Development of a Broadband Multi-Operation Mode Signal Processing Unit for Small Millimeter Wave Tracking Radar

This paper summarizes the development of a broadband multi-operation mode signal processing unit for small millimeter wave tracking radar. The signal processing unit supports multiple operating modes to accommodate diverse environments and possesses broadband signal processing capabilities. The signal processing unit in this paper consists of three boards: DAQ, OPC, and PWR. A digital receiver is designed for the DAQ to receive and process a 3-channel broadband reception signal with an specific center frequency above 100MHz. The digital receiver utilizes an ADC for high-speed sampling and an FPGA-based DDC(Digital Down Converter). The DDC incorporates various functions, including a DDS (Direct Digital Synthesizer), an FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filter, and decimation. The DDC has two operating modes, A and B, and uses different DDC paths for signal processing depending on the mode. Furthermore, a FFT(Fast Fourier Transform) and data type conversion are applied to reduce the load on the DSP(Digital Signal Processor) in the postprocessing stage. In OPC, multi-core DSP are used for post-processing to detect and track targets in parallel. In addition, external interfaces are used to control the radar system. And PWR is designed to supply the power required for the signal processing unit. Finally, tests were conducted to verify the performance of the signal processing unit. Reception dynamic range and frequency error measurement tests were conducted, and all tests achieved their objectives. This verified the development of a broadband multi-operation mode signal processing unit.