Universal Generator of Ultra-Wideband Pulses

Abstract

An Ultra-Wideband (UWB) subnanosecond pulse generator is described in this paper. High amplitude Gaussian pulses are generated by a Step Recovery Diode (SRD) included in a novel pulse forming circuit. The pro-posed circuit solution utilizes the performance of the SRD effectively, without excessive requirements regarding the driver section of the generator. Monocycle pulses are then generated by an additional pulse forming network. A sim-ple transistor driver is also described, which transforms a TTL trigger signal to a driving pulse with the timing and amplitude parameters required by the SRD. Measurement results are presented, which show the proposed generator operating with stable output pulse parameters at arbitrary pulse repetition frequency up to 20 MHz. The generated monocycle pulses are 25 V in amplitude and approximately 500 ps in width.