Development and integration of the aquarius scatterometer processor/control electronics for achieving high measurement accuracy

The upcoming Aquarius sea-surface salinity mission has tight requirements on backscatter measurement accuracy and stability at L-band frequencies (1.26 GHz). These requirements have driven the development of new capabilities in the radar's backend detector electronics, which are the focus of this paper. Topics include the development of flight-grade hardware aboard the scatterometer for radio frequency interference (RFI) detection and mitigation, and analog/digital electronics design techniques that reduce system noise and yield highly linear power detection over a wide dynamic range. We also summarize the approach taken to test the scatterometer's processing and control functions at the level of the integrated Aquarius flight instrument, and present some recent results from the integrated testing campaign.