Self-mixing millimetre-wave radar on the basis of multiple surface reflections (MIRADOR)

在DFG项目“高毫米波频率范围内用于电子波束转向的有源移相器”（MilliPhase）和“240 GHz高度集成3d雷达系统”（毫秒）的框架内，Kallfass教授周围的团队介绍了一种新的雷达技术并获得了专利。该技术基于利用非线性分量的自混合效应混合两个或多个反射信号。新方法与传统雷达方法（单静态、双静态、被动）的区别在于，接收器在空间上和电上独立于发射器。与传统雷达技术相比，发射器和接收器之间不存在共同的时间或频率基础。该技术在生产技术、医学、材料分析和安全保障等领域提供了多种应用场景。该项目旨在通过在两个频率范围内工作的定制设计的雷达传感器来评估新雷达技术，并使其在应用合作伙伴巴鲁夫公司（Balluff GmbH）中得到利用。频率范围选择在ISM频段：在60 GHz频段，为了开发低成本的雷达原型，可以使用商用现成组件。根据巴鲁夫的产品路线图，从基础研究方面考虑，100 GHz以上的高毫米波范围对高分辨率和高度紧凑的雷达系统特别感兴趣。因此，新雷达方法的第二个原型应该在240 GHz左右的频率范围内工作。在这里，可以与我们小组在毫秒和MilliPhase项目中的现有技术建立强有力的联系。与巴鲁夫公司合作，可以找到一个强大的应用合作伙伴，该公司的业务领域是近程雷达传感器，这种新方法特别有吸引力。项目的基础研究和科学研究方面,一方面,通过新的雷达技术的调查,可能会解决广泛的应用,另一方面通过使用雷达频率在太赫兹范围内240 GHz,艺术高于现在的状态存在的三倍相比,汽车雷达和四倍相比,短程雷达60 GHz。

In the frame of the DFG projects "active phase shifters for electronic beamsteering in the high millimetre-wave frequency range" (MilliPhase) and "highly integrated 3d radar systems at 240 GHz" (MilliScan) the group around Prof. Kallfass introduced and patented a new radar technique. The technique is based on the mixing of two or multiple reflected signals employing the self-mixing effect of a nonlinear component. The new method distinguishes itself from conventional radar methods (mono-static, bi-static, passive) in the sense that the receiver is spatially and electrically independent of the transmitter. In contrast to conventional radar techniques no common time or frequency basis exists between the transmitter and the receiver. The technique offers multiple application scenarios in the areas of production technologies, medicine, material analysis and safety and security. The project aims at evaluating the new radar technique through custom-designed radar sensors operating in two frequency ranges, and to make it exploitable for the application partner Balluff GmbH. The frequency ranges are chosen to lie in the ISM bands: In the 60 GHz band commerical off-the-shelf components are available in order to develop a low-cost radar prototype. In view of basic research aspects and in line with the product raodmap of Balluff the high millimetre-wave range above 100 GHz is of particular interest for high resolution and highly compact radar systems. Therefore, a second prototype for the new radar method shall operate in the frequency range around 240 GHz. Here, a strong link can be made to the prior art of our group in the projects MilliScan and MilliPhase. With the company Balluff GmbH a strong application partner could be found, for whose business area of short-range radar sensors the new method is particularly attractive. The basic research aspect and scientific findings of the project are given, on the one hand, through the investigation of the new radar technique, which can potentially address a wide range of applications, and on the other hand through the use of radar frequencies in the THz range at 240 GHz, which lie above today's state of the art by a factor of three in comparison to automotive radar and by a factor of four in comparison to short range radar at 60 GHz.