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Ultracompact 160-GHz FMCW Radar MMIC With Fully Integrated Offset Synthesizer.

Authors :
Hitzler, Martin
Saulig, Stefan
Boehm, Linus
Mayer, Winfried
Winkler, Wolfgang
Uddin, Nasir
Waldschmidt, Christian
Source :
IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory & Techniques; May2017, Vol. 65 Issue 5, part 2, p1682-1691, 10p
Publication Year :
2017

Abstract

The dynamic range of frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar sensors is often limited by the phase noise of the ramp signal. Especially at millimeter wave (mm-wave) frequencies, a low phase noise signal is very difficult to obtain. In this paper, a new system architecture, which is implemented in a low-cost, ultracompact FMCW radar monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) at 160 GHz, is proposed to address this topic. The approach is based on a frequency offset synthesizer, whose upconverting mixer is driven by a stabilized low phase noise local oscillator (LO) signal. This LO is generated by a fixed-frequency phase locked loop with a 2^N divider. The upconversion of the ramp signal with the stabilized LO signal leads to an excellent mm-wave phase noise of −89 dBc/Hz at a frequency offset of 1 MHz. By integrating the antennas on the MMIC, interconnects at mm-wave frequencies to package or printed circuit board are avoided and a simple assembly and interconnection technology is feasible. The ultracompact MMIC is realized on an area of only 2 mm2, including the integrated antennas. A precision below 5 \mu \textm for range measurements is demonstrated with the radar sensor. Additionally, the radar performance is evaluated with two different voltage-controlled oscillators for the generation of the ramp signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00189480
Volume :
65
Issue :
5, part 2
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory & Techniques
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
122985252
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1109/TMTT.2017.2653111