Radar sensors based on frequency-modulated-continuous-wave (FMCW) methods benefit from high-quality signal sources. To complement FMCW radar sensors, a frequency-agile linear-FM source with excellent spectral purity was developed using a commercial direct-digital synthesizer (DDS) as a reference source for a wide-bandwidth phase-locked-loop (PLL) frequency synthesizer. By employing a simple FMCW radar architecture, it was possible to evaluate the performance of a linear-frequency-modulated (LFM) source under closed-loop operational conditions.
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