Model-Based Design and Simulation of Monopulse Tracking System

The monopulse principle is used in many RADAR applications to estimate the position of the target in space by calculating the error in the azimuth and elevation direction. Monopulse tracking can be achieved using various configurations of antennas and comparators. Different configurations can be used based on the requirements, but the integration of the antenna and comparator needs to be perfect to achieve the desired results. In this paper, MATLAB®, Simulink®, and RF Blockset™ are used to build a model for a monopulse tracking system with the integration of transmitter antenna, receiver antenna and comparator. The model can be tested on different antennas and comparators, and its design can be optimized to get the desired results. Integrating the antenna and comparator directly on the hardware results in amplitude and phase mismatches which can vary the outputs. Hence, it is important to simulate the integrated model to get accurate results, anticipate the mismatches in phase, and to devise a corrective action before the hardware is fabricated. The antennas and couplers are available as catalog elements in Antenna Toolbox™ and RF PCB Toolbox™ respectively.