UWB Digital Receiver Sensitivity via Time-Delayed Pulse Correlation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ultra Wideband (UWB) digital receivers face limitations in performance sensitivity due to signal degradation from noise and distortions, particularly multipath effects, which reduce the communication system's range and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The method involves processing a digitized Intermediate Frequency (IF) signal using a field programmable gate array to correlate and sum the energy of multiple pulses per bit, with each pulse delayed by a constant time interval, to enhance the Signal to Noise and Distortion Ratio (SINAD) through cumulative peak detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional UWB receiver architecture is used, then device complexity is reduced, but signal to noise and distortion ratio deteriorates due to multipath effects and noise
Solution Approach 1:
The receiver architecture is segmented into multiple parallel processing paths, each handling specific time-delayed correlation operations. The signal is divided into multiple pulse groups, and each group is processed independently through dedicated correlation paths, allowing complex signal processing while maintaining manageable architectural complexity through modular organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a time-delay dimension to the signal processing architecture by creating multiple versions of the signal at different time delays. This temporal dimensionality allows the system to distinguish between direct signals and multipath components, improving signal-to-noise ratio through correlated signal accumulation while managing complexity through structured time-domain processing.
2Reliability
If multiple pulses per bit are processed with time delay correlation, then sensitivity is improved through cumulative peak detection, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary correlation operations on individual pulse groups before final accumulation. By pre-processing each time-delayed pulse group through dedicated correlation paths, the system prepares signal components for efficient cumulative summation, improving sensitivity through correlated peak detection while minimizing total processing time through staged computation.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple correlation paths operate simultaneously and continuously on different time-delayed pulse groups, with results being accumulated in real-time. This parallel continuous processing maintains high sensitivity through cumulative peak detection while avoiding sequential processing delays, effectively eliminating time loss through concurrent operation of multiple processing streams.
3Measurement precision
If analog signal processing is used, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates due to noise and distortion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional analog signal processing with digital signal processing techniques implemented through field-programmable gate arrays. Digital correlation operations provide superior measurement precision by eliminating analog noise and distortion, while the use of parallel digital logic structures keeps device complexity manageable through software-defined processing rather than complex hardware analog circuits.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is for a method and apparatus to improve an ultra wideband (UWB) digital receiver's performance sensitivity. A transmitted signal stream has each data bit having multiple identical modulated pulses separated by a constant time interval. The received signal stream is applied to a plurality of signal processing groups where the original signal is duplicated in each processing group. The duplicated signal stream in each signal processing group is delayed by a different constant time interval between modulated pulses in the original signal stream and the two signal streams in each signal processing group is correlated and magnitude summed and combined to form a final signal stream which is detected to improve the sensitivity of the receiver.