Range correlation effects on phase noise spectra

The authors address the problem of characterizing the effects of range correlation and local oscillator phase noise on the intermediate frequency spectrum of a coherent, continuous wave or pulsed Doppler radar. Since the phase noise is a stochastic process, the problem is defined in a stochastic processes context and a reasonable set of assumptions are imposed to produce a general, straight forward and easily understood solution. The solution clearly indicates how the natural spectrum of the scatterer, the phase noise spectrum, and range correlation combine to produce the intermediate frequency spectrum. A specific example is provided for the case of a continuous wave radar.