Open loop power oscillator doppler radar

Abstract

Described are radar systems and methods. A transmit pulse is generated by the radar system. A first portion of the transmit pulse is processed by the radar system to form transmit pulse data. A second portion of the transmit pulse is directed by the radar system into a monitored volume. A return signal is received by the radar system, the return signal at least partially comprising a portion of the second portion of the transmit pulse reflected by one or more objects in the monitored volume. The return signal is processed, by the radar system, to form return signal data.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method performed by a Doppler radar system comprising:
 generating, by the radar system, a transmit pulse;   processing, by the radar system, along a receiver path, a first portion of the transmit pulse to form transmit pulse data;   directing, by the radar system, a second portion of the transmit pulse into a monitored volume;   receiving, by the radar system, a return signal, the return signal at least partially comprising a portion of the second portion of the transmit pulse reflected by one or more objects in the monitored volume; and   processing, by the radar system, along the receiver path, return signal to form return signal data.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing, by the radar system, the transmit pulse data and the return signal data to a Doppler processing module;   comparing, by the Doppler processing module, the transmit pulse data and the return signal data to determine at least one of relative phase information and relative frequency information.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating, by the radar system, the transmit pulse comprises generating the transmit pulse with one or more open loop power oscillators. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the one or more open loop power oscillators comprise one or more magnetrons. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 generating the transmit pulse with a first open loop power oscillator;   generating a second transmit pulse with a second open loop power oscillator.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 tuning a local oscillator based on one or more frequencies of the transmit pulse; and   wherein processing, by the radar system, along the receiver path, the return signal to form the return signal data further comprises down converting the return signal based on a signal from the local oscillator to form an intermediate frequency signal.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 match filtering, by the radar system, the transmit pulse data and the return signal data to produce a match filtering result.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 performing, by the radar system, at least one of Doppler processing, clutter mapping, and constant false alarm rate processing on the match filtering result.   
     
     
         9 . A method performed by a Doppler radar system comprising:
 generating, by the radar system, a transmit pulse having a pulse width;   processing, by the radar system, a first portion of the transmit pulse to form transmit pulse data, wherein the first portion of the transmit pulse is oversampled at a rate greater than the inverse of the pulse width;   directing, by the radar system, a second portion of the transmit pulse into a monitored volume;   receiving, by the radar system, a return signal, the return signal at least partially comprising a portion of the second portion of the transmit pulse reflected by one or more objects in the monitored volume; and   processing, by the radar system, the return signal to form return signal data.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 providing, by the radar system, the transmit pulse data and the return signal data to a Doppler processing module;   comparing, by the Doppler processing module, the transmit pulse data and the return signal data to determine at least one of relative phase information and relative frequency information.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein generating, by the radar system, the transmit pulse comprises generating the transmit pulse with one or more open loop power oscillators. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more open loop power oscillators comprise one or more magnetrons. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 generating the transmit pulse with a first open loop power oscillator;   generating a second transmit pulse with a second open loop power oscillator.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 tuning a local oscillator based on one or more frequencies of the transmit pulse; and   wherein processing, by the radar system, the return signal to form the return signal data further comprises down converting the return signal based on a signal from the local oscillator to form an intermediate frequency signal.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 match filtering, by the radar system, the transmit pulse data and the return signal data to produce a match filtering result.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 performing, by the radar system, at least one of Doppler processing, clutter mapping, and constant false alarm rate processing on the match filtering result.   
     
     
         17 . A method performed by a Doppler radar system comprising:
 generating, by the radar system, a transmit pulse having a pulse width;   processing, by the radar system, along a receiver path, a first portion of the transmit pulse to form transmit pulse data, wherein the first portion of the transmit pulse is oversampled at a rate greater than the inverse of the pulse width;   directing, by the radar system, a second portion of the transmit pulse into a monitored volume;   receiving, by the radar system, a return signal, the return signal at least partially comprising a portion of the second portion of the transmit pulse reflected by one or more objects in the monitored volume; and   processing, by the radar system, along the receiver path, the return signal to form return signal data.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein generating, by the radar system, the transmit pulse comprises generating the transmit pulse with one or more open loop power oscillators. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the one or more open loop power oscillators comprise one or more magnetrons. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 providing, by the radar system, the transmit pulse data and the return signal data to a Doppler processing module;   comparing, by the Doppler processing module, the transmit pulse data and the return signal data to determine at least one of relative phase information and relative frequency information.