A Scalable 77 GHz Massive MIMO FMCW Radar by Cascading Fully-Integrated Transceivers

Och, Andreas; Pfeffer, Clemens; Schrattenecker, Jochen O.; Schuster, Stefan; Weigel, Robert

doi:10.23919/apmc.2018.8617548

Cited by 26 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The low-cost sensor prototype utilizes a fully-integrated FMCW automotive radar MMIC by Infineon Technologies fabricated in Silicon-Germanium technology [27]. All components necessary for radar operation are integrated on chip, such as a FMCW chirp generator for the frequency range 76−81 GHz, the entire transmit chain including power amplifier, a receive chain with digitized output as well as a digital control unit.…”

Section: Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To enable phase coherent operation of two distributed radar systems, it is necessary to synchronize them with high precision. The MMICs used in the hardware prototype support this operational mode by a master-slave cascading feature, which is usually employed to increase the number of TX and RX channels and thus achieve higher angular resolution [27]. In this configuration the local oscillator (LO) signal of the master MMIC is forwarded to the slave sensor via a WR-12 waveguide of 1.30m total length, the 50 MHz system clock and other digital control signals are synchronized via SMA and signal cables of the same length, respectively.…”

Section: Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Accuracy Bounds and Measurements of a Contactless Permittivity Sensor for Gases Using Synchronized Low-Cost mm-Wave Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar Transceivers

Och

Schrattenecker²,

Schuster

et al. 2019

Sensors

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A primary concern in a multitude of industrial processes is the precise monitoring of gaseous substances to ensure proper operating conditions. However, many traditional technologies are not suitable for operation under harsh environmental conditions. Radar-based time-of-flight permittivity measurements have been proposed as alternative but suffer from high cost and limited accuracy in highly cluttered industrial plants. This paper examines the performance limits of low-cost frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar sensors for permittivity measurements. First, the accuracy limits are investigated theoretically and the Cramér-Rao lower bounds for time-of-flight based permittivity and concentration measurements are derived. In addition, Monte-Carlo simulations are carried out to validate the analytical solutions. The capabilities of the measurement concept are then demonstrated with different binary gas mixtures of Helium and Carbon Dioxide in air. A low-cost time-of-flight sensor based on two synchronized fully-integrated millimeter-wave (MMW) radar transceivers is developed and evaluated. A method to compensate systematic deviations caused by the measurement setup is proposed and implemented. The theoretical discussion underlines the necessity of exploiting the information contained in the signal phase to achieve the desired accuracy. Results of various permittivity and gas concentration measurements are in good accordance to reference sensors and measurements with a commercial vector network analyzer (VNA). In conclusion, the proposed radar-based low-cost sensor solution shows promising performance for the intended use in demanding industrial applications.

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Section: Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accuracy Bounds and Measurements of a Contactless Permittivity Sensor for Gases Using Synchronized Low-Cost mm-Wave Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar Transceivers

Och

Schrattenecker²,

Schuster

et al. 2019

Sensors

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This also enables operating frequencies above 100 GHz [10]. Due to the losses of the distribution networks, the FMCW signal has to be generated with a high output power or to be amplified within the distribution network [11], [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

System Performance of a Scalable 79 GHz Imaging MIMO Radar With Injection-Locked LO Feedthrough

Schwarz¹,

Meyer²,

Dürr³

et al. 2021

IEEE J. Microw.

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The estimation of the direction-of-arrival in a coherent multi-channel radar system requires the distribution of the high-frequency local oscillator signal to all hardware channels. Various system concepts with distribution network or feedthrough topologies are established. While distribution networks are bulky and costly, the time delays in systems with a feedthrough topology cause systematic errors in the range evaluation. In this work, a system concept based on an injection-locked feedthrough and the related radar system analysis is presented. The disadvantage of time delays in common feedthrough architectures can be eliminated by a hardware correction using the phase shifting capabilities of the injection-locked oscillator. In addition, two software correction algorithms are presented and analyzed. The performance of the realized system is shown by radar measurements and direction-of-arrival estimations. It is proven that the phase noise of different injection-locked oscillators is fully correlated within the radar system which results in the same detection performance as in state-of-the-art radar systems using a signal distribution network. Thus, the injection-locked feedthrough imaging radar topology is a suitable concept of realizing flexible radar frontends without bulky distribution networks.INDEX TERMS Automotive radar, chirp sequence modulation, coherency, direction-of-arrival (DoA) estimation, frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW), injection-locking, imaging radar, local oscillator (LO) feedthrough, mm-wave, monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC), multiple-input multipleoutput (MIMO), phase noise correlation, time delay correction.This article has been accepted for inclusion in a future issue of this journal. Content is final as presented, with the exception of pagination.

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“…Better performance capabilities in range and angular resolutions of radar sensors are competitively required, as they are very important features not only to detect objects but also to recognize them in optical camera or light detection and ranging (LiDAR) applications [1]- [7]. Many antennas and transceiver chains in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar systems are necessary to obtain high angular resolutions, of which millimeter-wave front-ends are implemented often with multiple chipsets in a cascade form with appropriate local oscillator (LO) distributions [8]- [11]. Virtual receive array (VRA) methods are widely adopted to synthesize a large aperture size effectively for high angular resolution [2]- [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time-and-Frequency Hybrid Multiplexing for Flexible Ambiguity Controls of DFT-coded MIMO OFDM Radar

Suh

Lee²,

Gil

et al. 2021

IEEE Access

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A time-and-frequency hybrid multiplexing technique for a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) radar is proposed. Discrete Fourier transform (DFT)-coded OFDM waveforms are introduced, which allow it to be free from range-dependent angle errors. These are readily used to provide both time-domain and frequency-domain multiplexings in the MIMO OFDM radar. The DFT-coded frequency-domain multiplexing shortens the maximum unambiguous range, while the DFT-coded time-domain multiplexing lowers the maximum Doppler ambiguity. A hybrid of both domain multiplexing techniques can mitigate the respective limitations by adaptively selecting the proper DFT matrix size in each multiplexing domain. This allows to solve the intrinsic range and Doppler ambiguity problems of MIMO radars by controlling the hybrid ratio of the two kinds of DFT-code based multiplexing methods. Range-Doppler and range-angle maps of four examples with different hybrid multiplexing ratios are simulated with a MIMO OFDM radar numerical platform.INDEX TERMS Discrete Fourier transform (DFT) code, hybrid multiplexing, multiple-input multipleoutput (MIMO) radar, orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) radar, range and Doppler ambiguities.

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A Scalable 77 GHz Massive MIMO FMCW Radar by Cascading Fully-Integrated Transceivers

Cited by 26 publications

References 10 publications

Accuracy Bounds and Measurements of a Contactless Permittivity Sensor for Gases Using Synchronized Low-Cost mm-Wave Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar Transceivers

Accuracy Bounds and Measurements of a Contactless Permittivity Sensor for Gases Using Synchronized Low-Cost mm-Wave Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar Transceivers

System Performance of a Scalable 79 GHz Imaging MIMO Radar With Injection-Locked LO Feedthrough

Time-and-Frequency Hybrid Multiplexing for Flexible Ambiguity Controls of DFT-coded MIMO OFDM Radar

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