FMCW Radars for Volume Scattering from Precipitation

In weather radars, most of the information about precipitation volume are derived from the received signal. Historically the preferred mode of operation has been pulsed radars, whereas Frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radars have not been used due to several limitations such as need for two antennas, isolation between transmitter and receiver among other things. However, in the context of low power short range radars this preference must be revisited. FMCW radars can achieve good high resolution as narrow pulse radars but can be done with lower power level due to the CW nature. The radar equation for volume targets in FMCW radar is different from the general pulsed radar. The radar range equation for FMCW weather radars is revisited here to explore the power requirements, for short range urban applications.