Parallelized Field-Programmable Gate Array Data Processing for High-Throughput Pulsed-Radar Systems
A parallelized field-programmable gate array (FPGA) architecture is proposed to realize an ultra-fast, compact, and low-cost dual-channel ultra-wideband (UWB) pulsed-radar system. This approach resolves the main shortcoming of current FPGA-based radars, namely their low processing throughput, which...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/1/239 |
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| author | Aaron D. Pitcher Mihail Georgiev Natalia K. Nikolova Nicola Nicolici |
| author_facet | Aaron D. Pitcher Mihail Georgiev Natalia K. Nikolova Nicola Nicolici |
| author_sort | Aaron D. Pitcher |
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| description | A parallelized field-programmable gate array (FPGA) architecture is proposed to realize an ultra-fast, compact, and low-cost dual-channel ultra-wideband (UWB) pulsed-radar system. This approach resolves the main shortcoming of current FPGA-based radars, namely their low processing throughput, which leads to a significant loss of data provided by the radar receiver. The architecture is integrated with an in-house UWB pulsed radar operating at a sampling rate of 20 gigasamples per second (GSa/s). It is demonstrated that the FPGA data-processing speed matches that of the radar output, thus eliminating data loss. The radar system achieves a remarkable speed of over 9000 waveforms per second on each channel. The proposed architecture is scalable to accommodate higher sampling rates and various waveform periods. It is also multi-functional since the FPGA controls and synchronizes two transmitters and a dual-channel receiver, performs signal reconstruction on both channels simultaneously, and carries out user-defined averaging, trace windowing, and interference suppression for improving the receiver’s signal-to-noise ratio. We also investigate the throughput rate while offloading radar data onto an external device through an Ethernet link. Since the radar data rate significantly exceeds the Ethernet link capacity, we show how the FPGA-based averaging and windowing functions are leveraged to reduce the amount of offloaded data while fully utilizing the radar output. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-205fa242db3246b49699bf42a062c09d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj-art-205fa242db3246b49699bf42a062c09d2025-01-10T13:21:19ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-01-0125123910.3390/s25010239Parallelized Field-Programmable Gate Array Data Processing for High-Throughput Pulsed-Radar SystemsAaron D. Pitcher0Mihail Georgiev1Natalia K. Nikolova2Nicola Nicolici3Electromagnetic Vision (EMVi) Research Laboratory, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, CanadaElectromagnetic Vision (EMVi) Research Laboratory, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, CanadaElectromagnetic Vision (EMVi) Research Laboratory, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, CanadaComputer-Aided Design and Test (CADT) Research Group, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, CanadaA parallelized field-programmable gate array (FPGA) architecture is proposed to realize an ultra-fast, compact, and low-cost dual-channel ultra-wideband (UWB) pulsed-radar system. This approach resolves the main shortcoming of current FPGA-based radars, namely their low processing throughput, which leads to a significant loss of data provided by the radar receiver. The architecture is integrated with an in-house UWB pulsed radar operating at a sampling rate of 20 gigasamples per second (GSa/s). It is demonstrated that the FPGA data-processing speed matches that of the radar output, thus eliminating data loss. The radar system achieves a remarkable speed of over 9000 waveforms per second on each channel. The proposed architecture is scalable to accommodate higher sampling rates and various waveform periods. It is also multi-functional since the FPGA controls and synchronizes two transmitters and a dual-channel receiver, performs signal reconstruction on both channels simultaneously, and carries out user-defined averaging, trace windowing, and interference suppression for improving the receiver’s signal-to-noise ratio. We also investigate the throughput rate while offloading radar data onto an external device through an Ethernet link. Since the radar data rate significantly exceeds the Ethernet link capacity, we show how the FPGA-based averaging and windowing functions are leveraged to reduce the amount of offloaded data while fully utilizing the radar output.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/1/239concealed weapon detectionfield-programmable gate arrayequivalent-time samplingsubsamplingultra-wideband measurement techniquesultra-wideband radar |
| spellingShingle | Aaron D. Pitcher Mihail Georgiev Natalia K. Nikolova Nicola Nicolici Parallelized Field-Programmable Gate Array Data Processing for High-Throughput Pulsed-Radar Systems Sensors concealed weapon detection field-programmable gate array equivalent-time sampling subsampling ultra-wideband measurement techniques ultra-wideband radar |
| title | Parallelized Field-Programmable Gate Array Data Processing for High-Throughput Pulsed-Radar Systems |
| title_full | Parallelized Field-Programmable Gate Array Data Processing for High-Throughput Pulsed-Radar Systems |
| title_fullStr | Parallelized Field-Programmable Gate Array Data Processing for High-Throughput Pulsed-Radar Systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Parallelized Field-Programmable Gate Array Data Processing for High-Throughput Pulsed-Radar Systems |
| title_short | Parallelized Field-Programmable Gate Array Data Processing for High-Throughput Pulsed-Radar Systems |
| title_sort | parallelized field programmable gate array data processing for high throughput pulsed radar systems |
| topic | concealed weapon detection field-programmable gate array equivalent-time sampling subsampling ultra-wideband measurement techniques ultra-wideband radar |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/1/239 |
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