A test platform for real-time waveform and impedance optimization in microwave radar systems

A test platform has been constructed at Baylor University to develop methods of simultaneous waveform and circuit optimization for cognitive radar. The ultimate goal of this work is to allow on-chip, simultaneous optimization of the waveform and the load impedance of the transmitter power amplifier from an FPGA cognitive-radio platform. The test bed includes a vector signal generator, load-pull tuners, a DC power supply, a power meter, and a spectrum analyzer, all controllable by MATLAB. The power meter and DC power supply are used to measure the power efficiency of the device under test, while the spectrum analyzer can be used to assess the spectral spreading, and hence linearity, of the device, through measurement of adjacent-channel power ratio or other means. Computationally intelligent routines for both load-impedance and waveform optimization will be created and evaluated using the test bed.