X-band marine radar design

X-band radars are utilized for marine vessels in short and medium distances to determine the surrounding sea traffic, navigation, and in part, weather conditions. These radars, which transmit pulses at high powers or continuously emit electromagnetic signals at medium powers, are energy inefficient. X-band marine radar with low power levels and good resolution is very difficult to design The aim of this thesis is to design several componnets of the RF front-end and radar antenna of the radar working with the FM modulation technique at low power levels. Frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radars have a wide range of applications. Range resolution is very important for FMCW radar as for other radars. However, transmitter leakage to the receiver, non-linear changes in frequency, frequency dependent amplitude distortions and measurement instabilities limit range resolution. If these problems are resolved as much as possible at the hardware, the signal processing part can be improved. X-band radars provide better range than Ku-band radars and have better resolution than S-band radars. Because of this, it is the most appropriate frequency band for detection of small ships, boats, and yachts. The main purpose of this study is to design a marine radar antenna which operates at 9.3-9.5 GHz that can detect position and velocity at short distances (up to 3 km) for boats and sea vessels. Antenna simulation program (CST Studio Suite) is used in the design of a microstrip array antenna with high gain (24 dBi) and low sidelobe level (less than -20 dB). Prototypes are built and measurements are performed to corroborate simulation results. For the frontend part of the radar, low noise amplifier, bandpass filter, and coupler are designed.