Direct conversion techniques for radar systems

New components for direct conversion Radar systems have been introduced, these include: A single chip, 10 bit Analog to Digital converter (ADC) with a sample rate of 3GSps and an analog bandwidth of 5GHz giving a usable bandwidth of 1.5GHz in the L and S bands; A Digital to Analog converter (DAC) with a 3GSps sample rate and an analog output bandwidth limit of 7GHz. This allows direct conversion techniques up to `C´ band. The component has a number of different shaping schemes and these are used to optimize the system performance depending on the frequency used. Results from these components will be presented and a direct conversion Ultra Wide Band (UWB) Radar system design will be proposed. The factors limiting the sample rate and bandwidth of these components will be highlighted and techniques to extend the performance such as an external sample and hold and time interleaving will be presented.