MATCHED FILTER

In the detection probability equations ((1!"# (1$" and (11"" %e note

that
d
P depends directly on SNR & That is#
d
P increases as SNR increases&
'ecause o( this %e %ant to try to be sure that the recei)er is desi*ned to
+a,i+i-e SNR & .e do this by includin* a matched filter in the recei)er& As
indicated in Figures 3-1 and 3-2 the +atched (ilter is usually included ri*ht
be(ore the si*nal processor& In (act# in so+e radars# the +atched (ilter is the
si*nal processor&
The state+ents in the abo)e para*raph pro)ide the desi*n
require+ent (or the +atched (ilter& /peci(ically# *i)en so+e si*nal# ( ) s t # and
noise ( ) t n # %e %ant to (ind a (ilter i+pulse response# ( ) h t # that +a,i+i-es
/0R at the (ilter output& For purposes o( this discussion %e assu+e that the
si*nal is not a rando+ process& Actually# %hat %e are assu+in* is that the
form o( the si*nal is deter+inistic (its a+plitude can still be rando+"& This is
the case in practice# e)en (or /.1 or /.2 tar*ets&
As indicated in Figure 8 i( the input to the +atched (ilter is ( ) s t the
output %ill be ( )
o
s t & I( the input is ( ) t n the output %ill be ( )
o
t n & The output#
instantaneous# nor+ali-ed# si*nal po%er is
( ) ( )
2
so o
P t s t & (111"
For purposes o( the +atched (ilter desi*n# %e de(ine the pea3 si*nal po%er at
the +atched (ilter output as
( ) ( ) ( )
2
max
S so so o o o
t
P P t P t s t & (111"
/ince ( )
o
t n is a rando+ process (that %e assu+e is %ide4sense
stationary" %e +ust %or3 %ith its a)era*e po%er& Thus# the a)era*e noise
po%er at the output o( the +atched (ilter is
( )
( )
2
n o
P E t n &
1
(115"
.ith the abo)e %e can no% de(ine the desi*n criterion (or the +atched
(ilter& /peci(ically# %e choose the +atched (ilter so as to +a,i+i-e the pea3
si*nal po%er4to4a)era*e noise po%er at the output o( the +atched (ilter& In
equation (or+#
( )
( )
: max
S
h t
n
P
h t
P
(112"
Equation (112" states that %e +ust (irst %rite
S
P and
n
P in ter+s o( ( ) h t and
then +a,i+i-e it %ith respect to ( ) h t &
1
The choice o( sy+bols (or pea3 si*nal and a)era*e noise po%er is not coincidental& As %ill be
sho%n# these are the sa+e pea3 si*nal and a)era*e noise po%er ter+s included in the radar
ran*e equation&
617 M& C& 'ud*e# 8r
27
I( %e assu+e that ( ) h t is linear %e can %rite
( ) ( ) ( )
o
s t s t h t (117"
and
( ) ( ) ( )
o
t t h t n n (11!"
%here denotes con)olution&
.e %ill choose to sol)e the opti+i-ation proble+ in the (requency
do+ain throu*h the use o( Fourier trans(or+s& To this end %e %rite
( ) ( ) H f h t 1
]
# (119"
( ) ( ) S f s t 1
]
and (11:"
( ) ( )
o o
S f s t 1
]
(11$"
and
( ) ( ) ( )
o
S f H f S f & (15"
In the abo)e [ ] x denotes the Fourier trans(or+&
/ince ( ) t n and ( )
o
t n are rando+ processes %e +ust deal %ith the+ as
such& This +eans %e %rite
( ) ( ) ( ) { }
N f E t t

1
+
]
n n # (151"
( ) ( ) ( ) { }
o o o
N f E t t

1
+
]
n n and (151"
( ) ( ) ( )
2
o
N f H f N f & (155"
Althou*h not ob)ious %e too3 ad)anta*e o( the (act that ( ) t n and ( )
o
t n are
%ide4sense stationary&
.e no% reco*ni-e that ( )
o
N f is a po%er spectral density and thus
that
617 M& C& 'ud*e# 8r
Fi*ure : ; Matched Filter 'loc3 Dia*ra+
28
( ) ( ) ( )
2
0 n
P N f df H f N f df




& (152"
The pea3 si*nal po%er is *i)en by
( )
2
S o o
P s t & (157"
Ho%e)er# %e can %rite
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2 1
o
o
j ft
o o o
t t
s t S f S f H f e df

1
]
& (15!"
I( %e co+bine (15!"# (157"# (152" and (112" %e *et
( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
2
2
2
: max max
o
j ft
S
h t h t
n
S f H f e df
P
h t
P
H f N f df

& (159"
At this point %e +a3e the assu+ption that ( ) t n is %hite %ith a noise po%er
spectral density o(
( )
0 n
N f kT F G (15:"
and %rite
( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
2
2
2
0
: max
o
j ft
h t
n
S f H f e df
h t
kT F G H f df

(15$"
In the abo)e equation G is the *ain o( all recei)er co+ponents bet%een the
antenna and the input to the +atched (ilter& Thus# ( ) N f is the noise po%er
spectral density at the input to the +atched (ilter&
.e start the +a,i+i-ation process by applyin* one o( the Cauchy4
/ch%art- inequalities to the nu+erator& The particular Cauchy4/ch%art-
inequality o( interest is
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
2
2 2
b b b
a a a
A f B f df A f df B f df
_ _

, ,

(12"
%ith equality %hen
( ) ( ) A f KB f

(121"
%here K is an arbitrary constant& I( %e apply (12" to the ratio o( (15$" %ith
the associations
617 M& C& 'ud*e# 8r
29
( ) ( ) A f H f (121"
and
( ) ( )
2
o
j ft
B f S f e

(125"
%e *et
( ) ( )
( )
( ) ( )
( )
2
2 2
2
2 2
0 0
o
j ft
n n
S f H f e df H f df S f df
kT F G H f df kT F G H f df

_ _

, ,

(122"
%here %e ha)e +ade use o( the (act that
( ) ( )
2
o
j ft
S f e S f

& (127"
.e note that (122" reduces to
( ) ( )
( )
( )
2
2
2
2
0
0
o
j ft
n
n
S f H f e df S f df
kT F G
kT F G H f df

& (12!"
Equation (12!" tells us that (or all ( ) H f the upper bound on the le(t side is
equal to the ri*ht side& That is# %e ha)e (ound the +a,i+u+ )alue o(
S n
P P
o)er all ( ) h t & That is# %e ha)e sol)ed part o( the +a,i+i-ation proble+& To
(ind the ( ) h t that yields the +a,i+u+
S n
P P %e in)o3e the second part o( the
Cauchy4/ch%art- inequality *i)en in (121"& /peci(ically# %e say that
( )
( )
2
0
max
S
h t
n n
S f df
P
P kT F G

(129"
%hen %e choose ( ) h t as
( ) ( )
2 1
o
j ft
h t KS f e

1
]
& (12:"
Thus# %e ha)e (ound the i+pulse response o( the (ilter that +a,i+i-es pea3
si*nal4to4a)era*e noise po%er at the (ilter output& Further+ore# %e ha)e and
equation (or the +a,i+u+ in the (or+ o( (129" and ha)e deter+ined that the
+a,i+u+ occurs at
o
t t &
.e note (ro+ the (or+ o( (12:" that
( ) ( ) H f KS f & (12$"
617 M& C& 'ud*e# 8r
30
In other %ords# the +atched (ilter (requency response has the sa+e shape as
the (requency spectru+ o( the si*nal& They si+ply di((er by a scalin* (actor
K & This is the reason %e ter+ ( ) h t a matched filter&
.e no% %ant to loo3 at the speci(ic (or+ o( ( ) h t relati)e to ( ) s t & Fro+
(12:" %e can %rite
( ) ( ) ( )
( )
( )
( )
( )
2 2 2
2
o o
o
j f t t j ft j ft
j f t t
o
h t KS f e e df K S f e df
K S f e df Ks t t

1

1
]

& (17"
Thus# ( ) h t is the con<u*ate o( a scaled (by K "# ti+e re)ersed (because o( the
t " and shi(ted (by
o
t " )ersion o( the trans+it si*nal# ( ) s t & This is another
reason %e re(er to ( ) h t as a +atched (ilter& This operation is illustrated in
Figure 9& The le(t s3etch o( this (i*ure is that o( ( ) s t %hile the ri*ht (i*ure is a
s3etch o( ( ) s t

(%e ha)e assu+ed 1 K since it is arbitrary"& Finally# the

ri*ht (i*ure is ( )
o
s t t

&
0o% that %e ha)e established the equation (or the +a,i+u+ )alue o(
the /0R at the output o( the +atched (ilter# and ha)e a (ilter that can pro)ide
the +a,i+u+ /0R# %e %ant to deter+ine its )alue& /peci(ically# %e %ant to
relate the +a,i+u+ /0R to )alues o( /0R %e co+pute (ro+ the radar ran*e
equation&
.e start by reco*ni-in* that ( ) s t is the radar pulse at the input to the
+atched (ilter& It is the rectan*ular pulse that %e ha)e been discussin* in
our pre)ious %or3& Thus# %e can %rite ( ) s t as
617 M& C& 'ud*e# 8r
Fi*ure $ ; E)olution o(
31
( ) rect
R
p
t
s t V

1
1
]
(171"
%here
R
is the ran*e delay to the tar*et and
p

is the pulse %idth& The

representation o( (171" is ideali-ed in that it assu+es that the recei)er
co+ponents prior to the +atched (ilter can pass a rectan*ular pulse %ithout
distortion& Althou*h this is not realistic# (or purposes o( this de)elop+ent it is
a (airly reasonable assu+ption& V is# in *eneral# a co+ple, nu+ber that +ay
include a carrier ter+ (the IF (requency"# a phase and# possibly# so+e type o(
phase +odulation&
.hen %e deri)ed the radar ran*e equation %e concluded that the
si*nal po%er at the output o( the antenna %as
( )
2
3
4
4
T T R
s
P G G
P
R L

& (171"
Fro+ abo)e %e said that the *ain o( the recei)er (ro+ the antenna to the
input to the +atched (ilter is G & I( %e assu+e that this sa+e *ain is applied
to the si*nal the po%er at the input to the +atched (ilter is
( )
2
3
4
4
T T R
M s
P G G G
P PG
R L

& (175"
I( %e assu+e a nor+ali-ed i+pedance o( 1 oh+# %e *et
( )
2
3
4
4
T T R
M
P G G G
V P
R L

& (172"
Fro+ (129" %e ha)e
( )
2
0
MAX
n
S f df
SNR
kT F G

& (177"
/ince ( ) s t has (inite ener*y and po%er %e can in)o3e =arse)al>s Theore+ (or
the nu+erator and %rite
( )
2
0
MAX
n
s t dt
SNR
kT F G

& (17!"
/ubstitutin* (171" yields
617 M& C& 'ud*e# 8r
32
2
2
0 0
rect
R
p p
MAX
n n
t
V dt
V
SNR
kT F G kT F G

1
]

(179"
or %ith (172"
( ) ( )
2 2
3 3
4 4
0 0
4 4
T T R p T T R p
MAX
n n
P G G G P G G
SNR
R LkT F G R kT F L



& (17:"
.e reco*ni-e (17:" as the /0R that %e (ound %hen %e deri)ed the radar
ran*e equation& This tells us that the pea3 )alue o( /0R at the output o( the
+atched (ilter is the /0R %e obtain (ro+ the radar ran*e equation& In
essence# it says that the +atched (ilter e3es out the +a,i+u+ possible /0R
(ro+ the si*nal and noise that the radar +ust deal %ith& There is no other
(ilter that %ill *i)e a lar*er )alue o( /0R (or the trans+itted si*nal and the
case %here the inter(erence is due to %hite noise at the input to the
+atched& I( the inter(erence is other than %hite noise# e&*& clutter# there are
other (ilters that %ill pro)ide lar*er )alues o( si*nal4to4interference po%er
ratio (/IR" than the (ilter de(ined by (17"&
MATCHED FILTER RE/=?0/E F?R A0 @0M?D@LATED =@L/E
.e %ant to deri)e an equation (or the +atched (ilter response (or a
si*nal# ( ) s t # and then use it to deri)e the +atched (ilter response (or the case
%here ( ) s t is an un+odulated pulse& The results can also be e,tended to
(indin* the +atched (ilter response %hen ( ) s t is an LFM pulse&
Fro+ (17" %e ha)e
( ) ( )
0
h t Ks t t

(17$"
%here K is an arbitrary (co+ple," constant and
0
t is the )alue o( t at %hich
the +atched (ilter response to ( ) s t %ill reach its pea3&
/ince %e can pic3 K and
0
t to be anythin* %e %ant# %e can let# %ithout
loss o( *enerality# 1 K and
0
0 t & The latter state+ent says that the output
o( the +atched (ilter %ill reach its pea3 at a relati)e ti+e o( -ero& .ith this
%e *et
( ) ( ) h t s t

& (1!"
The response o( ( ) h t to ( ) s t is *i)en by
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
o
s t h t s t s h t d

& (1!1"
617 M& C& 'ud*e# 8r
33
'ut ( ) ( ) h t s t

so ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) h t s t s t

and
( ) ( ) ( )
o
s t s s t d

& (1!1"
For purposes o( the rest o( the analyses %e %ill treat ( ) s t and ( ) s t

as
separate (unctions& Let
( )
2
rect
p j
p
t
s t Ae

1
1
]
(1!5"
and
( )
2
rect
p j
p
t
s t Ae

1
1
]
& (1!2"
A plot o( ( ) s t is sho%n in Figure 10& The plot o( ( ) s t

%ould loo3 the sa+e

e,cept that the Ahei*htB %ould be
j
Ae

rather than
j
Ae

&
In the ( )
o
s t inte*ral %e note that t is the separation bet%een ( ) s and
( ) s t

as sho% in Figure 11& Figure 11 corresponds to the case %here 0 t

&
617 M& C& 'ud*e# 8r
Fi*ure 1 ; @n+odulated pulse
Fi*ure 11 ; =lot o( and (or
34
It should be clear that i(
p
t
or
p
t
# or
p
t # then ( ) s and ( ) s t

%ill not o)erlap# ( ) ( ) 0 s s t

and ( ) 0
o
s t & Thus
( ) 0
o p
s t t & (1!7"
CFor
0
p
t <
the o)erlap re*ion o( ( ) s and ( ) s t

is
p
t <
&
Further# o)er this re*ion ( ) ( )
2 j j
s s t Ae Ae A



and thus
( ) ( )
2 2
p
o p
t
s t A d A t

& (1!!"
.e note that since 0 t # t t & Thus %e replace t %ith t to *et
( ) ( )
2
0
o p
s t A t t < & (1!9"
The arran*e+ent o( ( ) s and ( ) s t

(or
0
p
t < <
is sho%n in
Figure 12&
In this case the o)erlap re*ion is
0
p
t < < +
and
( ) ( )
2 2
0
p
t
o p
s t A d A t

+
+

& (1!:"
Here %e note that since 0 t < # t t & Thus %e replace t %ith t to *et
( ) ( )
2
0
o p p
s t A t t < < & (1!$"
/ince this is the sa+e (or+ as (or
0
p
t <
# %e can co+bine these to *et
( ) ( )
2
o p p
s t A t t < & (19"
Finally# i( %e co+bine this %ith the result (or
p
t %e *et
617 M& C& 'ud*e# 8r
Fi*ure 11 ; =lot o( and (or
35
( )
( )
( )
2
2
0
rect
2
p
o
p p
p
p
t
s t
A t t
t
A t

'
<

1

1
1
]
& (191"
A plot o( ( )
o
s t is sho%n in Figure 13&
617 M& C& 'ud*e# 8r
Fi*ure 15 ; =lot o( Matched Filter ?utput
36