;R

O*^
RECEIVERS, DISPLAYS, AND DUPLEXE1

The noise figure of a receiver with noise figure F,, preceded by RF losses equal to Z, RF is
F, - 1
(9-15)
, = F , + ' - d - ' = L R F + ( F r - w he re

F, = L R F , G, = 1/L R F , and F 2 = F r .

LOW-NOISE FRONT-ENDS

Early microwave superheterodyne receivers did not use an RF amplifier as the first stage, or
front-end, since the RF amplifiers at that time had a greater noise figure than when the mixer
alone was employed as the receiver input stage. There are now a number of RF amplifiers that can
provide a suitable noise figure. Figure 9.4 plots noise figure as a function of frequency for the
several receiver front-ends used in radar applications. The parametric amplifier 101" has the
lowest noise figure of those devices described here, especially at the higher microwave
frequencies. However, it is generally more complex and expensive compared to the other front
-ends.
The transistor amplifier can be applied over most of the entire range of frequencies of interest
to radar.10"20 The silicon bipolar-transistor has been used at the lower radar frequencies (below
L band) and the galium arsenide field-effect transistor (GaAs FET) is preferred at the

Figort 9.4 Noise figures

of lynicnl muimivf
iririvrt front-endi as a
function of frequency—

30,000
 INTRODUCTION TO RADAR SYSTEMS

Diode burnout. A crystal diode which is subjected to excessive RF power may suffer burnout.
This is a rather loosely defined term which is applied to any irreversible deterioration in the
detection or conversion properties of a crystal diode as the result of electrical overload. If
excessive RF energy is applied to the diode the heat generated cannot be dissipated properly
and the diode can be damaged. Excessive energy causes the diode to open-circuit or the
semiconductor to puncture, resulting in failure of the device. As defined above, however,
burnout of a diode can occur before the onset of physical destruction. An increase in the
receiver noise due to the effects of excessive RF energy can be just as harmful as complete
destruction; perhaps more so, for gradual deterioration of performance might not be noticed as
readily as would catastrophic failure. It is for this reason that some means of automatic
monitoring of receiver noise-figure is necessary if the radar is to be maintained in prime
operating conditions.
A degradation in the noise figure of a predetermined amount usually is considered as the
criterion for diode failure when defining burnout. Sometimes an increase in noise figure of
3 dB has been used as the criterion. 19 In other cases, a 1-dB increase has been used. 15
However, with Schottky and point-contact diodes, there is an increase in I// noise and a
decrease in the breakdown voltage at lower power levels than would be indicated by the above
criteria.14
One of the causes of diode burnout in radar receivers has been the increased RF leakage
through a conventional duplexer due to aging of the TR tube. When the transmitter fires, the TR
tube breaks down. A finite time, usually on the order of several nanoseconds, must elapse before
breakdown is complete. During this time, RF energy leaks into the receiver. This is called the
spike-leakage energy. From 1 to 10 ergs of spike-leakage energy might be required 10 burn out
microwave crystal diodes. The amount of energy contained within the remainder of the pulse
after the initial spike is usually small and is not as serious as spike leakage.
When a solid-state duplexer is used or when a solid-state limiter follows the TR switch,
there need be no initial spike and burnout is not determined by the pulse energy. Burnout due to
pulses without an initial spike, but greater than about 1 fts in duration, is determined primarily
by the peak power." (The burnout conditions for pulses 1 JJS or greater is essentially the same as
for CW.) Crystal diodes can withstand several watts or more of peak power under pulse
conditions. For pulses shorter than 1 fis, the peak-power capability increases, but not at a
sufficient rate for constant energy. 15
In addition to leakage through the duplexer, diode burnout can result from the accidental
reception of power from nearby radars or from the discharge of static electricity through the
diode. |

Noise figure due to RF losses. Any losses in the RF portion ahead of the receiver front-end
result in a lowering ol' the overall noise-figure. These losses, denoted LH(., might be due to the
receiver transmission line, duplexer, rotary joint, preselector filter, monitoring devices, or loss
in the randome. The noise figure due to these RF losses may be derived from the definition of
Eq. (9.1), which is

The noise Nou, from the lossy RF components is <cr0 fl,, and G = l/LnF. Therefore on substitution
into Eq. (9.1), the noise figure FL due to the RF losses is simply