P2D-8 An I/Q Demodulator with Phase Shifter for Beamforming Applications

The I/Q (quadrature) demodulator and phase shifter described in this paper allow a smaller, simpler and cheaper implementation of a continuous wave (CW) Doppler beamformer for ultrasound compared to existing delay line based solutions. It could also be used in radar or other beamforming applications like "smart or adaptive" antennas. The primary challenge in this design was the realization of the phase shift function and how to maintain a dynamic range of 160 dB/Hz with a power consumption of less than 200 mW per channel. A key architectural change allowed the desired performance to be achieved. The design described has a patent pending