Radar systems are used across many industries, from automotive safety applications and highway patrols to military tactical applications. They involve a complex collection of analog and digital-signal-processing (DSP) components, as well as advanced antenna arrays with often-exotic radiation patterns. Although simulating the behavior of these systems is difficult, it can be accomplished by means of a suitable system-level simulation program, such as the Visual System Simulator™ (VSS) from AWR Corp.
The simulator can model the interaction of a radars receiver and transmitter components, and also provide three-dimensional (3D) representations of antenna patterns. To aid those involved with radar design and simulation, AWR recently released a focused application brochure on the use of YSS for radar system simulation. It covers RF modeling, modeling of antennas and phased-array systems, modeling of DSPs, design libraries with component models appropriate for radar use, and working with third-party verification tools.
The eight-page brochure includes an introduction to VSS; reviews the types of radar systems that it can model, such as continuous-wave (CW), CW with frequency modulation (FM), pulsed, and pulsed with FM chirp; and explains how VSS can be used with other software packages, such as LabVIEW from National Instruments. A copy of the brochure in PDF file format can be downloaded here.