Analogue kurtosis detector for radio-frequency interference in microwave radiometers

An analogue system has been developed for radio frequency interference (RFI) detection in microwave radiometers. The detector measures the higher order moments of the signal and the kurtosis measurement is used to determine the presence of RFL The hardware comprises a square-law detector and a high-speed analogue multiplier. Because the circuit uses only analogue components at radio and/or intermediate frequencies, it can easily augment conventional radiometer architectures used in both airborne and spaceborne instruments.