Derivation and validation of the nonlinear radar range equation
Kyle A. Gallagher, Gregory J. Mazzaro, Anthony F. Martone, Kelly D. Sherbondy, Ram M. Narayanan · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2016
The radar range equation for detecting targets using linear radar has been defined and derived many times for many different applications. The nonlinear radar range equation has been defined in the literature but a step by step derivation is lacking and no experimental validation has been shown. This paper starts with a nonlinear system model and provides simulated and experimental validation for the model. Once the model is validated, the model is used to derive the nonlinear radar range equation for nonlinear radar. Key differences between the linear and nonlinear radar range equation will be emphasized.