A high performance waveform and a new ranging method for the proximity detector

Signal modulation is an essential design factor for proximity detectors and directly affects the system’s potential performance. In order to achieve the advantages of chaotic codes bi-phase modulation (CCBPM) and linear frequency modulation (LFM) simultaneously, this paper designed a waveform which combined chaotic codes bi-phase modulation and linear frequency modulation (CCBPM–LFM) for proximity detectors. The CCBPM–LFM waveform was analyzed in the aspect of time delay resolution (TDR) and Doppler tolerance (DT) based on ambiguity function (AF). Then, a ranging method, which we called instant correlation harmonic demodulation (ICHD), was presented for the detector using the CCBPM–LFM waveform. By combining time domain instant correlation with harmonic demodulation, the ICHD solved the problem caused by combination modulation and made the most of the linear frequency modulation (LFM) harmonics and the correlation of chaotic codes. Finally, a prototype was implemented and ranging experiments were carried out. From the theoretical analysis and experimental results, the proximity detector used the CCBPM–LFM waveform has an outstanding detection performance.