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A compact MIMO automotive radar using phase-aligned daisy-chain cascading topology and elevation compensation for 2D angle estimation

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Abstract

To design a high-performance multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) automotive radar system with simple hardware architecture, this study presents a daisy-chain cascading design scheme, implementing the two-dimensional (2D) nonuniform antenna array with high-gain antennas for 2D angle estimation. The improvements in the designed radar system are primarily divided into three parts. First, a daisy-chain cascading topology will cause severe phase deviations; hence, we rigorously analyzed the influence of the phase deviations and proposed a low-cost phase-alignment procedure to address this concern. Second, to obtain 2D angular resolution and a longer working range with limited channels, a novel 2D antenna array design principle facilitating the arrangement of high-gain antennas was presented. Third, a new phase compensation procedure was developed to mitigate the deterioration of angular accuracy in the elevation plane. Based on the proposed design scheme, a frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar prototype with two transceiver chips, i.e., six transmitters and eight receivers, was successfully built. The prototype radar system’s performance was tested through an anechoic chamber and outdoor experiments. Consequently, an angular resolution of 3.5° in azimuth and 12.5° in elevation was featured in the anechoic chamber. Furthermore, using the 2D conventional beam-forming, the outdoor experiment captured high-resolution 2D angular estimation results, thus demonstrating the superior performance of the designed prototype system.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61901112, 62271142), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK20190330), Shanghai Aerospace Science Funding (Grant No. SAST2021-043), and Aeronautics Science Funding of China (Grant No. ASFC-20200020069001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Millimeter Waves, Southeast University, Nan**g, 210096, China

    Rui Zhou, Jixin Chen, Yan Huang, Gang Xu, Debin Hou, Bangjie Zhang, Zekun Li & Wei Hong

  2. Purple Mountain Laboratories, Nan**g, 210096, China

    Jixin Chen, Yan Huang & Wei Hong

  3. MiSic Microelectronics Co., Ltd., Nan**g, 210096, China

    Yu **ang

Authors
  1. Rui Zhou
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  2. Jixin Chen
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  3. Yan Huang
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  4. Gang Xu
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  5. Debin Hou
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  6. Bangjie Zhang
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  7. Zekun Li
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  8. Yu **ang
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  9. Wei Hong
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Correspondence to Jixin Chen or Yan Huang.

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Zhou, R., Chen, J., Huang, Y. et al. A compact MIMO automotive radar using phase-aligned daisy-chain cascading topology and elevation compensation for 2D angle estimation. Sci. China Inf. Sci. 66, 162305 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11432-022-3613-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11432-022-3613-6

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