X-Band Photonic-Based Pulsed Radar Architecture with a High Range Resolution

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an X-band photonic-based pulsed radar architecture with a high range resolution. The proposed architecture is operated as a pulsed radar by adding a Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) operating as an optical switch to a transmitter of a conventional photonic-based frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar. In addition, a balanced photodetector (BPD) is employed to enhance the amplitude of the received signal and remove common-mode noise. A proposed photonic-based pulsed radar prototype is implemented to operate at a center frequency of 10 GHz, a bandwidth of 640 MHz, and a pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 1 kHz considering the performances of an arbitrary waveform generator (AWG). The implemented prototype is verified through an indoor experiment. As a result, the positions of targets are detected in real-time with 1.6% error rates of a range accuracy and obtained the range resolution of 0.26 m.