EP4302124A1 - Élément radar en cascade avec antenne d'émission et antenne de réception - Google Patents

Élément radar en cascade avec antenne d'émission et antenne de réception

Info

Publication number
EP4302124A1
EP4302124A1 EP21709657.7A EP21709657A EP4302124A1 EP 4302124 A1 EP4302124 A1 EP 4302124A1 EP 21709657 A EP21709657 A EP 21709657A EP 4302124 A1 EP4302124 A1 EP 4302124A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
radar
cascadable
antenna
elements
digital
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
EP21709657.7A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Roland Welle
Levin Dieterle
Jörg Börsig
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Vega Grieshaber KG
Original Assignee
Vega Grieshaber KG
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Vega Grieshaber KG filed Critical Vega Grieshaber KG
Publication of EP4302124A1 publication Critical patent/EP4302124A1/fr
Pending legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/02—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S13/00
    • G01S7/027—Constructional details of housings, e.g. form, type, material or ruggedness
    • G01S7/028—Miniaturisation, e.g. surface mounted device [SMD] packaging or housings
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S13/00—Systems using the reflection or reradiation of radio waves, e.g. radar systems; Analogous systems using reflection or reradiation of waves whose nature or wavelength is irrelevant or unspecified
    • G01S13/02—Systems using reflection of radio waves, e.g. primary radar systems; Analogous systems
    • G01S13/06—Systems determining position data of a target
    • G01S13/42—Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/02—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S13/00
    • G01S7/03—Details of HF subsystems specially adapted therefor, e.g. common to transmitter and receiver
    • G01S7/032—Constructional details for solid-state radar subsystems
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
    • H01Q1/22—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles
    • H01Q1/225—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles used in level-measurement devices, e.g. for level gauge measurement
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/12—Supports; Mounting means
    • H01Q1/22—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles
    • H01Q1/2283—Supports; Mounting means by structural association with other equipment or articles mounted in or on the surface of a semiconductor substrate as a chip-type antenna or integrated with other components into an IC package
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
    • H01Q1/40—Radiating elements coated with or embedded in protective material
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q21/00—Antenna arrays or systems
    • H01Q21/0006—Particular feeding systems
    • H01Q21/0025—Modular arrays
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q21/00—Antenna arrays or systems
    • H01Q21/06—Arrays of individually energised antenna units similarly polarised and spaced apart
    • H01Q21/061—Two dimensional planar arrays
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q23/00—Antennas with active circuits or circuit elements integrated within them or attached to them
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
    • H01Q3/00—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system
    • H01Q3/26—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture
    • H01Q3/30—Arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern of the waves radiated from an antenna or antenna system varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture varying the relative phase between the radiating elements of an array

Definitions

  • the invention relates to the technical field of radar measurement technology, particularly in the field of process automation in industrial and private environments.
  • the invention relates to a cascadable radar element, set up for use in a radar measuring device for carrying out a digital beam conversion method, a radar measuring device with such a radar element, and specific uses.
  • multi-dimensional measuring i. H. two- or three-dimensional measuring radar systems are used.
  • New, advantageous applications have developed particularly in the area of process automation in the industrial and private environment and in the area of factory automation.
  • Three-dimensional radar systems can be used to survey bulk material heaps or for microwave barriers.
  • Integrated radar chips are also known, which have a large number of digital and analog components for converting a number of radar transmission channels (Tx) and/or radar reception channels (Rx).
  • Tx radar transmission channels
  • Rx radar reception channels
  • Tx radar transmission channels
  • Rx radar reception channels
  • a first aspect of the present disclosure relates to a cascadable radar element that is set up for use in a radar measuring device for carrying out a digital beam conversion method.
  • the cascadable radar element has one or more transmitting antennas, which are integrated in the cascadable radar element.
  • an input connection is provided in the sense of an input interface, set up to receive a first local oscillator signal, which is used to cascade several interconnected, cascadable radar elements, ie to form a radar measuring device from them, which can carry out digital beam conversion.
  • the cascadable radar element has an output connection in the form of an interface, which is set up to output a second local oscillator signal, which is used for cascading a plurality of cascadable radar elements connected to one another.
  • the at least one transmitting antenna and the at least one receiving antenna are set up to acquire measurement data (that is to say to transmit radar signals and to receive the reflected radar signals), which are provided for carrying out the digital beam shaping method.
  • concise means that the individual radar elements can be connected or chained to one another in order to form an array which has a large number of transmitting and/or receiving antennas.
  • interconnecting the radar elements By interconnecting the radar elements, a two-dimensional or three-dimensional beam control can take place with high resolution.
  • a cascadable radar element which is set up to acquire data for carrying out a digital beam shaping method, having at least one transmitting antenna, which is permanently embedded in the cascadable radar element, at least one receiving antenna, which is permanently embedded in the cascadable radar element is, at least one wired or wireless working connection for the output of a
  • local oscillator signal set up for cascading a plurality of radar elements, and at least one wired or wireless connection for inputting a local oscillator signal, set up for cascading a plurality of radar elements, the at least one transmitting antenna and the at least one receiving antenna being set up for acquiring data which is used to carry out a digital beam shaping method are usable.
  • the virtual antenna array of the radar element resulting from the arrangement of the transmitting and receiving antennas can be larger than the outer dimensions of the radar element and thus a direct and uninterrupted juxtaposition of the virtual antenna arrays is made possible by a corresponding arrangement of at least two radar elements.
  • the at least one transmitting antenna and the at least one receiving antenna are permanently embedded in the cascadable radar element. They are not separate components.
  • the at least one transmitting antenna and/or the at least one receiving antenna are arranged so close to the edge of the corresponding radar element that all adjacent transmitting antennas of two radar elements arranged next to one another (can) have the same distance from one another and/or all adjacent ones Receiving antennas of two radar elements arranged next to one another (can) have the same distance from one another.
  • the transmitting antennas of the radar elements form a fully occupied virtual array of n virtual ones in at least a first direction
  • n is a natural number
  • a core aspect of the present disclosure can be seen in proposing a novel radar element with integrated antennas, which is suitable, after interconnection with a predeterminable number of similar ones
  • the cascadable radar element can be in the form of a radar chip with integrated antennas and can be expanded to larger systems by appropriate arrangement on a carrier material. These can be used to create virtual antenna arrays with a large aperture.
  • the cascadable radar element has a first transmitting antenna and a second transmitting antenna which are arranged at a distance from one another which corresponds to the number of receiving antennas multiplied by the distance between two adjacent receiving antennas.
  • the cascadable radar element has a plurality of receiving antennas which are arranged at a distance from one another which corresponds to half the wavelength lambda (l) of the radar signal.
  • Receiving antennas arranged along lines that run parallel to each other.
  • Receiving antennas arranged along lines perpendicular to each other.
  • the cascadable radar element has a first transmitting antenna and a second transmitting antenna which are arranged at a distance from one another which corresponds to half the wavelength 1 of the radar signal.
  • the cascadable radar element has its own radar chip, which generates the radar signals.
  • the arrangement has cascadable radar elements with at least one transmitting and at least one receiving antenna, which are arranged in the chip or package (AoC or AiP), whose virtual individual arrays, at least in a first dimension, consist of n virtual antenna positions and one Distance from have, - consist of m virtual antenna positions at least in a second dimension and have a distance of d ra ⁇ ⁇ / 2 , the outer dimension of the radar element ⁇ ndn at least in a first dimension, ⁇ mdm at least in a second dimension, and which are set up to acquire data for performing a digital beamforming method, with at least two adjacent radar elements having a distance or lateral offset at least along a first dimension of nd n . have a distance or lateral offset of md m at least along a second dimension.
  • the cascadable radar element has a storage element for storing detected digital reflection values, a first digital interface set up for outputting data from the storage element, and a second digital interface set up for reading in digital data from a further radar element.
  • the cascadable radar element has a storage element for storing detected digital reflection values, an addressing unit, which assigns a defined digital address to the radar element, a digital bus interface, set up for connecting the radar element to a digital bus, and addressing logic for evaluating via the Address information transmitted on the digital bus, the radar element being set up to transmit data to and/or the memory element via the digital bus interface.
  • a further aspect of the present disclosure relates to a radar measuring device with a carrier and an arrangement of cascadable radar elements arranged on the carrier, in particular those as described above and below.
  • the receiving antennas of the radar elements form a fully occupied virtual array of m virtual antenna positions in at least one direction, where m is a natural number.
  • the transmitting antennas of the radar elements form a fully occupied virtual array of n virtual antenna positions in at least a first direction, where n is a natural number.
  • the radar measuring device is a filling level radar measuring device that is set up to determine the filling level in a container.
  • the radar measuring device is a distance or limit standard radar measuring device that is set up for process automation in an industrial or private environment.
  • the carrier has a square shape.
  • a further aspect of the present disclosure relates to the use of a radar measuring device described above and below or a multiplicity of interconnected, cascadable radar elements described above and below for level measurement or limit level measurement, for object monitoring or for a reflection microwave barrier. Further embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the figures. If the same reference symbols are used in the following description of the figures, then these denote the same or similar elements. The representations in the figures are schematic and not to scale. Short description of the figures
  • FIG. 1 shows a cascadable radar element according to an embodiment.
  • Fig. 2 shows an arrangement of two cascadable radar elements on a printed circuit board (carrier).
  • FIG. 3 shows a cascadable radar element according to a further embodiment.
  • FIG. 4 shows an electronic component of a radar measuring device according to an embodiment.
  • FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of the circuitry of a cascadable radar element according to an embodiment.
  • FIG. 6 shows the arrangement of transmitting and receiving antennas of a cascadable radar element according to an embodiment.
  • FIG 7 shows the arrangement of two cascadable radar elements according to one embodiment.
  • FIG. 8 shows a cascadable radar element according to an embodiment.
  • FIG 9 shows the arrangement of four cascadable radar elements according to one embodiment.
  • 10 shows the arrangement of four cascadable radar elements according to one embodiment.
  • 11 shows a further arrangement of cascadable radar elements according to an embodiment.
  • FIG. 1 shows a radar element 101.
  • the radar element 101 can be an electronic component 101 which comprises a housing (package) 102 in which at least one semiconductor chip 103 is integrated.
  • the semiconductor chip can contain various circuit parts for generating and/or processing high-frequency signals.
  • the semiconductor chip 103 can be, in particular, a gallium arsenide semiconductor, a silicon-germanium semiconductor or a BiCMOS or HF-CMOS semiconductor, which is suitable for realizing circuits for processing high-frequency signals.
  • the package 102 can be implemented, for example, on the basis of a plastic material or some other dielectric molding compound.
  • the semiconductor chip 103 is connected via electrically conductive connections 108, for example bonding wire connections 108, to at least one antenna 104, 105 (AIP, antenna in package) which is also integrated in the housing 102 and which in turn is suitable for radiating 106 and/or detecting 107 radar signals.
  • the semiconductor chip 103 is connected via further electrically conductive connections 109, for example bonding wires 109, to contacting points 110 fitted on the outside of the radar element 101, for example the balls 110 of a BGA housing.
  • the module 101 has at least one contact option 111 for introducing an external local oscillator signal LO_IN with a frequency above 1 GHz, and at least one further contact option 112 for outputting an internal local oscillator signal LO_OUT, the frequency of which can be above 1 GHz. on.
  • the embodiment 101 can be used advantageously in particular for radar frequencies in the range up to 120 GHz, in particular also for radar frequencies in the range around 80 GHz.
  • a plurality of radar elements 101 of the same type can be cascaded by assembly, for example soldering onto a printed circuit board material.
  • FIG. 2 shows a corresponding arrangement.
  • the electronic components 203 , 204 both of which are of the radar element 101 type, are interconnected to form a cascaded radar system 200 in a further development on a suitable carrier material 201 , for example a printed circuit board material 201 . It is characteristic here that the two radar chips are operated together in one operating phase. In particular, provision is made here for radiating radar signals with a first element 203 and with a first element 203 and/or a second element 204 to receive again.
  • the synchronization of the two units 203, 204 required for this is carried out by forwarding a local oscillator signal used in the first radar chip 203, which is transmitted via an output contact LO_OUT 112 of the first component 203 and a conductor track 202, which can be applied to the circuit board 201, to an input point LO_IN 111 of the second component 204 can be forwarded.
  • FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of a radar element 301.
  • the second embodiment 301 shown can be a semiconductor chip 301 or a semiconductor wafer 301 which, in addition to the circuits for generating and/or processing radar signals, also has antennas integrated in or on the semiconductor wafer 301 or primary radiator 302, 303 (AoC, antenna on chip) for radiating 304 and/or detecting 305 radar signals.
  • the semiconductor chip 301 can in particular be a gallium arsenide semiconductor, a silicon-germanium semiconductor or a BiCMOS or HF-CMOS semiconductor, which is suitable for implementing circuits for processing high-frequency signals.
  • the semiconductor chip 301 is designed to be connected to other conductive surfaces or semiconductor chips via electrically conductive contacting surfaces 306, 307, 308, for example metallized surfaces 306, 307, 308 that can be contacted with bond connections.
  • the chip 301 has at least one contact option 306 for introducing an external local oscillator signal LO_IN with a frequency above 1 GHz, and at least one further contact option 308 for outputting an internal local oscillator signal LO_OUT, the frequency of which can be above 1 GHz. on.
  • This embodiment can be advantageously used in particular for radar frequencies in the range above 120 GHz, in particular also for radar frequencies in the range around 180 GHz or in the range around 240 GHz. It has been shown that the small structure widths and precision required for high frequencies can be implemented very easily and inexpensively within the framework of semiconductor production, in particular by etching processes. A multiplicity of radar elements can be cascaded by mounting a plurality of such semiconductor chips in a package.
  • FIG. 4 shows a corresponding structure.
  • the semiconductor chips 402, 403, both of which are of the semiconductor chip 301 type, are interconnected in a further development in a chip housing 401, for example a BGA housing, a QFN housing or other known housing forms, to form a cascaded radar system 400. It is characteristic here that the two radar chips 402, 403 are operated together in one operating phase. Provision is made in particular for radar signals 410 to be emitted with a first chip 402 via an antenna-on-chip element 409 and to be received again 411 with a first chip 402 and/or a second chip 403 via an antenna 412 integrated thereon.
  • the synchronization of the two required for this Semiconductor chips 402, 403 takes place by forwarding a local oscillator signal used in the first semiconductor chip 402, which can be forwarded via an output contact LO_OUT 308 of the first chip 402 via a conductive connection 404 to an input point LO_IN 306 of the second semiconductor chip 403.
  • the signals required for synchronization are transmitted wirelessly from a first semiconductor chip 402 to a second semiconductor chip 403 .
  • a waveguide structure 404 or a dielectric waveguide 404 can be used for this purpose, for example, with the first semiconductor chip 402 being set up at the connection 308 to couple an internal LO_OUT signal into the waveguide 404 or waveguide 404 and the second semiconductor chip 402 being set up to couple the LO_IN signal after decoupling from the waveguide 404 or waveguide 404 at the connection 306 to be detected and used internally for synchronization.
  • the electronic component 400 realized according to the scheme of FIG. 4 can thus have all antenna elements for beam shaping and can be further processed directly on a printed circuit board material.
  • provision can also be made to arrange a plurality of radar elements 400 on a circuit board 201 in order to enable further cascading (at a higher level) and thus bring about a further increase in the number of radar channels and thus a further increase in the angular resolution in digital beam formation.
  • the component 401 has at least one connection 406 for the external supply of a Local oscillator signal LO_IN, which is forwarded to a corresponding connection 306 of the first semiconductor chip 402 via a connection 405 .
  • the component has a further contacting option 408 which can provide an internal local oscillator signal LO_OUT to the outside via a connection 407 .
  • FIG. 4 shows a first exemplary embedding in a component housing 401, for example a chip housing 401.
  • a component housing 401 for example a chip housing 401.
  • Other arrangements with a large number of integrated (unhoused) radar chips 301 are also possible, depending on the application. Since the cascadable radar elements with integrated antennas 301 that can be used for this purpose are always technically identical, there is the advantage of being able to mass produce these radar chips or semiconductor chips very inexpensively. Different types of application-specific components 401 can nevertheless be derived therefrom through different forms of packaging.
  • FIG. 5 uses a block diagram to show a possible circuit implementation of a cascadable radar element 101, 301, which has both a transmitting antenna X 104 and a receiving antenna O 105 .
  • an external LO_IN signal can be supplied to the radar element 101 via a first contacting surface 111 , for example a ball 111 of a BGA housing, and an internal LO_OUT signal can be provided to the outside via a second contacting surface 112 .
  • the level of the LO signal can be amplified via the amplifier 504 . As a result, losses in the signal amplitude of an LO signal caused by the length of the LO line 202, 404 between two radar elements can be compensated for.
  • the selection switch 502 can be used to set whether the LO_IN signal is to be fed to the transmitting antenna X 104 via the multiplier 503 or whether a separate LO signal is to be generated by the chirp engine 501 and, after multiplication 503 , is to be emitted.
  • the further selection switch 505 can be used to set whether the local oscillator signal generated by the chirp engine 501 is to be fed to the reception mixer 506 or whether the external LO_IN signal of the contacting surface 111 is to be used instead.
  • the high-frequency signal received via the receiving antenna O 105 is converted into a low-frequency signal in the mixer 506 .
  • the signal can optionally be processed by the high-pass filter 507 and low-pass filter 508 and finally digitized by an A/D converter 509.
  • the sampled signal can be made available to the outside in digital form via one or more of the contacting options 510 . Provision can in particular be made to provide a cascadable radar element which can be used to acquire data for carrying out a digital beam shaping method.
  • Various antenna arrangements are known in the prior art, which make it possible to carry out a digital beam shaping method.
  • antennas In such a way that they result in a virtual antenna array whose elements are ideally arranged in an equidistant grid, with the distances between the elements corresponding to a maximum distance of less than or equal to half the wavelength of the radar signal used.
  • Figure 6 shows an example of a suitable arrangement of two transmitting antennas X 601, 602 and four receiving antennas O 603, 604, 605, 606 on the top of a cascadable radar element 600.
  • the radar element 600 has a first contacting surface LO_IN 111 and a second contacting surface LO_OUT 112, which allow several radar elements 600 to be interconnected.
  • the four receiving antennas are arranged along a first dimension X1 609 at a distance 607 which corresponds to half the wavelength lambda of the radar signal used.
  • the two transmission antennas X 601 , 602 are arranged along a first dimension X1 609 at a distance 608 which results from the number of reception antennas multiplied by the distance between two adjacent reception antennas.
  • one-dimensional beam-shaping radar systems in particular can be implemented in a simple manner.
  • the at least one transmitting antenna 601, 602 and/or the at least one receiving antenna 603, 604, 605, 606 are arranged so close to the edge 580, 581 of the corresponding radar element that all adjacent transmitting antennas of two radar elements 702, 703 can have the same distance from one another and/or all mutually adjacent receiving antennas of two radar elements 702, 703 arranged next to one another can have the same distance from one another.
  • FIG. 7 shows the use of a radar element 600 to construct a one-dimensional sensor 700 covered by the present disclosure, for example for area monitoring.
  • the area monitoring sensor 700 is designed for digital beam formation along a first dimension X1 609 .
  • the two radar elements 702, 703 are synchronized with one another via a connecting line 202, for example a printed circuit board line 202. So that the radar elements 702, 703 are protected from environmental influences, it can also be provided that they are protected by an additional installation of a cover (radome), not shown here.
  • a cover radome
  • the respective mounting position of the radar elements 702, 703 relative to one another is selected in such a way that, using the transmitting antennas 704 and the receiving antennas 705, a virtual antenna array can be synthesized in a manner known to those skilled in the art, which in a particularly advantageous embodiment has equidistant antenna positions with full occupation, i.e in particular has no aperture gaps.
  • the mounting positions of the two radar elements 702, 703 must not be too far apart for this purpose.
  • the maximum permissible distance d 706 to be realized here between at least two adjacent radar elements 702, 703 must be less than or equal to the extent D 707 of a radar element along the first axis X1 609.
  • a virtual array generated by an antenna arrangement can be at most twice as large as the physical extent of the underlying antenna arrangement. If this is taken into account, the virtual arrays of at least two adjacent radar elements can be lined up without gaps and thus aperture gaps, which can impair the result of beam shaping, can be avoided.
  • the relationships mentioned above apply regardless of the specific positioning of the transmitting antennas 704 and the receiving antennas 705. Provision can also be made for the contacting areas for LO_IN 111 and LO_OUT 112 to be positioned on opposite sides of radar element 600 . As a result, with a linear cascading of a plurality of radar elements 600, a particularly short line routing 202 for the LO signal can be achieved.
  • Figure 8 shows an example of another arrangement of transmitting antennas X 801, 802 and receiving antennas O 803, 804 on the top of a radar element 800.
  • the embodiment 800 shown here can be used in contrast to the embodiment of Figure 6 for detecting signals, based on which a digital beamforming can be carried out in two dimensions, ie in particular along a first dimension X1 609 and along a second dimension X2 803.
  • the embodiment 800 can have two contacting areas LO_IN 111 which are spaced apart from one another and which can be functionally identical. Provision can furthermore be made for the radar element 800 to be provided with two further ones which are spaced apart from one another
  • Equip contact surfaces LO_OUT 112 which in turn can be functionally identical to one another.
  • provision can also be made for the contacting areas LO_IN 111 to be arranged on two adjacent outer edges of the radar element 800 and for the contacting areas LO_OUT 112 to be arranged on two different but nevertheless adjacent outer edges of the radar element 800 .
  • a particularly advantageous cascading of several radar elements 800 can thereby take place.
  • the radar element 800 has four transmitting antennas X 801 , 802 , a first group of transmitting antennas 801 along a first dimension X1 609 being at a distance 805 from a second group of transmitting antennas 802 which is less than or equal to the wavelength of the radar signals used.
  • the receiving antennas O 803, 804 are arranged in such a way that they maintain a minimum distance 806 of a quarter of the wavelength of the radar signals used from the transmitting antennas X 801, 802 along a first dimension X1.
  • the four receiving antennas O 803, 804 are arranged along a second dimension X2 807 such that a first group of receiving antennas 803 has a distance 808 from a second group of receiving antennas 804 which is less than or equal to the wavelength of the radar signals used.
  • the transmitting antennas X 801, 802 are arranged in such a way that they maintain a minimum distance 809 of a quarter of the wavelength of the radar signals used from the receiving antennas O 803, 804 along a second dimension X2.
  • FIG. 9 shows the use of a radar element 800 for constructing a two-dimensional sensor 900 that is also covered by the present disclosure, for example for detecting a topology when measuring the filling level.
  • the topology sensor 900 is designed for digital beam shaping along a first dimension X1 609 and along a second dimension X2 807.
  • it has four cascadable, identically designed radar elements 902, 903, 904, 905 on its antenna surface 901, both of which are in the form of the radar element 800 should be executed.
  • 902, 903, 904, 905 are synchronized with one another via connecting lines 202, for example printed circuit board lines 202. So that the radar elements 902,
  • the respective mounting position of the radar elements 902, 903, 904, 905 relative to one another is selected such that a virtual antenna array can be synthesized in a manner known to those skilled in the art using the transmitting antennas 801, 802 and the receiving antennas 803, 804, which in a particularly advantageous embodiment has equidistant antenna positions with at least partially full occupation, so in particular has no aperture gaps.
  • the mounting positions of the radar elements 902, 903, 904, 905 must not be too far apart for this purpose.
  • the maximum permissible distance d1 806 to be taken into account here between at least two radar elements 902, 903 and 904, 905 that are adjacent along a first dimension X1 609 must be less than or equal to Extension D1 807 of a radar element 800 along the first axis X1 609 be.
  • the maximum permissible distance d2 808 between at least two radar elements 902, 904 and 903, 905 that are adjacent along a second dimension X2 807 is less than or equal to the extension D2 809 of a radar element 800 along the second axis X2 807.
  • the contacting surfaces for LO_IN 111 are duplicated and on adjacent sides of the radar element 800 and LO_OUT 112 are duplicated and on adjacent sides of the radar element, with LO_IN 111 and LO_OUT 112 being arranged on different sides of the radar element.
  • a particularly short line routing 202 for the LO signal between two adjacent radar elements 800 can be achieved in the case of a chessboard-like arrangement of a plurality of radar elements 800 .
  • radar elements 900 can be added in a two-dimensional, chessboard-like arrangement according to the diagram in FIG.
  • the antenna arrangements described are only to be regarded as exemplary embodiments, since a virtual antenna array without aperture gaps can be generated by a large number of different arrangements of radar elements.
  • a cascading of radar elements can be achieved in a simple manner with the disclosures made so far, with the data detected by individual elements 101 , 301 using at least one analog/digital converter 509
  • Received data from each radar element 101, 301 must be transmitted to an evaluation module, for example a processor, via suitable digital interfaces.
  • an evaluation module for example a processor
  • suitable digital interfaces On the part of available processors, however, there is the problem of a limited number of physically available interfaces, especially when a large number of radar elements are to be cascaded, for example according to the scheme in FIG.
  • FIG. 10 shows a corresponding exemplary embodiment.
  • the system in FIG. 10 may have four cascaded radar elements 1001, for example.
  • radar elements 1001 use at least one analog/digital converter 509 to capture digital measured values which are related to the captured reflections of at least one radar receiving channel 105, 506, 507, 508.
  • the recorded digital reflection values are stored in a memory element 1006 of the radar chip. Since all radar elements can be operated at the same time, the data are stored in digital form in the memory elements 1006 of the radar chips after a radar measurement has been completed.
  • a processor 1002 can read out the memory element 1006 of the first radar chip via a first digital interface 1004 .
  • the radar chips 1001 are designed to convert the memory 1006 into a readout mode, which in particular implements a shift register mode, with the elements of the shift register that become free being filled with new values, which are read out via a second digital interface 1005 can be read in from the outside, in particular by a further radar chip 1001.
  • the processor 1002 can use its interface 1003 for as long Read in values up to the sequence of zeros is detected, which indicates that all data from all radar elements could be read. From this point in time, the actual digital beam formation can be started in different angular directions along a first dimension (see Fig. 7) and/or along a second dimension (Fig. 9), for example in processor 1002.
  • FIG. 10 provides cascadable radar elements 1001 which make it possible to provide systems of any size with a large number of cascaded radar elements 1001, regardless of the number of interfaces 1003 of a processor.
  • the radar elements 1001 can be equipped with a digital address, which can be provided by an addressing unit 1102 .
  • additional addressing pins 1102 can be provided for this purpose.
  • Figure 11 shows a corresponding example.
  • the pins 1102 are connected by appropriately specified, external wiring (high/low) 1103, 1104 so that each radar element 1001 is assigned a unique address.
  • the processor 1002 can first transmit a destination address to a digital bus interface (1106) of the radar element via the digital interface 1003.
  • An addressing logic 1105 integrated in the radar element 1101 uses the digital module address stored in the addressing unit 1102, which is specified by the external circuitry 1103 in the present case, first to check whether the data should be output by its own radar element. If this is the case, the data are then placed on the digital bus and output using the digital bus interface (1106). Otherwise, the query is forwarded to the outside via the second digital interface 1005 and processed in the same way by the cascaded radar elements. In this way, random access can be implemented when reading out data from a selected radar element 1101, which can bring advantages in particular when carrying out a digital beam forming method in processor system 1002, since the data only have to be read into the memory of processor system 1002 when they are also needed there.
  • digital addresses can also be transmitted from the processor 1002 to a specific radar element 1101. These can be intermediate results, preprocessed by the processor system 1002, in the digital beamforming. In this way it can be achieved that the processor can use the memory modules 1006 of the radar chips as a buffer. This results in the particular advantage that the processor 1002 does not have to grow with the number of radar elements, also with regard to its main memory. Instead, it is automatically expanded with further memory areas by adding further radar elements, and is thus able to carry out larger evaluation calculations.
  • the additional addressing pins 1102 are a preferred embodiment of an addressing unit, which in general has the task of assigning a defined digital address to the radar chip, via which it can be addressed in a bus system. Alternatively or additionally, other forms of address assignment can also be implemented in the addressing unit 1102, for example programmable addressing units.
  • the radar elements 1101 can also have specialized hardware units, for example for carrying out a fast Fourier transformation, which can be controlled by the processor system 1002 in a targeted manner. In this way, the performance of the resulting digital signal processing hardware also increases with each additional radar element 1101.
  • the radar elements can be connected to the processor system with a defined address bus and a separate data bus. This also allows random access when writing data to a specific radar element or when reading data from a specific radar element.
  • FIG. 12 shows a radar measuring device 1000 which has an arrangement of cascadable radar elements with an antenna surface 901 .
  • process automation in the industrial environment can be understood as a sub-area of technology that includes measures for the operation of machines and systems without human intervention.
  • Process automation is to automate the interaction of individual components of a plant in the chemical, food, pharmaceutical, petroleum, paper, cement, shipping or mining sectors.
  • a large number of sensors can be used for this purpose, which are particularly adapted to the specific requirements of the process industry, such as mechanical stability, insensitivity to contamination, extreme temperatures and extreme pressures. Measured values from these sensors are usually transmitted to a control room, in which process parameters such as fill level, limit level, flow rate, pressure or density can be monitored and settings for the entire plant can be changed manually or automatically.
  • a sub-area of process automation in the industrial environment relates to the logistics automation of plants and the logistics automation of supply chains.
  • processes inside or outside a building or within a single logistics facility are automated in the field of logistics automation.
  • Typical applications are found, for example, in systems for logistics automation in the area of baggage and freight handling at airports, in the area of traffic monitoring (toll systems), in retail, in parcel distribution or in the area of building security (access control).
  • presence detection in combination with precise measurement of the size and position of an object is required by the respective application.
  • Sensors based on optical measuring methods using lasers, LEDs, 2D cameras or 3D cameras, which record distances according to the transit time principle (time of flight, ToF), can be used for this purpose.
  • factory/manufacturing automation Another sub-area of process automation in the industrial environment relates to factory/manufacturing automation. Use cases for this can be found in the different industries such as automobile manufacturing, food production, pharmaceutical industry or generally in the field of packaging.
  • the aim of factory automation is to automate the production of goods using machines, production lines and/or robots, ie to run it without human intervention.
  • the sensors used here and the specific requirements with regard to the measurement accuracy when detecting the position and size of an object are comparable to those in the previous example of logistics automation.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Radar, Positioning & Navigation (AREA)
  • Remote Sensing (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Radar Systems Or Details Thereof (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un élément radar en cascade (600) conçu pour être utilisé dans un appareil de mesure radar pour mettre en oeuvre un procédé de formation de faisceau numérique, comprenant au moins une antenne d'émission (601, 602) et au moins une antenne de réception (603-606) intégrée dans l'élément radar, et une connexion d'entrée (111) et une connexion de sortie (112) pour des signaux d'oscillateur local.
EP21709657.7A 2021-03-02 2021-03-02 Élément radar en cascade avec antenne d'émission et antenne de réception Pending EP4302124A1 (fr)

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US9733340B2 (en) * 2014-11-21 2017-08-15 Texas Instruments Incorporated Techniques for high arrival angle resolution using multiple nano-radars
DE102018117688A1 (de) * 2017-08-18 2019-02-21 Infineon Technologies Ag Radar-Frontend mit HF-Oszillator-Überwachung
HUE046126T2 (hu) * 2017-10-06 2020-02-28 Grieshaber Vega Kg Radaros szintmérõ radarlapkával egy áramköri lap különbözõ szintjein
DE102019202144A1 (de) * 2019-02-18 2020-08-20 Vega Grieshaber Kg Radarsensor für die Fabrik- und Logistikautomation
DE102019115107B3 (de) * 2019-06-05 2020-09-24 Infineon Technologies Ag Radar-system mit mehreren radar chips
CN110940957B (zh) * 2019-10-28 2022-03-22 惠州市德赛西威汽车电子股份有限公司 一种模块化毫米波雷达

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