Date of Award

5-2013

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE)

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Advisor

Nuri W. Emanetoglu

Second Committee Member

Donald M. Hummels

Third Committee Member

David E. Kotecki

Abstract

The design, layout, simulation, and testing of a signal generator integrated circuit (IC) intended to create a frequency modulated chirp signal used in Laser Assisted Detection and Ranging (LADAR) systems are described. LADAR systems function by illuminating a target with a laser beam and measuring the properties of the reflected signal. Applications include range finding, collision avoidance, terrain mapping, and facial recognition. The development and improvement of LADAR IC design can lead to miniaturized LADAR-on-chip systems that could significantly improve the usability and applications of said systems. Two designs, a fixed frequency oscillator bank (FFOB) and a voltage controlled oscillator bank (VCOB), were investigated as signal generators for chirped LADAR systems. The FFOB was designed to operate at 16 discrete frequencies ranging from 600 MHz to 2.1 GHz. The VCOB design offers a continuously variable frequency output ranging from 1 GHz to 3 GHz and outputs 32 discrete frequencies ranging from 1.5 GHz to 3.05 GHz in the suggested configuration. The FFOB design consists of 16 individual oscillators that are each controlled by a logical input pin on the package. In contrast, the VCOB design consists of eight oscillators, each with a tunable frequency and are cycled automatically by an on-chip digital counter circuit. All designs were completed in the IBM CMRF7SF process. The FFOB IC design was manufactured and packaged by MOSIS, and testing of the FFOB chip was completed. The VCOB IC was was designed to improve the performance of the FFOB signal generator by lowering power consumption, reducing signal distortion, increasing the number of the steps in the chirped waveform, and increasing bandwidth.

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