Design of Microwave and Millimeter-wave Radar Systems for Imaging and Automotive Applications
Date Issued
2015
Date
2015
Author(s)
Peng, Pen-Jui
Abstract
This dissertation presents the research on microwave and millimeter-wave radar systems. Three individual radar systems operating in W-band and K-band have been reported, including the chipsets and assembly modules. A fully-integrated W-band 3D image radar engine operated at 94 GHz utilizing phased-array-fed for electrical scanning and precise ranging technique for distance measurement has been realized. Four transmitters and four receivers form a sensor frontend with phase shifters and power combiners adjusting the beam direction. A built-in 31.3-GHz clock source and a frequency tripler provide both RF carrier and counting clocks for the distance measurement. Flipchip technique with low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) antenna design creates a miniature module as small as 6.5 x 4.4 x 0.8 cm^3. Designed and fabricated in 65-nm CMOS technology, the transceiver array chip dissipates 960 mW from a 1.2-V supply and occupies chip area of 3.6 x 2.1 mm^2. This prototype achieves +/-28° scanning range, 2-m maximum distance, and 1-mm depth resolution. A 79-GHz fully-integrated bidirectional pulse radar system with injection-regenerative receiver is demonstrated in 65 nm CMOS. The novel design for the impedance transformation of PA/LNA improves the TX efficiency and RX noise figure significantly in comparison with the traditional RF switch. The injection-regenerative oscillator is proposed to increase the receiver gain as well as the system efficiency. The measured TX peak Pout and RX conversion gain are 9.2 dBm and 42 dB, respectively. Using an 8 × 8 patch antenna array with on board matching network to compensate bonding wire effect, the TX EIRP is 25 dBm with the beamwidth of 11.5° and 10° in E and H plane, respectively. The distance measurement for 0.3 ~ 1.5 m with the maximum error of less than 7.2 mm. The overall dc consumption is only 107 mW from a single 1.2 V supply under pulse modulation with 0.1% duty cycle. Finally, a K-band fully-integrated 1TX/4RX pulse-modulated radar system fabricated in 65-nm CMOS technology is presented. Due to the 4 x 4 Butler matrix beamformer, this prototype achieves >90° radar field of view with 30° angular resolution at a distance of 1 m. The switchable PA improves the average carrier leakage power as well as the power consumption. The programmable pulse width, pulse repetition interval, and the temperature compensation technique in PLL, making the radar system more robust. The measured distance error is less than 9.1 mm inside the range of 1.2 m with the average power consumption of only 149 mW under pulse modulation with 0.06% duty cycle.
Subjects
beamforming
bidirectional
Butler matrix
CMOS
frequency tripler
image sensor
injection-regeneration
microwave radar
millimeter-wave radar
phased-array-fed
pulse radar
transceiver
Type
thesis