PLL Synthesizer Enables Flexible and Cost-Effective Radar Systems in Automotive, Aerospace, Industrial and Communications Applications

FMCW radar systems require very high radio performance and current approaches that rely on the linearity of the VCO (voltage controlled oscillator) pose a number of design challenges due to their complexity, inflexibility, and high cost. The latest addition to ADI’s industry-leading family of PLL synthesizers, the ADF4158, is a 6.1GHz feature-rich and programmable device that can easily be configured to suit individual FMCW radar system designers’ needs. Implementation of an FMCW radar system using the ADF4158 produces a highly linear ramp profile that is completely independent of VCO linearity, thereby improving radar resolution and reducing cost and complexity associated with system calibration. Furthermore, the ADF4158 is based on dependable BiCMOS process technology to enable affordable implementations at one-third the cost of competitive devices.

Additional ADF4158 Key Features and Benefits:

* 25-bit modulus allows sub-hertz frequency resolution
* Frequency and phase modulation capability
* Generates saw-tooth and triangular waveforms in the frequency domain
* Generates parabolic ramp
* Generates ramp with frequency-shift keying (FSK) superimposed
* Generates ramp with two different sweep rates
* Ramp delay, ramp frequency readback and ramp interruption
* 2.7 V to 3.3 V power supply
* Separate VP allows extended tuning voltage