Patent ID: 7705773

Claim:
A method for self-calibrating a radar system, the method comprising: providing a radar system comprising a Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar altimeter system that comprises a receiver for processing a simulated return signal based on a transmission radar signal, the receiver comprising: a mixer configured to receive the simulated return signal and the transmission radar signal; a low noise amplifier coupled to an output of the mixer; a high pass filter coupled to an output of the low noise amplifier; an analog to digital converter coupled to an output of the high pass filter; and a fast Fourier transform unit coupled to an output of the analog to digital converter; and generating calibration factors for the radar system by a method comprising: a) generating the simulated return signal based on one or more range values; b) generating the transmission radar signal; and c) determining one or more calibration factors based on the simulated return-signal, the transmission radar signal, and ideal return signal characteristics; wherein generating the simulated return signal includes programmably frequency dividing a known signal, and modulating the transmission radar signal based on the divided known signal.