Element-level reconfigurable direct-sample receive module for digital radar

This paper presents a reconfigurable direct RF sample receive module architecture for phased array element-level digitization. The architecture utilizes very wide RF input bandwidth Track and Hold (T/H) device in front of a high resolution (12-Bit) and high speed (3.6 GSPS) Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). Using an external wideband T/H can extend the input RF frequency and bandwidth of operation and directly samples the RF band with higher dynamic range than the ADC is capable of. A compact integrated module has been designed using reconfigurable filters for S- and X-Band operation, T/H and ADC devices. The module utilizes surface mount technology (SMT) packaged components on multilayer printed circuit board. For an S or X-Band RF input, SNRs of 63 dB for NB of 15 MHz and 55 dB for WB of 400 MHz are demonstrated which correspond to a dynamic range of 82.8 dB for NB and 74.8 dB over a processing bandwidth of 5 MHz.