Broadband FM-CW reflectometry is foreseen to be used on ITER to measure the electron density profile, both
in the main and divertor plasmas. These measurements should provide crucial information for machine control
and operation, in complement to magnetic diagnostics, and require the automatic evaluation of the density profile
in all relevant plasma scenarios. This is a complex task due to the effects of plasma turbulence on the probing
microwaves. A major and continued effort both on hardware development and data processing has been made in
the ASDEX Upgrade broadband reflectometry diagnostic since 1991, which has led to noticeable improvements of
density profile measurements. Here we review the evolution of the data processing techniques for profile evaluation.
We first describe the standard methods that have been applied in ASDEX Upgrade (as well as in other machines)
and discuss their advantages and limitations. Secondly, the novel techniques implemented in ASDEX Upgrade are
presented and the resulting improvements on profile evaluation are discussed. It is shown that these are due to the
ability to use both the a priori knowledge about profile measurements and the advanced features of the ASDEX
Upgrade reflectometry diagnostic.