibels about as deftly as a seasoned
radar engineer, it is necessary to know only two things: (1) how

CHAPTER 5: A Nonmathematical Approach to Radar

73

The Ubiquitous Decibel continued

to convert from power ratios to decibels and vice versa; and (2)
how to apply decibels to a few basic characteristics of a radar.
If you know the system, both things are surprisingly easy. And
the system is really quite simple.

Power Ratio

dB

1
1.26
1.6
2
2.5
3.2
4
5
6.3
8

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Converting from Power Ratios to dB. You can convert any

power ratio (P2/P1) to decibels, with any desired degree of
accuracy, by dividing P2 by P1, finding the logarithm of the
result, and multiplying by 10.
10 log10

P2
= dB
P1

Nevertheless, for the accuracy you will normally want, its not
necessary to have a calculator. With the following method,
you can do it all in your headprovided you have memorized
a few simple numbers.

Returning to our example, if we look up the decibel equivalent of the basic power ratio, 2.5, (or better yet our memory)
we find that it is 4 dB. So, expressed in decibels, the complete
power ratio, 2.5 103, is 34 dB.

The first step is to express the ratio as a decimal number, in

terms of a power of 10 (scientific notation). A ratio of 10,000/4,
for example, is 2500. In scientific notation,

Basic
Power
Ratio
2,500 =

2500 = 2.5 10

2.5

Ones
e
es
Place

Power
of 10
103

34 dB

When converting to decibels, two portions of this expression

are significant: the number 2.5, which we will call the basic
power ratio; and the number 3, which is the power of 10.
Now, a ratio expressed in decibels similarly consists of two
basic parts: (1) the digit in the ones place (plus any decimal
fraction); and (2) the digit or digits to the left of the ones
place. The digit in the ones place expresses the basic power
ratio: 2.5, in the foregoing example. The digits, if any, to the
left of the ones place express the power of 10: in this case, 3.

Converting from dB to Power Ratios. To convert from decibels to a power ratio, you can also use a calculator. In this case,
you divide the number of decibels by 10 to get the power of 10
and then raise 10 to that power to get the power ratio.

Incidentally, as you may already have observed, if the power

ratio P2/P1 is rounded off to the nearest power of 10 (e.g.,
2.5 103 103), converting it to decibels is a trivial operation.
The basic power ratio then is zero (log101 = 0), so the decibel
equivalent of P2/P1 is simply 10 times the power of 10in this
case 30. Thus,

But you can make the conversion just as easily in your head
using the procedure outlined in the preceding paragraphs in
reverse.

Power Ratio
1
10
100
1000
10,000,000

Power of 10

dB

0
1
2
3
7

0
10
20
30
70

The basic power ratio, of course, may have any value from 1 to
(but not including) 10. So the digit in the ones place can be any
number from 0 through 9.999.
The following table gives the basic power ratios for 0 to 9 dB.
To simplify the table, all but the ratio for 1 dB have been
rounded off to two digits. If you want to become adroit in the
use of decibels, you should memorize these ratios.

Power ratio = 10dB/10

Suppose, for example, you want to convert 36 dB to the corresponding power ratio. The digit in the ones place, 6, is the
dB equivalent of a power ratio of 4. The digit to the left of
the ones place, 3, is the power of 10. The power ratio, then, is
4 103 = 4,000.
Ones
Place
36 dB

103

4,000

Basic Power
Ratio
Power of 10

As outlined here, the process may seem a bit laborious, but

once youve tried it a few times there is really nothing to it
as long as you remember the power ratios corresponding to
decibels 1 through 9.

74

PART II: Essential Groundwork

The Ubiquitous Decibel continued

Decibels
30

20

10

10

20

30

103

102

101

100

101

102

103

0.001

0.01

0.1

1
Power Ratios

10

100

1000

Using Decibels. A common use of decibels in radar work is

expressing power gains and power losses.
Gain is the term for an increase in power level. In the case of an
amplifier, such as one that might raise a low-power microwave
signal to the desired level for radiation by an antenna, gain is
the ratio of the power of the signal coming out of the amplifier
to the power of the signal going into it.3
Gain =

Output power
Input power

If the output power is 250 times the input power, the gain is
250. This ratio (250 to 1) is 24 dB.
Loss is the term for a decrease in power. According to convention, it is the ratio of input power to output powerjust the
opposite of gain.
Loss=

Input power
Output power

Power Gain in Terms of Voltage. Sometimes it is convenient

to express power in terms of voltages. The power dissipated in
a resistance equals the voltage, V, applied across the resistance

times the current, I, flowing through it: P = VI. But the current
is equal to the voltage divided by the resistance: I = V/R. So the
power is equal to (V 2/R).
Accordingly, the power output of a circuit equals (V0)2/R, and
the power input equals (Vi )2/ R. If the circuits input and output
impedances are the same, the gain is (V0 )2/(Vi )2. Expressed in
decibels, then, the gain is
2

V
V
G = 10 log10 0 = 20 log10 0
Vi
Vi

Decibels as Absolute Units. While decibels were originally

used only to express power ratios, they can also be used
to express absolute values of power. All that is necessary is
to establish some absolute unit of power as a reference. By
relating a given value of power to this unit, that value can be
expressed with decibels.
A frequently used unit is 1 watt (W). A decibel relative to 1 W is
called a dBW. A power of 1 W is 0 dBW; a power of 2 W is 3 dBW;
a power of 1 kilowatt (kW) (103 W) is 30 dBW.
Another common reference unit is 1 milliwatt (mW). A decibel
relative to 1 mW is called a dBm. The dBm is widely used for
expressing small signal powers, such as the powers of radar
echoes. They vary over a tremendous range. Echoes from a
small, distant target may be as weak as 130 dBm or less, while
echoes from a short-range target may be as strong as 0 dBm or
more. The dynamic range of echo powers is thus at least 130 dB.
Considering that 130 dBm is 1013, or 0.0000000000001 mW the
convenience of expressing absolute powers in dBm is striking.

3. Assuming properly matched source and load impedances.

5.5 Summary
This chapter introduced the phasor as a powerful tool for
visualizing phase and frequency relationships. Its length
corresponds to amplitude; its rate of rotation to frequency;
and its angle to phase. The phasor can be drawn in a fixed
position by thinking of it as being illuminated by a strobe
light that flashes on at the same point in every cycle. If the
signal is in phase with the reference, it is drawn horizontally.
If signals of the same frequency are combined, the amplitude
of the sum will depend on the relative phases of the signals.
Because of this dependence, even a very slight change in
target aspect can cause a targets echoes to scintillate.
If signals of different frequency are combined, their sum can
be visualized by assuming that the strobe is synchronized
with the rotation of one of the phasors, causing it to appear
fixed. The other then rotates at the difference frequency.
The amplitude and phase of the sum will be modulated at
a rate equal to the difference between the frequencies. The
phase modulation can be minimized by making the second

CHAPTER 5: A Nonmathematical Approach to Radar

signal much stronger than the first. By extracting the amplitude modulation, the first signal can be translated to the difference frequency. At the same time, however, a signal whose
frequency is offset from that of the first signal by the same
amount in the opposite direction (image) will also be translated to the difference frequency.
Whenever a carrier signals amplitude is modulated, two sideband signals are produced. Their frequencies are separated
from the carrier by the modulation frequency.
Resolution of a signal into in-phase and quadrature components can be visualized by projecting the phasor representing
the signal onto the x and y coordinates. Resolving the IF output
of a receiver into I and Q components when it is converted to
video enables a digital filter to differentiate between positive
and negative Doppler frequencies.

Test your understanding

1. How does a rotating phasor map to
a sine wave representation of a radar
signal?
2. With the aid of a phasor diagram,
show how two signals of the same
frequency but different phase
combine.
3. How can a phasor diagram
represent the combination of signals
with different frequencies?

The decibel was devised to express power ratios. Being logarithmic, it greatly compresses the numbers needed to express
values having a wide dynamic range.

4. A radar system has a transmission

frequency of 10 GHz; what is the
angular frequency of this signal?

Decibels also make compounding ratios easy. Ratios can

be multiplied by adding their decibel equivalents, divided
(inverted) by giving them a negative sign, and raised to a
power by multiplying them by that power.

5. Explain the terms image frequencies

and sidebands.

A ratio expressed in dB can be thought of as consisting of two

parts. The digit in the ones place expresses the basic ratio. The
digit to the left of it is the power of 10. To translate from dB to a
power ratio in your head, you convert the basic ratio and then
place a number of zeros to the right of it equal to the power of
ten. To translate to decibels, you do the reverse.
Positive decibels correspond to ratios greater than 1; zero decibels to a ratio of 1; negative decibels to ratios less than 1. There
is no decibel equivalent for a ratio of 0.
Decibels are commonly used to express gains and losses. Gain
is output divided by input. Loss is input divided by output.

6. How do I and Q components allow

both the amplitude and phase of a
signal to be recovered?
7. How is a signal resolved into I and
Q components?
8. Explain the term scintillation.
9. How do I and Q components allow
the direction of a Doppler signal to
be determined?
10. Two radar echoes differ in
amplitude by a factor of 10. What is
the power ratio as expressed in dB?

Referenced to absolute units, decibels are also used to express

absolute values.

Further Reading
J. W. Nilsson and S. Reidel, Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis,
chapter 9 in Electric Circuits, Prentice-Hall, 2011.

Some Relationships to Keep in Mind

Power ratio

3 dB = 2

P2
P1
Power ratio in terms of voltages

dBW = dB relative to 1 Watt

dB = 10 log10

dB = 20 log10

1 dB = 1

V2
V1

dBm = dB relative to 1 milliwatt

dBsm = dB relative to 1 square meter of
radar cross section
dBi = dB relative to isotropic radiation

75