U.S. patent application number 15/915652 was filed with the patent office on 2018-07-12 for fast pulse generator.
This patent application is currently assigned to The University Court of the University of St. Andrews. The applicant listed for this patent is The University Court of the University of St. Andrews. Invention is credited to DAVID ROBERT BOLTON, GRAHAM SMITH.
Application Number | 20180198412 15/915652 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54210638 |
Filed Date | 2018-07-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180198412 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
BOLTON; DAVID ROBERT ; et
al. |
July 12, 2018 |
FAST PULSE GENERATOR
Abstract
A pulse generator is disclosed. The pulse generator can include
a pulsed switch, such as a diode. The pulsed switched can be
connected between an input source, such as an oscillator and a
frequency multiplier.
Inventors: |
BOLTON; DAVID ROBERT; (FIFE,
GB) ; SMITH; GRAHAM; (FIFE, GB) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
The University Court of the University of St. Andrews |
St. Andrews |
|
GB |
|
|
Assignee: |
The University Court of the
University of St. Andrews
|
Family ID: |
54210638 |
Appl. No.: |
15/915652 |
Filed: |
March 8, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
14610477 |
Jan 30, 2015 |
9941840 |
|
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15915652 |
|
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|
11575696 |
May 16, 2008 |
8963602 |
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PCT/GB2005/003620 |
Sep 21, 2005 |
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14610477 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H03B 19/16 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H03B 19/16 20060101
H03B019/16 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 23, 2004 |
GB |
0421178.5 |
Claims
1. A pulse generator including: an ac source for providing an ac
signal; a pulsed switch connected to an output of the ac source; a
non-linear frequency multiplier connected to an output of the
switch; wherein the pulsed switch is adapted or configured to
generate a pulsed ac signal at the output of the switch so that
pulses are applied to the non-linear frequency multiplier, wherein
the non-linear frequency multiplier shortens the pulses.
2. A pulse generator as claimed in claim 1, being included in a
radar system.
3. A pulse generator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the switch
comprises a mixer.
4. A pulse generator as claimed in claim 1 including at least one
amplifier.
5. A pulse generator as claimed in claim 1 comprising at least one
amplifier, the at least one amplifier being provided between the
pulsed switch and the frequency multiplier.
6. A pulse generator as claimed in claim 5, wherein the switch is a
mixer and the at least one amplifier is provided between the mixer
and the frequency multiplier
7. A pulse generator as claimed in claim 1 wherein the pulsed
switch is a semiconductor diode.
8. A pulse generator as claimed in claim 1 wherein a plurality of
frequency multipliers is provided and the pulsed switch is provide
between adjacent such multipliers.
9. A pulse generator as claimed in claim 1 comprising at least one
amplifier and a plurality of frequency multipliers, wherein at
least one amplifier is provided between two of the multipliers.
10. A pulse generator as claimed in claim 1 comprising at least one
amplifier, wherein at least one amplifier is connected to an output
of the frequency multiplier.
11. A radar system that includes the pulse generator as claimed in
claim 1.
12. A radar-based collision avoidance system that includes the
pulse generator as claimed in claim 1.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 14/610,477 filed on 30 Jan. 2015; which claims priority
from U.S. patent Ser. No. 11/575,696, filed 16 May 2008; which is a
U.S. National Stage under 35 USC 371 claiming priority to Serial
No. PCT/GB2005/003620, filed on 21 Sep. 2005; which claims priority
from GB 0421178.5, filed 23 Sep. 2004, both of which are
incorporated herein in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to a fast pulse generator, and
in particular a fast radio frequency pulse generator having an
output in the frequency range of tens of kilohertz to 100s of
gigahertz.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] FIG. 1 shows a conventional radio frequency switch pulse
generator. This has an oscillator that is connected to a pulsed
switch, thereby to provide a fast, pulsed output. In practice, the
switch is typically a diode. A disadvantage of this arrangement is
that the switch parameters determine the output pulse width. A
further limitation is that when a diode is used, pulse rise times
are limited by the intrinsic bandwidth of the switch pulse input,
which in turn limits the output pulse rise time. In addition, the
switch has an insertion loss, which reduces the output power. Also,
the output power is restricted by the power handling capability of
the switch. Any attempt to overcome the losses using an amplifier,
places restrictions on the amplifier bandwidth, and as frequency
increases these restrictions become more difficult to satisfy.
[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide an improved
fast pulse generator.
[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a pulse generator including a pulsed switch connected
between an ac source, such as an oscillator, and a non-linear
frequency multiplier.
[0006] Because the frequency multiplier is a non-linear device that
only conducts above a threshold and saturates very quickly, an
effective sharpening of the pulse edges is provided, which allows
for the generation of shorter, and so faster, output pulses.
[0007] The pulsed switch may be a semiconductor diode. The pulsed
switch may be a mixer means. The switch may be operable to produce
bi-phase pulses. The switch may be operable to produce multi-phasic
pulses.
[0008] A plurality of frequency multipliers may be provided. In
this case, the pulsed switch may be provided between adjacent
multipliers.
[0009] The generator may include at least one amplifier. The
amplifier may be connected between the pulsed switch and the
frequency multiplier. Where a plurality of frequency multipliers is
provided, the amplifier may be connected between two of these
multipliers. The amplifier may be connected to an output of the
frequency multiplier.
[0010] The pulse generator may be configured to provide a pulsed
output having a frequency in the range of tens of kilohertz to 100s
of gigahertz.
[0011] The pulse generator may be fabricated on a single chip,
making it ideal for inclusion in integrated circuits.
Alternatively, the generator could be constructed from separate
components.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] Various aspects of the invention will now be described by
way of example only and with reference to the accompanying
drawings, of which:
[0013] FIG. 1 shows a conventional radio frequency switch pulse
generator;
[0014] FIG. 2 is block diagram of a pulse generator;
[0015] FIG. 3 is modified version of the pulse generator of FIG.
2;
[0016] FIG. 4 is another modified version of the generator of FIG.
2;
[0017] FIG. 5 is yet another modified version of the generator of
FIG. 2, and
[0018] FIG. 6 is still another modified version of the generator of
FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] FIG. 2 shows a pulse generator 10 including a pulsed switch
12 connected between an oscillator 14 and a frequency multiplier
16. Any suitable oscillator 14 could be used, provided it is able
to drive the frequency multiplier non-linearly 16. The multiplier
16 may include one or more non-linear devices, for example one or
more varactor diodes, FETs, bipolar or other types of diode.
Although FIG. 2 shows only a single frequency multiplier 16, there
may be a plurality of these, with the pulsed switch 12 connected
between adjacent multipliers, as shown in FIG. 3. The pulsed switch
12 may be a semiconductor device or a mixer means, for example, a
diode or a four-quadrant multiplier or double balanced mixer or any
other relatively fast switch. In any case, the switch 12 may be
operable to produce bi-phase pulses. Alternatively, the switch 12
may be operable to produce multi-phasic pulses.
[0020] Because the multiplier 16 of FIGS. 2 and 3 is a nonlinear
device that only conducts above a threshold and saturates very
quickly, an effective sharpening of the pulse edges is observed. In
practice, this means that the pulses are shorter and so faster.
[0021] Various device configurations have been tested. In one
example, the oscillator 14 was a YIG (Yttrium Iron Garnet)
oscillator tunable from 6.8 to 8.8 GHz with a power output of +15
dBm, followed by a varactor diode multiplier chain. The gating
switch pulse width was 600 ps at about 100 MHz. This provided
output pulses having a width of 260 ps at 94 GHz. In another
example, the oscillator used was a dielectric resonator oscillator,
which provided a fixed frequency of 7.833 GHz, followed by a
varactor diode multiplier chain. In this case, the gating switch
pulse width was 1 ns at about 100 MHz and the output pulses had a
width of 650 ps at 94 GHz. These examples are by no means
exclusive, but instead are provided for the purposes of
illustrating the benefits of the invention. The type of oscillator
and required output power are dependant only upon system
requirements.
[0022] The pulse generator in which the invention is embodied can
be used for many applications, particularly radar applications. For
example, the invention could be of particular use in radar based
collision avoidance systems. Because of the very high speeds
achievable using the generator, the accuracy and resolution of such
systems would be greatly improved.
[0023] A skilled person will appreciate that variations of the
disclosed arrangements are possible without departing from the
invention. For example, because processing by the frequency
multiplier will reduced the pulse signal amplitude, at least one
amplifier 18 may be provided for recovering that pulse amplitude.
This may be provided between the pulsed switch 12 and the frequency
multiplier 16, as shown in FIG. 4. Where a plurality of frequency
multipliers 16 is provided, the amplifier 18 may provided between
two of these multipliers 16, as shown in FIG. 5. Alternatively or
additionally, the amplifier 18 may be connected to an output of the
frequency multiplier 16, as shown in FIG. 6. Accordingly the above
description of the specific embodiment is made by way of example
only and not for the purposes of limitation. It will be clear to
the skilled person that minor modifications may be made without
significant changes to the operation described.
* * * * *