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

在DFG项目“用于高毫米波频率范围的电子波束控制的有源移相器”(Milli相位)和“240 GHz的高度集成3D雷达系统”(MilliScan)的框架内，Kallfass教授的团队介绍了一种新的雷达技术并申请了专利。该技术基于利用非线性分量的自混合效应对两个或多个反射信号进行混合。新方法不同于传统的雷达方法(单站、双站、无源)，因为接收器在空间和电气上独立于发射器。与传统雷达技术不同，发射机和接收机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的雷达技术，并使其可用于应用合作伙伴Balluff GmbH。频率范围被选择在ISM频段：在60 GHz频段，商业现成的组件可用于开发低成本的雷达原型。鉴于基础研究方面，并根据Balluff的产品raodmap，100 GHz以上的高毫米波范围对于高分辨率和高度紧凑的雷达系统特别有意义。因此，新雷达方法的第二个原型应在240 GHz左右的频率范围内工作。在这里，我们可以在MilliScan和Milli阶段项目中与我们团队的现有技术建立强有力的联系。有了Balluff GmbH公司，就可以找到一个强大的应用合作伙伴，对于其短程雷达传感器业务领域来说，新方法特别有吸引力。该项目的基本研究方面和科学发现，一方面是通过对新雷达技术的研究，这种技术可能会满足广泛的应用，另一方面是通过使用240 GHz太赫兹范围内的雷达频率，与汽车雷达相比，这比当今最先进的雷达高出三倍，与60千兆赫的短程雷达相比，高出四倍。

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.