High-accuracy, short-range distance measurement is required in a variety of industrial applications e.g., positioning of robots in a fully automated production process, level measurement of liquids in small containers. An FMCW radar sensor is suitable for this purpose, since many of these applications involve harsh environments. Due to the progress in the field of semiconductor technology, FMCW radar sensors operating in different millimeter-wave frequency bands are available today. An important question in this context, which has not been investigated so far is how does a millimeter-wave frequency band influence the sensor accuracy, when thousands of distance measurements are performed with a sensor. This topic has been dealt with for the first time in this paper. The method used for analyzing the FMCW radar signal combines a frequency- and phase-estimation algorithm. The frequency-estimation algorithm based on the fast Fourier transform and the chirp-z transform provides a coarse estimate of the target distance. Subsequently, the phase-estimation algorithm based on a cross-correlation function provides a fine estimate of the target distance. The novel aspects of this paper are as follows. First, the estimation theory concept of Cramér-Rao lower bound (CRLB) has been used to compare the accuracy of two millimeter-wave FMCW radars operating at 60 GHz and 122 GHz. In this comparison, the measurement parameters (e.g., bandwidth, signal-to-noise ratio) as well as the signal-processing algorithm used for both the radars are the same, thus ensuring an unbiased comparison of the FMCW radars, solely based on the choice of millimeter-wave frequency band. Second, the improvement in distance measurement accuracy obtained after each step of the combined frequency- and phase-estimation algorithm has been experimentally demonstrated for both the radars. A total of 5100 short-range distance measurements are made using the 60 GHz and 122 GHz FMCW radar. The measurement results are analyzed at various stages of the frequency- and phase-estimation algorithm and the measurement error is calculated using a nanometer-precision linear motor. At every stage, the mean error values measured with the 60 GHz and 122 GHz FMCW radars are compared. The final accuracy achieved using both radars is of the order of a few micrometers. The measured standard deviation values of the 60 GHz and 122 GHz FMCW radar have been compared against the CRLB. As predicted by the CRLB, this paper experimentally validates for the first time that the 122 GHz FMCW radar provides a higher repeatability of micrometer-accuracy distance measurements than the 60 GHz FMCW radar.

In this paper, a package concept based on lowtemperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology is illustrated. The concept is specifically designed for frequencies beyond 100 GHz, taking into consideration the inherent LTCC manufacturing defects e.g. shrinkage, layer misalignment and warping. Simple techniques are used for package assembly which can be automated using standard industrial processes. The proposed concept is implemented by integrating a 122 GHz silicongermanium (SiGe) radar transceiver chip in an LTCC based package. The off-chip components of the package, operating at 122 GHz, include a transmit (Tx) and a receive (Rx) aperturecoupled patch antenna array, a stripline-to-grounded coplanar waveguide signal transition feeding each of the antenna arrays and three parallel, self-matched ground-signal-ground wirebonds connecting the SiGe radar transceiver chip and the LTCC package on Tx and Rx side. The simulation and measurement results of the Tx and Rx antenna arrays alongwith the signal transitions in the frequency range of 110 to 140 GHz are shown. The radar frontend (RFE) is encapsulated using an epoxy molding compound, Polytec TC 430-T with suitable dielectric characteristics in the desired frequency range. The encapsulated RFE is surface mounted on a baseband printed circuit board, thereby realizing a fully-functional 122 GHz frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar. The FMCW radar is used to measure the distance of a target and the measurement results are compared with those of a commercial 122 GHz RFE.

A D-band corporate-feed gap-cavity slot array is proposed with wide bandwidth and high aperture efficiency. The cavity with higher order modes is implemented by using the gap waveguide (WG) technology, namely, a gap cavity. To ensure that the gap cavity is operating with the desired higher order mode over a wide bandwidth, the corporate-feed architecture is applied for uniform excitation and with alternating-phase between adjacent slots. The gap cavity is split into multiple elements by using zero-thickness virtual perfect electric conductor (PEC) walls. With this unique approach, the design, fabrication, and assembly complexities are reduced. For experimental verification, a gap cavity with an 8 $\times $ 8 slot array is designed in the 120 GHz band, and an E-plane WG feeding network is proposed to excite the TE ₈₈₀ -mode. Two metal fences are introduced on either side of the radiating slot, and an inductive metal pin is introduced below the radiating slot to improve the radiation performance and broaden the bandwidth. The measured impedance matching bandwidth is around 110–144.8 GHz (27.3%). The measured peak gain is 26.22 dBi at 137.64 GHz, and the measured peak aperture efficiency is 86.2% at 115.325 GHz. The 3 dB gain bandwidth is the same as the impedance matching bandwidth.

In the context of all-digital radar systems, phase-modulated continuous wave (PMCW) based on pseudorandom binary sequences (PRBSs) appears to be a prominent candidate modulation scheme for applications such as autonomous driving. Among the reasons for its candidacy are its simplified transmitter architecture and lower linearity requirements (e.g., compared to orthogonal-frequency division multiplexing radars), as well as its high velocity unambiguity and multiple-input multiple-output operation capability, all of which are characteristic of digital radars. For appropriate operation of a PMCW radar, choosing a PRBS whose periodic autocorrelation function (PACF) has low sidelobes and high robustness to Doppler shifts is paramount. In this sense, this article performs an analysis of Doppler shift tolerance of the PACFs of typically adopted PRBSs in PMCW radar systems supported by simulation and measurement results. To accurately measure the Doppler-shift-induced degradation of PACFs, peak power loss ratio (PPLR), peak sidelobe level ratio (PSLR), and integrated-sidelobe level ratio (ISLR) were used as metrics. Furthermore, to account for effects on targets whose ranges are not multiples of the range resolution, oversampled PACFs are analyzed.

Phase-modulated continuous wave (PMCW) has been widely regarded as a promising modulation scheme for radar systems, e.g., in highly automated driving (HAD) applications. Although the so-called outer coding can efficiently enable the multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) operation of PMCW-based radar systems, the yielded processing gain in this multiplexing approach may be reduced at increasing Doppler shifts. In this context, this letter introduces a normalized Doppler shift parameter that enables predicting the Doppler-shift-induced degradation of the processing gain in a MIMO-PMCW radar system. Finally, simulation and measurement results confirm the usefulness of the introduced parameter in desigining MIMO-PMCW radars.

This paper presents a high-integrated, wideband, multi-feed, active antenna with in-antenna power combining for D-band applications. The proposed design consists of an active section and a passive section. In the active section, differential power amplifiers are integrated with zero-degree transmission line for power dividing. The passive section includes a differential surface-mounted dielectric resonator with high-order mode to enhance on-chip radiation. The utilization of this novel in-antenna power combining technique disrupts the conventional 50-Ω matching rule, while concurrently incorporating surface-mounted dielectric resonator technology. These two approaches synergistically facilitate the achievement of wideband performance, compact size, low loss, and high integration. Measurements demonstrate an antenna gain of 4.4 dBi, a 3-dB beam width of 60°, an effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of 15 dBm at 134 GHz, and a 3-dB EIRP bandwidth of 115-151 GHz. To the best of authors’ knowledge, the novel D-band CMOS active antenna achieves the widest 3-dB EIRP bandwidth and the highest EIRP per element.