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Radar System

Bistatic Ranging Sensor

BISTATIC RANGING SENSOR — PULSED RADAR SEPARATE TX AND RX ANTENNAS TX ANT RX ANT PAPower Amp PULSE MODModulator OSCILLATORSource LNA MIXERDownconv LO TAP IF AMP DETEnvelope TIMINGRange Proc NO T/R SWITCH REQUIRED — ELIMINATES BLIND ZONE — CAN RECEIVE DURING TRANSMIT
Component Descriptions

Signal Chain Walkthrough

Bistatic ranging uses separate transmit and receive antennas, eliminating the T/R switch entirely. This allows the receiver to operate continuously, including during the transmit pulse, which eliminates the blind zone inherent in monostatic pulsed radars.

Separate Antennas

TX and RX antennas are physically separated and may have different characteristics (e.g., wider beam TX, narrower beam RX). Antenna isolation of 40+ dB is achieved through separation, directivity, and polarization.

No Blind Zone

Since the receiver is always active (no T/R switch recovery time), the system can detect targets at very close range. This makes bistatic architectures preferred for short-range industrial sensing applications.

Bistatic Range Geometry

The distance measured is the sum of TX-to-target and target-to-RX paths, not a simple round trip. For co-located antennas, this approaches the monostatic case. For widely separated antennas, bistatic range geometry must be applied.

Typical Specifications

Component Specifications

ComponentParameterTypical Value
OscillatorFrequency9.4 - 77 GHz
PAPeak Power+30 to +50 dBm
TX/RX IsolationAntenna Separation40 - 60 dB
LNANoise Figure1.0 - 3.5 dB
Pulse WidthDuration10 ns - 10 μs
Minimum RangeBlind ZoneNone (continuous RX)
Design Note: Bistatic radars eliminate the blind zone but introduce bistatic range ambiguity. Both antennas must have sufficient isolation to prevent TX power from saturating the RX LNA. For co-located antennas, cross-polarization and absorber baffles between apertures are effective isolation techniques.
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