Resonant Pulse Amplefication for Radar Imaging Applications

A new method for the passive enhancement of very short radar pulses is presented. The design consists of a waveguide resonator fed by a CW oscillator and terminated by a PIN switch that discharges the resonator within 700 ps. An analysis of the resonator model verified by experimental results demonstrates that the gain in output peak power of the coherent pulse amounts up to 7 dB. The principle of resonant pulse amplification can be favourably applied to coherent pulse radar systems for microwave imaging.