Technologies for sub-ns pulse coherent mm-wave radar

Pulse coherent radar and pulsed magnetic resonance spectrometry are closely related techniques which share similar design constraints and technological difficulties, despite the obvious differences in application. Millimetre wave pulsed electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometry is a rapidly developing scientific technique which is at the forefront of pulse coherent mm-wave instrumentation. Our work in developing technologies for sub-nanosecond pulsed ESR may be directly applied to radar, where extremely short pulse lengths offer very high range resolution and clutter suppression. Sub-ns ESR has been made possible by the careful design of the transmit/receive electronics and the use of quasi-optical (QO) techniques for signal transport and control. We present results for a low phase noise sub-ns pulse generator, high performance isolators, ultra low return loss QO loads, and a demonstration of ns coherent pulse demodulation