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A low-noise and flexible FPGA-based binary signal measurement generator

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 March 2019

Gordon Notzon ,
Robert Storch ,
Thomas Musch  and
Michael Vogt
Gordon Notzon*
Affiliation:
Institute of Electronic Circuits, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Robert Storch
Affiliation:
Institute of Electronic Circuits, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Thomas Musch
Affiliation:
Institute of Electronic Circuits, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Michael Vogt
Affiliation:
Institute of Electronic Circuits, Ruhr University Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany
*
Author for correspondence: Gordon Notzon, E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

In the area of electromagnetic metrology, binary coded excitation signals become more and more important and various binary coded sequences are available. The measurement approach is to assess the impulse response function of a device under test by correlating the response signal with the excitation signal. In order to achieve a high measurement reproducibility as well as a high dynamic range, the generated binary coded signals have to provide low-noise. In this contribution, a low-noise signal generator realized with a field programmable gate array is presented. The performance investigation of different kinds of binary coded excitation signals and different correlation concepts have been practically investigated. With a chip rate of 5 Gchip/s, the generator can be utilized for ultra-wideband applications. In order to allow for a low-noise and long-term stable signal generation, a new clock generator concept is presented and results of phase noise measurements are shown. Furthermore, an algorithm to fast and precisely shifting the time lag between two binary coded signals for correlating excitation and response signals with a hardware correlator is presented. Finally, the realized demonstrator system is tested using two commonly used types of binary coded sequences.

Keywords

low noisemicrowave measurementssignal generatorsbinary sequencesfield programmable gate array
Type
Research Papers
Information
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies , Volume 11 , Special Issue 5-6: EuMW 2018 Special Issue (Part I) , June 2019 , pp. 447 - 455
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and the European Microwave Association 2019 

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