Real Time Design and Implementation of FPGA Based Timing and Control System for Wireless Radar Communication

Abstract

This paper introduces real time application of FPGA based Timing Control Signal Generation card for Active Phased Array Radar Transmit Receive modules wireless radar communication. Active phased array radars usually have Transmit-Receive (TR) modules located near to the antenna elements and all the TR modules are to be synchronized for proper operation of the radar system. The TCSG is the heart of radar system which is designed to provide interface for digital controls, analog parameter monitoring, and timing and control signals generation required for 1 kW TR Module operation. The main objective of TCSG is to control and monitor the field located TR modules remotely from the control and instrumentation room, usually far away from the antenna field. Each TCSG card is provided with unique IP address and port number to distinguish each card though they perform same kind of operations. After remote connection establishment, the TCSG card responds to the commands given for controlling or monitoring the TR module parameters. A PC based user interface allows sending controls and monitoring the health of the TR modules. The functionality of the TCSG card is verified with a test bench setup and the results shows that the TCSG card is working properly for all the user parameters. The proposed framework comprises of detailed design, architecture, visualization, implementation and integration on a 1 kW high power TR module for the radar communication. Simulation of various control pulses for radar real time operations are carried out using Vivado and updated to the real time application using Artix-7 FPGA.