FPGA-based ultra-fast and wideband instantaneous frequency measurement receiver

In this paper, an ultra-wideband, ultra-fast, fine resolution and compact digital instantaneous frequency measurement (DIFM) is proposed. The algorithm is implemented on the platform of Virtex-5 Field Programmable Grid Array (FPGA) from Xilinx. Due to only one high speed comparator with some relative circuits are needed, this DIFM can be blended in other digital system with compact size. The RocetIO GTP has been successfully introduced in this system for the interface with comparator. Thanks to the advantage of 1.46 GHz wideband, the large numbers of RF channels required in traditional solutions can be decreased. Comparing to traditional analog and digital method, this design is more flexible to reconfigure, easy to adjust, and with smaller size. The measurement results show that our invention is capable of detecting short wave pulse and continuous wave (CW) signal from DC to 1.46GHz with a major error within 1.25 MHz in less than 200 ns throughput time. This digital instantaneous frequency measurement (DIFM) system has been successfully used in radar systems.