J Electr Eng Technol Vol. 9, No.

2: 771-776, 2014 ISSN(Print) 1975-0102

http://dx.doi.org/10.5370/JEET.2014.9.2.771 ISSN(Online) 2093-7423

20 MHz-3 GHz Programmable Chirp Spread Spectrum Generator

for a Wideband Radio Jamming Application

Sun-Ryoul Kim*, Hyuk Ryu*, Keum-Won Ha*, Jeong-Geun Kim** and Donghyun Baek*†

Abstract – In this paper, an agile programmable chirp spread spectrum generator for wideband
frequency-jamming applications from 20 MHz to 3 GHz is proposed. A frequency-mixing architecture
using two voltage-controlled oscillators is used to achieve a wideband operating frequency range, and
the direct digital synthesizer (DDS)-based chirping method with a two-point modulation technique is
employed to provide a programmable and consistent chirp bandwidth. The proposed signal generator
provides the various programmable FM signals from 20 MHz to 3 GHz with a modulation bandwidth
from 0 to 400 MHz. The prototype successfully demonstrates arbitrary sequential jamming operation
with a fast band-to-band hopping time of < 10 μsec.

Keywords: Linear frequency modulator, Frequency chirp generator, Frequency jamming, Frequency
hopping, Phase-locked loops

1. Introduction applications. The narrowband jamming signal source is

composed of a narrowband VCO, a narrowband PA, a
Radio frequency jamming is used to disrupt wireless switch (SW), and an LFM. The chirp spread spectrum is
communications by transmitting high-power interfering obtained by modulating each narrowband VCO [5]. The
radio signals and decreasing the signal-to-noise ratio output frequency band is selected by the switch. This type
(SNR) of the nearby radio receivers [1]. Recently, jamming of jamming signal generator can focus the required
applications have expanded from military purposes into jamming power on the target frequency using a PA with
public uses and security applications. Because commercial
wireless communications widely use frequencies ranging
from 20 MHz to 3 GHz, the jamming frequency must cover
this frequency range.
Fig. 1(a) shows a conventional frequency jamming
signal generator. A white random noise source generates a (a)
wideband random noise signal, and a wideband power
amplifier (PA) amplifies the noise signal, delivering the
noise power to the antenna at the target frequency. To cover
all the jamming bandwidth, a wideband PA is required [2].
Because the output power spreads over the entire frequency
band, it is difficult to concentrate jamming power on the
target frequency. Consequently, the power efficiency
(Pout/PDC) becomes very low. The power efficiency can be
improved by dividing the frequency band as shown in Fig.
1(b), which can concentrate the jamming power on each
separate frequency band, where the chirp spread spectrum
is generated using a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) (b)
and a linear frequency modulator (LFM). The chirp spread
spectrum was originally designed for ultra-wideband
communications for precision ranging or low-rate wireless
networks [3, 4]. However, it can be applied to jamming

† Corresponding Author: School of Electrical Engineering, Chung- Ang (c)

University, Seoul, Korea. (dhbaek@cau.ac.kr)
* School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Chung-Ang Fig. 1. Frequency jamming architectures using: (a) a white
University, Seoul, Korea.
** Department of Electronic Engineering, Kwangwoon University,
noise source and a wideband PA; (b) the
Seoul, Korea. narrowband VCOs and PAs, and (c) a wideband
Received: August 26, 2013; Accepted: January 2, 2014 VCO and PA.

771
 20 MHz–3 GHz Programmable Chirp Spread Spectrum Generator for a Wideband Radio Jamming Application
Fig. 2. The frequency-mixing architecture for the wideband
chirp spread spectrum generator and the output
spectrum.
Fig. 3. Frequency-jamming architectures with white noise
relatively low P1dB; consequently, the power efficiency
can be improved. The disadvantage is that this jamming
signal generator is very complex to implement because of a
large number of components, such as the VCOs, PAs, and
SWs.
In this paper, a new wideband frequency-jamming signal
generator using a wideband VCO, a wideband PA, and an
LFM is proposed as shown in Fig. 1(c), where the LFM
signal determines the operating frequency and modulation
bandwidth, simultaneously. Because the proposed jamming
generator can focus its power on the target band, it is also
power-efficient. Additionally, a compact design is possible
because of the small number of components.
2. Wideband Frequency Modulator Design
Because the required operating frequency range is nearly
200% of the center frequency, the design challenge of this
work is to achieve a programmable chirp spread spectrum
in this wide operating frequency range. Fig. 2 shows the
proposed wideband frequency-mixing architecture. The
wideband frequency range is realized using two identical
high-frequency VCOs (VCOCF and VCOFM) and one
frequency mixer. Fig. 3 shows the frequency characteristics
of the employed VCO. The center frequency VCO
(VCOCF) operates from 4220 to 7220 MHz and determines
the output frequency of the jamming signal generator; the
frequency modulation VCO (VCOFM) operates at the fixed
772
(a)
(b)
Fig. 4. (a) Two-point direct VCO modulation technique and
(b) chirp control voltage of the VCO
Fig. 5. DDS-based linear frequency modulator.
base frequency (fbase) of 4200 MHz, and its frequency is
linearly modulated by the LFM to form a chip spread
spectrum. VCOCF and VCOFM are multiplied in a passive-
type frequency mixer and filtered in a low-pass filter to
reject the high-sideband signal. Only a low-sideband signal
less than 3 GHz is selected for the output.
To generate a programmable chirp spread spectrum, a
two-point direct VCO modulation technique is used as
shown in Fig. 4(a) [6, 7]. The proposed signal generator
should reconfigure the center frequency, the bandwidth
(ΔfBW) of the chirp spread spectrum, the rate of frequency
modulation (fRATE), and the chirp period (TPER). The center
frequency of the jamming signal is controlled by a phase-
locked loop (PLL) using a phase-frequency detector (PFD)
and a charge-pump (CP). Because the loop bandwidth is set
to be less than a tenth of fRATE, the center frequency and the
frequency modulation can be performed independently.
The chirp voltage is realized using a direct digital
synthesizer (DDS) and a digital potentiometer (DP), as
shown in Fig. 5. The DDS uses a reference frequency
(fCLK) of 100 MHz. The accumulated phase is converted to
a triangular waveform to generate a linear chirp voltage.
The digital potential meter controls the magnitude of the
output chirp voltage with 8-bit precision. The output
frequency (fOUT) of the chirp generator depends on fCLK, the
length of the phase accumulator bits (n), and the binary
 Sun-Ryoul Kim, Hyuk Ryu, Keum-Won Ha, Jeong-Geun Kim and Donghyun Baek
Fig. 6. Schematic diagram of the proposed wideband jamming signal generator.
(a)
Fig. 7. Illustration of three consecutive chirp frequencies.
tuning word (M). It is provided as follows:
f OUT = M ⋅ f CLK 2 n
(1)
ΔfBW is determined by the chirp voltage VFM and the
VCO gain KVCO as ΔfBW = KVCO ⋅ VFM. The frequency chirp
period TFM determines the frequency sweeping rate, and
TPER sets the jamming time on the target frequency.
Because the nonlinear gain characteristics of the VCO
cause harmonic power generation, the magnitude of the
chirp voltage is limited to a value with a harmonic
rejection rate of 40 dBc.
Fig. 6 shows the schematic diagram of the proposed
wideband chirp spread spectrum generator, which includes
a fast PLL for VCOCF, a slow PLL for VCOFM, a linear
frequency modulator, and a mixer with a programmable
gain amplifier (PGA). A fast locking time is required for
VCOCF because it determines the minimum hopping time
of THOP. Because the VCOs are controlled by the PLLs, the
hopping time is determined by the settling time of the PLL.
The settling time is determined by the loop bandwidth of
the PLLs, which is a function of the charge pump current
ICP, the loop-filter capacitance of C1, and the frequency-
dividing ratio of N [8]. The approximate settling time is
773
(b)
2C1ΔωN
Ts = (2)
I CP KVCO
where KVCO is the gain of the VCO. In our design, the
settling time of the fast PLL is set to <10 μsec. The VCOFM
in the slow locking loop is controlled by both the PLL and
LFM, simultaneously. To allow them to coexist without
interfering with each other, a two-point modulation
technique is employed, where the loop-filter bandwidth of
the PLL is set to <1 kHz, while the frequency of the LFM
is limited to >10 kHz [9]. After two voltages are added, its
voltage levels are shifted from 0-5 V to 0-12 V because the
required control voltages for VCOFM are in the range of 0-
12 V. Fig. 7 shows a control diagram of three consecutive
chirp frequencies and an illustration of the chirp spectrum.
The SPST switch breaks the signal path during the band-
to-band transition to remove the unwanted frequency
occurrence, and the wideband programmable gain
amplifier (PGA) provides a gain control of 32 dB.
3. Experiment Results
Fig. 8 shows a photograph of the chirp spread spectrum
 20 MHz–3 GHz Programmable Chirp Spread Spectrum Generator for a Wideband Radio Jamming Application

Fig. 8. Photographs of the signal generator (a)

(b)
Fig. 9. Chirp bandwidth according to the control digit

signal generator, which is integrated on a 4-layer FR-4

PCB with an area of 95×145 mm2. The prototype chirp
spread spectrum signal generator is encapsulated in an
aluminum case to remove mutual coupling between the
components.
The proposed chirp spread spectrum generator shows
full operation over the frequencies of 20 MHz to 3 GHz.
Fig. 8 shows the measured chirp bandwidth according to
the control digit. The maximum chirp bandwidth is
approximately 400 MHz in one frequency slot time, and
the minimum chirp resolution is approximately 1.5 MHz.
The various chirp spectrums for various jamming (c)
sequences are controlled according to the operating
frequency (fC), modulation bandwidth (ΔfBW), modulation Fig. 10. The output spectrums with fBW of (a) 0 MHz, (b)
period (TPER), modulation rate (fRATE), and output power 10 MHz, and (c) 400 MHz
(POUT).
Fig. 10(a) shows the output spectra with the chirp different frequency steps and the power variations.
bandwidth for 0, 10, and 400 MHz, respectively. Fig. 11 The frequency hopping time can be estimated by
shows the chirp signals of the 10-MHz and 400-MHz chirp measuring the VCOCF control voltage. Fig. 13 shows the
bandwidths, respectively. Fig. 12 shows the chirp spread measured VCO control voltage. After the digital control
spectrum of two programed jamming sequences. The first data transfer over 70 μsec, the carrier frequency is changed
graph in Fig. 12(a) is obtained using 10 jamming within 10 μsec. If the frequency jamming sequence can be
sequences with 10 different frequency steps and constant stored in memory, the control data transfer from the
output power, showing consistent modulation bandwidths external computer is not required; therefore, the hopping
and greater than 44 dB of harmonic suppression. The time becomes <10 μsec. Table 1 summarizes the important
output power errors over the whole frequency range <3 dB. features of the proposed programmable chirp spread
The second graph shows a chirp spread spectrum with five spectrum generator

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 Sun-Ryoul Kim, Hyuk Ryu, Keum-Won Ha, Jeong-Geun Kim and Donghyun Baek
4. Conclusion
In this paper, a programmable chirp spread spectrum
generator is presented. By adapting the wideband
frequency mixing architecture as well as fast and slow
PLLs, a wideband operating frequency range from 20 MHz
to 3 GHz and an agile frequency hopping time were
achieved. Additionally, a direct two-point modulation
technique was used with a DDS-based frequency chirp
controller for the programmable modulation bandwidth
from 0 to 400 MHz with resolution frequency of 1.5 MHz.
The prototype successfully demonstrates a sequential chirp
spread spectrum with a band-to-band hopping time of <10
μsec, which can be applied to a frequency jamming signal
generator.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank RFCore Co., Bundang,
Korea for technical supports, and Dr. Jeon for his valuable
advice. This work was supported by the Human Resources
Development program (No.20124030200060) of the Korea
Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning
(KETEP) grant funded by the Korea government Ministry
of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Chung-Ang
University Research Scholarship Grant in 2013.
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hopping transmitters using two-point delta-sigma
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[7] S. Lee et al., “Self-Calibrated Two-Point Delta-Sigma
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[8] W. M. Rogers, and C. Plett, Radio Frequency
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2005.
Sun-Ryoul Kim He received his B.S.
degree from the School of Electrical
Engineering at Chung-Ang University
in 2010. He is currently working at
Samsung Electronics. His research
interests are RF receivers for radar
applications
Hyuk Ryu He received his B.S. and
M.S. degrees from the School of
Electrical Engineering at Chung-Ang
University in 2010 and 2012, respect-
tively. He is currently working towards
his Ph.D. degree in the School of
Electrical Engineering at Chung-Ang
University. His research interests include
CMOS RF transceivers.
Keum-Won Ha He received his B.S.
degree from the School of Electrical
Engineering at Chung-Ang University
in 2006. He is currently working
towards his M.S. degree in the School
of Electrical Engineering at Chung-
Ang University. His research interests
include low-power PLL design.
Jeong-Geun Kim He received B.S.,
M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical
engineering from the Korea Advanced
Institute of Science and Technology
(KAIST), Daejeon, Korea, in 1999,
2001, and 2005, respectively. He is
currently with the Department of
Electronic Engineering at Kwangwoon
University. His research interests include millimeter,
analog, and RF circuit designs for radar and sensor systems.
 20 MHz–3 GHz Programmable Chirp Spread Spectrum Generator for a Wideband Radio Jamming Application

Donghyun Baek He received the B.S.,

M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in the depart-
ment of electrical engineering, Korea
Advanced Institute of Science and
Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea,
in 1996, 1998, and 2003, respectively.
From 2003 to 2007, he was with
System LSI Division in Samsung
Electronics Company, Ki-heung, Korea, where he designed
the mobile broadcasting RF receivers such as DVB-H,
TDMB, and ISTB-T and led the CMOS power amplifier
project for handsets. In 2007, He joined the school of
Electrical Engineering, Chung-Ang University, Seoul,
Korea, where he is currently an associate professor. He is a
life member of IEEK and a senior member of IEEE. His
research interests include analog, RF, and mixed-mode
circuit designs for mobile system on chip (SOC), radar on a
chip (ROC), and sensor on a chip (SOC)

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