Biomimetic Antenna Concepts for Millimeter Wave Sensors

蝇蝇听觉系统的原理是目前研究的课题。因此，根据这一原理设计的天线被称为“仿生天线阵列”（BMAAs）。工作原理依赖于这样一个事实，即紧密间隔的天线之间的小相位级数被一个特别设计的耦合网络拉伸，该网络受到苍蝇的启发。因此，天线阵列的电气尺寸得到增强，而物理尺寸保持不变。通过更大的光圈，可以更准确地估计角度。在第一个项目（项目一）中，开发了天线系统的电气模型，并由几个演示器成功验证。利用复平面上的矢量可以直观地理解仿生天线阵的工作原理。在项目1的范围内，设计、制造和测量了一个集成的双通道雷达传感器，该传感器具有160 GHz的芯片集成天线，尺寸小于3平方毫米。因此，仿生耦合有助于在不使用角度估计能力的情况下将MMIC上的天线分离减少到最小。此外，还成功验证了基于MMIC的新型紧凑mimo系统。MMIC上的两个物理天线因此构成一个由四个元素组成的虚拟阵列。最近的工作集中在仅由两个元件组成的仿生天线阵列的发展。基于项目1中导出的模型，后续项目的重点是将仿生天线原理扩展到两个以上的天线单元。因此，出现了许多新的应用程序，这些应用程序在当前的设置中是不可能使用小的2元素数组的。缩放后的BMAA概念有望进一步增强未来毫米波雷达传感器的角度估计能力，不仅在精度方面，而且在角度分辨率方面。在项目范围内，不仅研究了耦合天线数量的直接缩放，而且还研究了MIMO设置中的最佳放置。

The principle of the hearing system of the fly Ormia ochracea is subject to current research. Antennas designed according to this principle are, therefore, called ‘biomimetic antenna arrays’ (BMAAs). The working principle relies on the fact that the small phase progression between closely spaced antennas is stretched by a specifically designed coupling network inspired by the fly. The electrical size of the antenna array is hereby enhanced whereas the physical size remains constant. Through the larger aperture, a more accurate angle estimation is possible.In the first project (project I), an electrical model of the antenna system was developed and successfully verified by several demonstrators. The working principles of the biomimetic antenna array could be intuitively understood by using vectors in the complex plane. Within the scope of project I, an integrated, two-channel radar sensor with chip-integrated antennas at 160 GHz with very compact dimensions of less than 3 mm² has been designed, fabricated and measured. The biomimetic coupling hereby helps to reduce the antenna separation on the MMIC to a minimum without using the angle estimation ability. Furthermore, a novel compact MIMO-System on the MMIC could be successfully verified. The two physical antennas on the MMIC span hereby a virtual array consisting of four elements.Recent works concentrate on the development of biomimetic antenna arrays consisting of two elements only. Based on the models derived in project I, the focus in this follow-up project is placed on the scaling of the biomimetic antenna principle towards more than two antenna elements. Hereby, a lot of new applications arise which were not possible with the small 2-element-arrays in current setups. The scaled BMAA concept promises further enhancement in terms of angle estimation capability for future millimeter wave radar sensors, not only with regard to accuracy but also with regard to angular resolution. Within the scope of the project not only the direct scaling of the number of the coupled antennas is investigated but also the optimal placement in a MIMO setup.