Investigating the possibility of carrying out matched filter detection in a noisy channel at quadrature baseband

Research into Software defined radio technology is increasing at a fast pace and this has been a key factor in promoting research into the implementation of most signal processing algorithms at baseband. As it is well known, Software defined radio (SDR) enables most signal processing operations to be carried out using software. SDR technology does make considerable usage of baseband processing. Traditionally, most algorithms have been carried out at radio frequency (RF). This has prompted the need to investigate the possibility of implementing some of the signal processing algorithms at lower baseband frequencies which are as compared to the traditional Radio frequency methods. This paper looks at simple matched filter detection in a noisy channel and investigates the possibility and benefits of carrying out the detection process at Quadrature baseband (QBB) as compared to the traditional Radio frequency method. A simple chirp signal is used in the analysis. Simulations are carried out using MatLab simulations at RF and QBB and the results obtained at QBB are compared with the results at RF so as to show the expected benefits of working at lower QBB frequencies than at RF.