Abstract: A system for treatment of thread includes a weft thread printer having an intake positioned to receive a weft thread from a source, as well as an encoder that is configured to detect a length of the weft thread as the weft thread moves through the weft thread printer along a travel path. The system also includes a printhead positioned to apply coatings of a plurality of colors to the weft thread and yield a treated weft thread, as well as an outlet positioned to pass the treated weft thread to a loom.

Abstract: A product location system comprises a plurality of nodes, each of which being enabled to receive and transmit signals from a user equipment device after a reading is made of a product identifier. The system also comprises a processor configured to determine a location of the user equipment device in a space containing at least one of the nodes, associate the location of the user equipment device in the space with a location of the product identifier, and build a map comprising the location of the product identifier.

Abstract: A location system, comprises multiple nodes, each of which receiving and transmitting signals from and to user equipment. The system further comprises a processor configured to determine a location of the user equipment in a space having at least one node. The system is configured to interprets the location of the user equipment based on power of at least one signal transmitted to at least one of the nodes, a received signal strength of the user equipment at one of the nodes, and distances between the user device and at least two nodes.

Abstract: A radar device with a housing, with a shield, with an interconnect device, with an electronic circuit arrangement, and with antennas. The shield and the interconnect device, with components and antennas arranged on it, are surrounded by the housing. A medium is arranged between the shield and the housing, and this medium has a thermal conductivity greater than 0.15 W/(m·K).

Abstract: An on-vehicle radar system is described, and includes a phased array antenna including a plurality of transmit antennas, and a corresponding plurality of transmitters, wherein each of the transmitters is in communication with a respective one of the transmit antennas. A controller is operatively connected to each of the plurality of transmitters. The controller includes an instruction set that is executable to generate a plurality of Non-Linear Frequency Modulated (NLFM) radar signals corresponding to individual ones of the plurality of transmitters. Each of the NLFM radar signals that is generated for a respective one of the transmitters is determined based upon a desired beam steering angle and a position of the respective one of the transmit antennas of the phased array antenna.

Abstract: A frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar sensor may include a receive chain, where the receive chain includes a plurality of elements associated with processing a radar signal, where at least one element, of the plurality of elements, is configurable independent of at least one other element of the plurality of elements.

Abstract: A system and bent-pipe transponder component for determining a location of an individual or object in three dimensional space. The system includes a transmitter configured to transmit a first wireless electromagnetic signal at a first frequency and at least one transponder that is configured to responsively emit a second wireless electromagnetic signal having a second frequency that is frequency-shifted from the first frequency. An included receiver detecting the first and second wireless electromagnetic signals is configured to provide an output of location information for the at least one transponder. A bent-pipe transponder component may include a receiving antenna, an emitting antenna, and a frequency shift stage comprising an oscillator and a first mixer, with the frequency stage mixing a received first wireless electromagnetic signal with the output of the oscillator via the first mixer to produce the emitted second wireless electromagnetic signal.

Abstract: In some examples, a radar system includes phase-locked loop (PLL) circuitry configured to generate a control voltage signal and processing circuitry configured to generate a reference signal to drive the PLL circuitry to generate the control voltage signal. In some examples, the radar system also includes voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) circuitry configured to generate radio-frequency (RF) signals based on the control voltage signal and one or more antennas configured to transmit the RF signals and receive returned RF signals. In some examples, the radar system further includes receiver circuitry configured to generate intermediate-frequency (IF) signals based on the returned RF signals, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to detect an object based on the IF signals.

Abstract: An antenna array and a communications device are provided. The antenna array includes a feeding waveguide and a waveguide cover. A waveguide port is disposed on the feeding waveguide, and an array of radiation slots are arranged along the length of the waveguide cover. The slots are configured to transmit signals fed from the waveguide port, and are classified into a first subarray and a second subarray. At a center frequency of the antenna array, the difference between a beam angle of the first subarray and a required beam angle, and a difference between a beam angle of the second subarray and the required beam angle, is each less than a specified threshold. With a frequency change of the antenna array, the beam angle of the first subarray and the beam angle of the second subarray change in opposing directions. Therefore, when the first and second subarray beams are combined, the combined beam angle has reduced frequency dependence.

Abstract: A frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar sensor may include a receive chain, where the receive chain includes a plurality of elements associated with processing a radar signal, where at least one element, of the plurality of elements, is configurable independent of at least one other element of the plurality of elements.

Abstract: A detection method for a given mission comprises: a phase of analyzing the environment, wherein phase elements of influence on the sea clutter perceived by the radar are sought and stored in memory; a phase of updating the path to be followed by the carrier depending on the requirements of the mission and the elements of influence issued from the result of the analyzing phase, the path to be followed decreasing the power of the clutter received by the radar when the antenna is pointing towards a search zone liable to contain a target; the phases being repeated throughout the mission.

Abstract: A micro-projection system for projecting light on a projection surface, comprising: at least one coherent light source (101); optical elements (102, 108, 109) in the optical path between said coherent light source and said projection surface; said optical elements including at least one reflective member (102) actuated by a drive signal for deviating light from said light source so as to scan a projected image onto said projecting surface; said optical elements including at least one vibrating element (102) actuated by a vibrating signal so as to reduce speckle onto said projecting surface. The corresponding method for reducing speckle is also provided.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for generating a bidirectional chirp signal by using a phase accumulation polynomial, and the apparatus for generating a bidirectional chirp signal according to an embodiment may include an extraction unit extracting time interval information from the output of a frequency accumulator, a polynomial handling unit applying the phase accumulation polynomial to the extracted time interval information to generate a polynomial output value, and a bidirectional chirp signal output unit outputting a bidirectional chirp signal on the basis of the generated polynomial output value.

Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure involve a method for determining a road vehicle velocity and slip angle. The current disclosure presents a technique for identifying a vehicle's velocity and slip angle, in the vehicle's coordinate frame. In one embodiment, two or more sensors are orthogonally located on the underside of the vehicle in order to obtain longitudinal and lateral velocity information for slip angle determination. In another embodiment, the two or more sensors can include an array of elements for beam steering and receiver beamforming. Spatial diversity is leveraged in identifying at least a slip angle and/or velocity of the vehicle. Doppler mapping is used as a means for slip angle determination and the clutter ridge of the Doppler map is embraced for identifying the slip angle.

Abstract: There is disclosed mechanisms for calibrating a homodyne receiver in a signal distribution network for time division duplex; a corresponding method is performed by a baseband calibration module. The method comprises acquiring a transmission signal being input to a homodyne transmitter of the signal distribution network; acquiring, from a heterodyne transmitter observation receiver of the signal distribution network, a first received version of the transmission signal; acquiring, from a homodyne receiver of the signal distribution network, a second received version of the transmission signal; and, calibrating the homodyne receiver using a comparison of the first received version of the transmission signal and the second received version of the transmission signal, using the first received version of the transmission signal as a reference signal, and using the transmission signal as a calibration signal.

Abstract: A wireless microphone with the remote transmitter using a duplicate of the radio frequency determining circuits of the radio receiver to insure that the remote transmitter frequency tracks the temperature drift of the radio receiver frequency, and also with a compressor to reduce the dynamic range of the sounds captured by the microphone. The superheterodyne radio receiver having small size and low current consumption by wiring the elements of the receiver in series rather than in parallel with the battery avoiding the use of switching regulators and also by using the same amplifier to amplify the antenna signal and the local oscillator signal and by adjusting the local oscillator current based on the strength of the received radio signal. The wires between the radio receiver and the speaker are part of the antenna for the radio receiver.

Abstract: A ringing peak detector module detects a ringing at the output of an inductive load driver including a bridge circuit containing high side and low side switches. A ringing peak detector receives differential feedback signals representative of the drain-source voltage of the low-side switch and detects a ringing peak of an oscillation of a current/voltage on the inductive load. A module compares said detected ringing peak with a maximum value and controls said driver by an error signal calculated as a function of the difference between said peak value and maximum value. The ringing peak detector module includes an input buffer module upstream of said peak detector circuit that shifts the differential feedback signals so a common mode of these signals is centered at a half-dynamic level of a supply voltage to provide correspondingly shifted voltages forming a shifted differential output corresponding to a steady state of the differential feedback signals.

Abstract: A radar receiver includes an analogue receiver for receiving a radar echo signal and a digital receiver. The digital receiver includes an analogue-to-digital converter arranged to receive and sample an IF analogue signal from the analogue receiver. The sampling is undersampling according to the Nyquist criterion, so that a plurality of IF digital signals are produced, in different Nyquist zones, including one or more aliased IF digital signals. The digital receiver is arranged to select an IF digital signal from the one or more aliased digital signals.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a receiver and a receiving method of the receiver, so that monolithic integration of multiple receiving channels can be implemented. The receiver includes: a zero intermediate frequency channel, performing in-phase/quadrature (IQ) down conversion on a radio frequency signal at a first frequency band using a frequency division or frequency multiplication signal of a first oscillation signal; and a superheterodyne channel, performing down conversion on a radio frequency signal at a second frequency band using the frequency division or frequency multiplication signal of the first oscillation signal, where the first frequency band is different from the second frequency band.

Abstract: A transmitter and receiver of a broadcast signal and corresponding methods are provided. The transmitter includes: a preamble symbol inserter configured to insert a preamble symbol including a synchronization part and an information part into a frame; and a transmitting unit configured to transmit the frame including the preamble symbol. The synchronization part includes a plurality of first sequences for measuring frequency offset of the preamble symbol, and the information part includes a plurality of second sequences for measuring a phase shift amount of the information part.

Abstract: A receiver compensation method comprising receiving a radio frequency signal, amplifying the radio frequency signal, thereby producing an amplified signal, compensating the amplified signal, thereby producing a compensated signal, and mixing the compensated signal, thereby producing a mixed compensated signal, wherein the mixed compensated signal has a first gain difference between a positive differential from a center frequency and a negative differential from the center frequency and wherein the first gain differential is smaller than a second gain differential that would be obtained by mixing the amplified signal without compensating the amplified signal.

Abstract: One embodiment is directed towards a FMCW radar having a single antenna. The radar includes a transmit path having a voltage controlled oscillator controlled by a phase-locked loop, and the phase-locked loop includes a fractional-n synthesizer configured to implement a FMCW ramp waveform that ramps from a starting frequency to an ending frequency and upon reaching the ending frequency returns to the starting frequency to ramp again. The radar also includes a delay path coupled between a coupler on the transmit path and a mixer in a receive path. The delay path is configured to delay a local oscillator reference signal from the transmit path such that the propagation time of the local oscillator reference signal from the coupler to the mixer through the delay path is between the propagation time of signal reflected off the antenna and the propagation time of a leakage signal through a circulator.

Abstract: A frequency conversion system includes a mixer, which is coupled to mix an input signal with a Local Oscillator (LO) signal, so as to produce an output signal. Control circuitry is configured to adjust an actual level of the LO signal provided to the mixer, so as to maintain the actual level substantially constant. A nulling signal generator is coupled to inject a nulling signal into the input signal prior to mixing with the LO signal adjusted by the control circuitry.

Abstract: Provided are a method and apparatus (receiver) of receiving and processing a radio signal in a transmitter-receiver environment. The radio signals are transmitted across a wireless interface using Ultra Wideband (UWB) pulses. A transmitted reference approach is utilized. The radio signal include pairs of UWB pulses with each pair of pulses separated by a fixed time delay. The two pulses are then combined to provide for improved noise immunity.

Abstract: A system includes a first clock module, a global positioning system (GPS) module, a phase-locked loop (PLL) module, a cellular transceiver, and a baseband module. The first clock module generates a first clock reference. The GPS module operates in response to the first clock reference. The WLAN module operates in response to the first clock reference. The PLL module generates a second clock reference by performing automatic frequency correction (AFC) on the first clock reference in response to an AFC signal. The cellular transceiver receives radio frequency signals from a wireless medium and generates baseband signals in response to the received radio frequency signals. The baseband module receives the baseband signals, operates in response to a selected one of the first clock reference and the second clock reference, and generates the AFC signal in response to the baseband signals.

Abstract: A radio frequency ranging system is grounded in establishing and maintaining phase and frequency coherency of signals received by a slave unit from a master unit and retransmitted to the master unit by the slave unit. For a preferred embodiment of the invention, coherency is established through the use of a delta-sigma phase-lock loop, and maintained through the use, on both master and slave units, of thermally-insulated reference oscillators, which are highly stable over the short periods of time during which communications occur. A phase relationship counter is employed to keep track of the fractional time frames of the phase-lock loop as a function of the reference oscillator, thereby providing absolute phase information for an incoming burst on any channel, thereby enabling the system to almost instantaneously establish or reestablish the phase relationship of the local oscillator so that it synchronized with the reference oscillator.

Abstract: The invention includes a method for transmitting and detecting high speed Ultra Wideband pulses across a wireless interface. The transmitter includes a serializer and pulse generator. The receiver comprises a fixed delay line, multiplier, local serializer (with a sequence matching the transmitter), digital delay lines, low noise amplifier and logic fan-out buffer along with an array of D flip-flop pairs. Each flip-flop pair is enabled, at fixed time increments, to detect signals at a precise time; the timing is controlled by the pseudo-random sequence generated by the local serializer. A local tunable oscillator is controlled by detecting the phase change of the incoming signal and applying compensation to maintain the phase alignment and clock synchronization of the receiver to the clock reference of the transmitter. The invention uses a pair of pulses with a fixed delay and then relies on mixing the two to provide better noise immunity.

Abstract: An imaging receiver includes a low noise amplifier (LNA) module to receive and amplify the radio-frequency (RF) input signal; one or more switches configured to selectively pass RF input to one or more of the power detector circuits; one or more power detector circuits coupled to the switches to generate output voltages proportional to associated powers at their input ports; one or more reference circuits to provide reference signals to the switches; and one or more integrator circuits to integrate the output voltages of the power detector circuits.

Abstract: A mixer for mixing a received signal and a local oscillator signal is provided. The local oscillator signal is modulated by means of a modulation signal and the modulated local oscillator signal is injected into the received signal.

Abstract: A system includes a first clock module, a global positioning system (GPS) module, a phase-locked loop (PLL) module, a cellular transceiver, and a baseband module. The first clock module generates a first clock reference. The GPS module operates in response to the first clock reference. The WLAN module operates in response to the first clock reference. The PLL module generates a second clock reference by performing automatic frequency correction (AFC) on the first clock reference in response to an AFC signal. The cellular transceiver receives radio frequency signals from a wireless medium and generates baseband signals in response to the received radio frequency signals. The baseband module receives the baseband signals, operates in response to a selected one of the first clock reference and the second clock reference, and generates the AFC signal in response to the baseband signals.

Abstract: A wireless sensor device includes a transmission signal generation unit that generates a frequency-spread high frequency transmission signal such that a transmission frequency is continuously increased and decreased with a predetermined period, a transmitter antenna that radiates the high frequency transmission signal, a receiver antenna that receives a reflected wave from an object having received the high frequency transmission signal, and outputs a frequency-spread high frequency reception signal, a mixer circuit that receives a part of the high frequency transmission signal as a first frequency-spread high frequency signal, receives the high frequency reception signal as a second frequency-spread high frequency signal, and outputs a DC beat signal by operating as a phase detector when frequencies of the first and second signals coincide with each other, and a DC component extraction circuit that extracts the DC beat signal from an output signal of the mixer circuit.

Abstract: A system comprises a first clock module configured to generate a first clock reference that is not corrected using automatic frequency correction (AFC). A global position system (GPS) module is configured to receive the first clock reference. An integrated circuit for a cellular transceiver includes a system phase lock loop configured to receive the first clock reference, to perform AFC, and to generate a second clock reference that is AFC corrected.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, an FMCW signal generation circuit includes a voltage-controlled oscillator, a digital phase detector, a differentiator, a comparator, a low-pass filter, an amplifier, a D/A converter, and an integrator. The voltage-controlled oscillator generates an FMCW signal including an oscillation frequency corresponding to a control signal. The digital phase detector detects phase information of the FMCW signal to generate a detection signal. The differentiator differentiates the detection signal once to generate a differential signal. The comparator compares the differential signal with a target frequency to generate an error signal. The low-pass filter suppresses a high-frequency component of the error signal to generate a filtered signal. The amplifier amplifies the filtered signal to generate an amplified signal. The D/A converter converts the amplified signal to analog to generate an analog signal. The integrator integrates the analog signal to generate the control signal.

Abstract: A radio frequency ranging system is grounded in establishing and maintaining phase and frequency coherency of signals received by a slave unit from a master unit and retransmitted to the master unit by the slave unit. For a preferred embodiment of the invention, coherency is established through the use of a delta-sigma phase-lock loop, and maintained through the use, on both master and slave units, of thermally-insulated reference oscillators, which are highly stable over the short periods of time during which communications occur. A phase relationship counter is employed to keep track of the fractional time frames of the phase-lock loop as a function of the reference oscillator, thereby providing absolute phase information for an incoming burst on any channel, thereby enabling the system to almost instantaneously establish or reestablish the phase relationship of the local oscillator so that it synchronized with the reference oscillator.

Abstract: A signal generation system suitable for use in a radar system comprises a local oscillator (LO) and an intermediate frequency (IF) oscillator, wherein the IF oscillator is a Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS), and the LO is a free running oscillator not itself locked to another oscillator but which acts as a clock reference for the DDS and is the highest frequency oscillator in the system. The LO may also act as a reference for a receive chain digitizer. The invention exploits phase noise advantages of a free running oscillator at some distance from the carrier whilst maintaining coherency with other system components. The system typically finds application in FMCW radars.

Abstract: A radio receiver including a reception processing system that uses discrete-time frequency conversion to acquire a signal having a sampling rate corresponding to a local frequency, wherein the reception characteristic is improved when the reception processing system is applied to a system having a wide reception channel band. The radio receiver comprises an A/D converting part that quantizes a discrete-time analog signal to a digital value to output a received digital signal; a channel selection filtering part that uses a tap coefficient value to perform a digital filtering process of the received digital signal; and a frequency response characteristic correcting part that generates the tap coefficient in accordance with the sampling rate.

Abstract: The invention sets forth a method of determining a filling level of a product contained in a tank using a radar level gauge system. The steps include generating a transmission signal using first pulse generating circuitry outputting a first signal having a first oscillation frequency having a first pulse repetition frequency. The invention uses a second pulse generating circuitry having a resonator element having an input and an output, a reference signal in the form of a second pulse train having a second pulse repetition frequency which differs from the first pulse repetition frequency by a predetermined frequency difference. The invention forms a measurement signal including a sequence of values representing a time correlation between a pulse of the reference signal and the reflected signal, and determines the filling level based on the measurement signal.

Abstract: A system and method for adaptation of a radar receiver in response to frequency drift in a transmission source is disclosed that utilizes a stable local oscillator established at a single, non-fluctuating frequency and compensates for transmission frequency fluctuation in the signal processor module. The disclosed system and method use mathematical processing techniques to compensate for variations in transmitter frequency during baseband processing of radar reflectivity signals. The system estimates the frequency of the transmitter to a high degree of accuracy and mathematically converts the reflectivity signal energy to a baseband intermediate frequency which is adjusted to compensate for fluctuations in transmitter frequency. A digital down converter circuit and numerically controlled oscillator circuit are also utilized to convert reflectivity signal energy to baseband and compensate for transmitter frequency drift.

Abstract: A scanning radar system suitable for detecting and monitoring ground-based targets includes a frequency generator, a frequency scanning antenna, and a receiver arranged to process signals received from a target so as to identify a Doppler frequency associated with the target. The frequency generator generates sets of signals, each set having a different characteristic frequency, and includes a digital synthesiser arranged to modulate a continuous wave signal of a given characteristic frequency by a sequence of modulation patterns to generate one set of signals. The frequency scanning antenna cooperates with the frequency generator to transceive radiation over a region having an angular extent dependent on the generated frequencies.

Abstract: A radar apparatus transmits a pulse signal including pulses having at least two different pulselengths in a specific transmit pulse pattern and receives a returning echo signal through a single antenna. A tuning voltage setting timing generator generates a timing of setting a tuning voltage according to a combination of transmission pulselengths and a tuning processor performs tuning operation in a manner suited to a current transmission pulselength based on the tuning voltage setting timing. The radar apparatus may include a tuning voltage alteration decider for deciding whether or not to alter the tuning voltage based on a combination of alternate pulselengths before altering the pulselength of the pulse signal generated by a transmitter and the tuning processor alters the tuning voltage based on the result of decision made by the tuning voltage alteration decider.

Abstract: The invention relates to an FMCW radar system and a method of operating an FMCW radar system to produce a linear frequency ramp. The FMCW radar system includes a VCO, a frequency divider coupled to the VCO output, followed by an A/D converter. A down-converter shifts the digitally converted signal to baseband samples, followed by a low-pass filter coupled to an output thereof. A VCO frequency estimator produces instantaneous VCO frequency estimates from phase differences determined from the filtered baseband samples. A D/A converter coupled to an output of the VCO frequency estimator produces an input signal for the VCO to produce therewith a linear VCO frequency ramp. A ?-? modulator is coupled between the VCO frequency estimator and the input of the D/A converter to produce a dithered VCO control signal, thereby increasing the effective number of bits of the D/A converter.

Abstract: A radar sensor system and method for vehicles. An example radar system includes a processor, a plurality of transceivers having antenna(e). The antenna of the transceivers are located at various points around the vehicle. The transceivers include receive and transmit electronics that are in signal communication with the corresponding antenna. The transmit electronics output radar signals via the antenna. The transmit electronics include a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), a dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO), a phase locked loop (PLL) component and a direct digital synthesizer (DDS). The receive electronics receive from the antenna any radar reflections corresponding to the outputted radar signals and send signals associated with the radar reflections to the processor. The processor generates output signals based on the signals received from the plurality of transceivers.

Abstract: It is possible to generate D/A conversion voltage in which an error generated by numeric irregularities of a D/A conversion element such as resistor constituting a D/A converter 11 is corrected. A waveform generation method characterized in that input data into a D/A converter 11 are provided to the D/A converter in order at a timing at which a voltage of a desired waveform which has D/A conversion data indicating a conversion amount of the input data obtained by varying the input data by a minimum conversion unit or a unit obtained by multiplying the minimum conversion unit by an integer, and which varies with time series, becomes substantially equal to a D/A-converted voltage, whereby the D/A-converted voltage is generated in accordance with the desired waveform.

Abstract: The portion corresponding to a main bang signal leaking from a transmission/reception switching unit is extracted as a frequency estimation signal from an IF signal from a mixer in a signal extracting unit, a frequency is estimated in a frequency estimating unit, and the frequency of a local oscillation signal of a local oscillator is controlled so that the frequency of the IF signal is equal to a target value. The frequency estimation in the frequency estimating unit is carried out by using Discrete Fourier Transform or Fast Fourier Transform.

Abstract: Phase compensation for the phase non-linearities introduced by the filters, amplifiers, and other microwave devices included in waveform generators in a radar system is achieved by first measuring the phase errors over a predetermined frequency range which are then fed to a pair of digital random access memories (RAMs), whereupon phase predistortion commands for both the local oscillator signal used to generate the RF transmit signal and the phase non-linearity in the RF transmit signal itself are called up and applied by first applying a predistortion phase shift to the local oscillator signal when it is being generated and secondly by applying a second predistortion phase shift when the RF transmit signal is being generated.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention are concerned with a radar system, and relates specifically to scanning radar systems that are suitable for detecting and monitoring ground-based targets.

Abstract: In one aspect, a method of radar altimeter operation, the altimeter including a high frequency counter coupled to a processor is described. The method comprises providing a continuous wave to the high frequency counter upon receipt of a transmit pulse, counting the cycles of the continuous wave, discontinuing counting of the continuous wave cycles upon receipt of a return pulse, outputting a count from the high frequency counter to the processor, and operating the processor to convert the count to an altitude.

Abstract: It is possible to generate D/A conversion voltage in which an error generated by numeric irregularities of a D/A conversion element such as resistor constituting a D/A converter 11 is corrected. A waveform generation method characterized in that input data into a D/A converter 11 are provided to the D/A converter in order at a timing at which a voltage of a desired waveform which has D/A conversion data indicating a conversion amount of the input data obtained by varying the input data by a minimum conversion unit or a unit obtained by multiplying the minimum conversion unit by an integer, and which varies with time series, becomes substantially equal to a D/A-converted voltage, whereby the D/A-converted voltage is generated in accordance with the desired waveform.

Abstract: A traffic sensor is mounted at a fixed location to monitor multiple lanes of traffic. The traffic sensor (a) generates a programmable time-varying modulating signal; (b) generates a modulated microwave signal based on the programmable time-varying modulating signal; (c) radiates the modulated microwave signal in a radiation beam at an object; (d) provides a proportional calibration signal based on the modulated microwave signal; (e) measures parameters of the calibration signal, and (f) corrects the programmable time-varying modulating signal based on the parameters of the calibration signal.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for local oscillator generation are provided. In a method embodiment, a method of signal processing includes splitting a signal having a first frequency into at least a first portion and a second portion. The method also includes generating a second signal having a second frequency at a predetermined frequency difference from the first frequency by optically modulating the first portion. In addition, the method includes generating a third signal having a frequency component at a frequency that is approximately the same as the predetermined frequency difference from the first frequency by combining the second portion with the second signal.