A Decade Bandwidth SFCW RF Front-End With High Harmonic Suppression

Zhiwen Miao; Siqi Xu; Yaning Du; Longfei Pang; Xiue Bao; Giovanni Crupi; Guoqiang He

doi:10.1109/LMWT.2026.3669602

A Decade Bandwidth SFCW RF Front-End With High Harmonic Suppression

Zhiwen Miao
, Siqi Xu
, Yaning Du
, Longfei Pang
, Xiue Bao^*
, Giovanni Crupi
, Guoqiang He^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Shanghai University
Tonghui Electronic Technology Company Ltd.
Beijing Institute of Technology
BIT
University of Messina

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

To meet the demand for high-resolution and strong penetration capability in ultra-wideband radar systems, this letter proposes a novel stepped-frequency continuous-wave (SFCW) RF front-end covering the decade bandwidth of 0.3–3 GHz. However, ultra-wideband operation within this frequency range tends to generate in-band harmonics, which further induce ranging image artifacts that degrade radar performance—this mechanism is first analyzed in detail herein. To address this critical issue, an innovative architecture is introduced, which employs transmitter down-conversion and receiver up-conversion to suppress harmonics. By strategically selecting the intermediate frequency (IF) and local oscillator (LO) frequencies based on the 0.3–3 GHz bandwidth characteristics, potential spurious products within the target frequency range are effectively mitigated. Experimental results demonstrate a harmonic suppression rate of 45 dBc, indicating that the system provides a robust solution for high-resolution radar applications requiring low-frequency penetration and high spurious suppression.

Original language	English
Journal	IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/LMWT.2026.3669602
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 2026
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Broadband
ground-penetrating radar (GPR)
harmonic suppression
stepped-frequency continuous-wave (SFCW)

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10.1109/LMWT.2026.3669602

Cite this

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title = "A Decade Bandwidth SFCW RF Front-End With High Harmonic Suppression",

abstract = "To meet the demand for high-resolution and strong penetration capability in ultra-wideband radar systems, this letter proposes a novel stepped-frequency continuous-wave (SFCW) RF front-end covering the decade bandwidth of 0.3–3 GHz. However, ultra-wideband operation within this frequency range tends to generate in-band harmonics, which further induce ranging image artifacts that degrade radar performance—this mechanism is first analyzed in detail herein. To address this critical issue, an innovative architecture is introduced, which employs transmitter down-conversion and receiver up-conversion to suppress harmonics. By strategically selecting the intermediate frequency (IF) and local oscillator (LO) frequencies based on the 0.3–3 GHz bandwidth characteristics, potential spurious products within the target frequency range are effectively mitigated. Experimental results demonstrate a harmonic suppression rate of 45 dBc, indicating that the system provides a robust solution for high-resolution radar applications requiring low-frequency penetration and high spurious suppression.",

keywords = "Broadband, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), harmonic suppression, stepped-frequency continuous-wave (SFCW)",

author = "Zhiwen Miao and Siqi Xu and Yaning Du and Longfei Pang and Xiue Bao and Giovanni Crupi and Guoqiang He",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 IEEE.",

year = "2026",

doi = "10.1109/LMWT.2026.3669602",

language = "English",

journal = "IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters",

issn = "2771-957X",

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T1 - A Decade Bandwidth SFCW RF Front-End With High Harmonic Suppression

AU - Miao, Zhiwen

AU - Xu, Siqi

AU - Du, Yaning

AU - Pang, Longfei

AU - Bao, Xiue

AU - Crupi, Giovanni

AU - He, Guoqiang

PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

N2 - To meet the demand for high-resolution and strong penetration capability in ultra-wideband radar systems, this letter proposes a novel stepped-frequency continuous-wave (SFCW) RF front-end covering the decade bandwidth of 0.3–3 GHz. However, ultra-wideband operation within this frequency range tends to generate in-band harmonics, which further induce ranging image artifacts that degrade radar performance—this mechanism is first analyzed in detail herein. To address this critical issue, an innovative architecture is introduced, which employs transmitter down-conversion and receiver up-conversion to suppress harmonics. By strategically selecting the intermediate frequency (IF) and local oscillator (LO) frequencies based on the 0.3–3 GHz bandwidth characteristics, potential spurious products within the target frequency range are effectively mitigated. Experimental results demonstrate a harmonic suppression rate of 45 dBc, indicating that the system provides a robust solution for high-resolution radar applications requiring low-frequency penetration and high spurious suppression.

AB - To meet the demand for high-resolution and strong penetration capability in ultra-wideband radar systems, this letter proposes a novel stepped-frequency continuous-wave (SFCW) RF front-end covering the decade bandwidth of 0.3–3 GHz. However, ultra-wideband operation within this frequency range tends to generate in-band harmonics, which further induce ranging image artifacts that degrade radar performance—this mechanism is first analyzed in detail herein. To address this critical issue, an innovative architecture is introduced, which employs transmitter down-conversion and receiver up-conversion to suppress harmonics. By strategically selecting the intermediate frequency (IF) and local oscillator (LO) frequencies based on the 0.3–3 GHz bandwidth characteristics, potential spurious products within the target frequency range are effectively mitigated. Experimental results demonstrate a harmonic suppression rate of 45 dBc, indicating that the system provides a robust solution for high-resolution radar applications requiring low-frequency penetration and high spurious suppression.

KW - Broadband

KW - ground-penetrating radar (GPR)

KW - harmonic suppression

KW - stepped-frequency continuous-wave (SFCW)

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105032831528

U2 - 10.1109/LMWT.2026.3669602

DO - 10.1109/LMWT.2026.3669602

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105032831528

SN - 2771-957X

JO - IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters

JF - IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters

ER -

A Decade Bandwidth SFCW RF Front-End With High Harmonic Suppression

Abstract

Keywords

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