FMCW Radars

Applied Radar has developed several FMCW radars including an educational Radar Development Kit (RDK) sold through our partner Quonset Microwave as well as industrial grade FMCW radars. Key limitations to FMCW radar compared to Pulse Doppler radar include the number of simultaneous targets and detection range. The number of targets is determined by the linearity of the transmit pulse, while the detection range is limited by mutual coupling between transmit and receive. In an FMCW radar, the radar transmits and receives simultaneously. A continuous linear FM pulse is transmitted, and therefore distance to target is determined by the frequency of the received pulsed compared to the instantaneous transmit frequency. The radar is limited in dynamic range, and hence detection range, due to the fact that the transmit pulse, though at a different frequency, contributes a direct signal to the receiver, that has to compete with the received signal that is much weaker.