PulsON P200 UWB radio: simulation and performance results

In 1999, Time Domain (TDC) introduced the first ultra-wideband (UWB) radios using the PuIsON P100 chipset. In 2002, a second-generation chipset, the PuIsON P200, was introduced. It consists of a P200 timer (T2), P200 correlator (C2) and P200 digital baseband (DBB) chip. The chipset has been incorporated into the P200 UWB radio platform. The P200 radio is architected as an 8-correlator transceiver. The correlators are configured to minimize acquisition time, provide rake receiver gain, enable higher order modulation, provide nulling of in-band jammers and provide a means to record the entire received waveform (waveform capture). The radio relies on coherent signal processing. Energy from up to 1024 pulses can be coherently summed thereby providing 30dB of process gain. Additional process gain is realized from duty cycle as the 0.5 ns waveform is transmitted once every 104ns. As part of the design process, the radio was well simulated and a link budget was produced. Upon completion, the radio performance was compared to the predicted values. The radio has been tested as a communications system, a ranging system and as a mono-, bi- and multi-static radar. This paper summarizes the radio architecture, modulation, link budget, simulation, and performance results.