A 140 GHz FMCW Ultra Wideband High Dynamic Range RADAR Utilizing 8x8 Phased Arrays

This work presents a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) imaging systems using 140 GHz transmit-receive (TRX) wafer-scale 64-element phased-arrays. The array chip offers a wideband RF bandwidth up to 8 GHz and the chip is flipped on a low-cost RF PCB board with wideband 8x8 patch antenna array. The measured effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) in TX operation is 37.5 dBm at Psat. The measured RX system noise figure (NF) is 10.4 dB with an array directivity and electronic gain of 23.6 dB and 19 dB, respectively, at 140 GHz. The FMCW experiment is done using a 9 GHz FMCW ramp waveform and demonstrates a detection of 2 spheres with a radar cross section of 0.002 m(2). Theoretically, the array can detect object with as small separation as 1.67 cm. The system also demonstrates a good detection as well as range finding by scanning the RX array electronically. Application areas are in 6G joint communication and sensing systems, and in high resolution automotive radars.