Phase coherent radar system using fast frequency agile waveform synthesis
First Claim
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1. Apparatus comprising:
- a waveform generator for generating an interleaved waveform and a second output coherent with said waveform, said waveform generator including a frequency agile synthesizer capable of changing its output frequency to produce said interleaved waveform using multiple frequencies, a frequency and phase of said waveform, and said second output, being based on said output of said frequency synthesizer;
an antenna coupled to said waveform generator for transmitting said waveform, for receiving a return signal, and for generating at least one antenna output signal on the basis of said return signal;
a receiver coupled to said antenna and to said waveform generator to detect said return signal as a frequency interleaved signal, an interleaving of said frequency interleaved signal being selected to define an unambiguous range of said antenna, said receiver receiving said antenna output signal and said second output and converting said return signal on the basis of said second output signal to produce a converted signal; and
a processor for processing said converted signal to derive target data.
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Abstract
A radar system in which a frequency agile synthesizer is used to provide rapid frequency shifts and in which measures are taken to maintain phase coherency. The system is fully coherent such that all signals are derived from a common source and are capable of high pulse repetition rates in excess of 1 MHz. There are no inherent transmit duty cycle restrictions and the system is able to transmit complex phase and frequency modulated waveforms. A frequency interleaving scheme is used to resolve range ambiguities at high pulse repetition frequencies and the use of a complementary phase coding scheme allows a high range resolution processing with the transmitted waveforms.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. Apparatus comprising:
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a waveform generator for generating an interleaved waveform and a second output coherent with said waveform, said waveform generator including a frequency agile synthesizer capable of changing its output frequency to produce said interleaved waveform using multiple frequencies, a frequency and phase of said waveform, and said second output, being based on said output of said frequency synthesizer; an antenna coupled to said waveform generator for transmitting said waveform, for receiving a return signal, and for generating at least one antenna output signal on the basis of said return signal; a receiver coupled to said antenna and to said waveform generator to detect said return signal as a frequency interleaved signal, an interleaving of said frequency interleaved signal being selected to define an unambiguous range of said antenna, said receiver receiving said antenna output signal and said second output and converting said return signal on the basis of said second output signal to produce a converted signal; and a processor for processing said converted signal to derive target data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 27)
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18. A method comprising the steps of:
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generating an interleaved waveform and a second output coherent with said waveform by using a frequency agile synthesizer capable of changing its output frequency to produce said interleaved waveform using multiple frequencies, a frequency and phase of said waveform, and said second output, being based on said output frequency of said frequency synthesizer; transmitting said waveform; receiving a frequency interleaved return signal, an interleaving of said frequency interleaved return signal being selected to define an unambiguous range of said antenna; generating at least one antenna signal on the basis of said return signal; converting said return signal on the basis of said second output signal to produce a converted signal; and processing said converted signal to derive target data. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification