Design and Implementation of Digital IF Waveform Generation, Acquisition, and Receiver circuits for Radar Systems Applications

Recently, digital Intermediate Frequency (IF) waveform generators and receivers are introduced in modern radar systems to reduce the cost, size, and achieve better performance. Moreover, digital IF waveform generators achieve the requirements of high resolution and complex modulation schemes. Digital receivers have better sensitivity, wider dynamic range and lower noise Figure than analog receivers. Digital IF waveform generators and receivers work well in conjunction with a high-speed Analog to Digital Converters (ADC) and Digital to Analog Converters (DAC). In this paper, the design and implementation of high-speed data acquisition circuits (ADC and DAC) to generate and acquire IF waveforms are presented. Different modulated waveforms are generated digitally using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The corresponding digital receiver, including digital phase detection and matched filtering, is designed and implemented on the same FPGA chip. Design and implementation of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) including FPGA chip and its required circuitry are introduced. The proposed design is simulated using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools and verified experimentally through laboratory testing.