Next Generation Phase Coherent Instrumentation Receiver

The next generation of antennas will benefit from advanced instrumentation receivers capable of providing simultaneous analog and digital IF inputs, better TR pulse synchronization and high resolution pulse profiling. One such receiver uses a synergistic combination of a tightly coupled FPGA based beam controller, high performance analog digitizers, multiple FPGA based digital signal processors and a new mathematical programming environment. The FPGA signal processor provides direct digital downconversion, high resolution pulse processing and dynamically reconfigurable time and frequency gated matched filter signal integration. The signal processing functions are fully scriptable, providing spectral analysis, various other types of transform analysis, instantaneous demodulation, pulse characterization, noise estimation and more. Advanced mathematical tools combined with novel user interface technologies provide multiple intuitive views into the test setup, error analysis and measurement environment.