  High-power interferers are one of the main hurdles in wideband communication
channels. To that end, this paper presents a wideband interferer detection
method. The presented technique operates by sampling the incoming signal as an
input, and produces the frequency and the power readings of the detected
interferer. The detection method relies on driving an open circuit stub, where
the voltage is proportional to the power of the interferer, and the standing
wave pattern is an indicator of its frequency. This approach is feasible over
multi-octave bandwidth with a wide power dynamic range. The concept is analyzed
for design and optimization, and a prototype is built for a proof-of-concept.
The measured results demonstrate the ability to detect an interferer within the
1--16 GHz frequency range, with a power dynamic range between -20 to 20 dBm.
The detection concept is also fitted with different types of tunable bandstop
filters (BSFs) for automatic detection and suppression of the interferer if its
power exceeds a programmable threshold. With a measured response time of 500
ns, the presented method is a technology enabler for wideband receivers.
