Reconfigurable radar transmitter
Techniques that facilitate reconfigurable transmission of a radar frequency signal are provided. In one example, a system includes a signal generator and a power modulator. The signal generator provides a radar waveform signal from a set of radar waveform signals. The power modulator divides a local oscillator signal associated with a first frequency and a first amplitude into a first local oscillator signal and a second local oscillator signal. The power modulator also generates a radio frequency signal associated with a second frequency and a second amplitude based on the radar waveform signal, the first local oscillator signal and the second local oscillator signal.
1. A method, comprising:
providing, a device operatively coupled to a processor, a radar waveform signal from a set of radar waveform signals; and
dividing, by the device, a local oscillator signal associated with a first frequency and a first amplitude into a first local oscillator signal and a second local oscillator signal; and
generating, by the device, a radio frequency (RF) signal associated with a second frequency and a second amplitude based on the radar waveform signal, the first local oscillator signal and the second local oscillator signal, wherein a first pulse control waveform is provided to a first RF mixer circuit and a second pulse control waveform is provided to a second RF mixer circuit, wherein the first local oscillator signal comprises an opposite polarity than the second local oscillator signal, and wherein a time span of the RF signal is approximately equal to a difference between a first pulse control width of the first pulse control waveform and a second pulse control width of the second pulse control waveform.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a power modulator mixes the first local oscillator signal with a first radar waveform signal provided by a signal generator to generate a first mixed signal, and wherein the power modulator mixes the second local oscillator signal with a second radar waveform signal provided by the signal generator to generate a second mixed signal.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the power modulator combines the first mixed signal and the second mixed signal to generate the RF signal.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a first phase of the first local oscillator signal is different than a second phase of the second local oscillator signal.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of radar waveform signals provided by a signal generator comprise a frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar signal and a pulse signal.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of radar waveform signals provided by a signal generator comprise a pseudorandom binary sequence signal and a pulse signal.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of radar waveform signals provided by a signal generator comprise a frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar signal and a pseudorandom binary sequence signal.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein a RF signal generated by the power modulator is a continuous radar waveform that comprises a first radar waveform and a second radar waveform that is different than the first radar waveform.
9. The method of claim 2 , wherein the power modulator comprises a power splitter circuit that divides the local oscillator signal into the first local oscillator signal and the second local oscillator signal.
10. The method of claim 2 , wherein the power modulator comprises the first RF mixer circuit that receives the first local oscillator signal, and wherein the power modulator comprises the second RF mixer circuit that receives the second local oscillator signal.
11. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first RF mixer circuit generates a first RF signal based on the first local oscillator signal and the radar waveform signal, and wherein the second RF mixer circuit generates a second RF signal based on the second local oscillator signal and the radar waveform signal, and wherein the power modulator comprises a power combiner circuit that generates the RF signal based on the first RF signal and the second RF signal.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the power combiner circuit comprises a power amplifier, a passive power combiner, and/or an antenna.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first pulse control waveform and the second pulse control waveform are aligned and comprise different widths.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the power modulator generates the RF signal to facilitate improved bandwidth of a radar transmitter.
15. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first radar waveform signal comprises a frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar signal.
16. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first radar waveform signal comprises a pseudorandom binary sequence signal.
17. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first radar waveform signal comprises a pulse signal.