A Compact, Low Power Consumption, and Highly Sensitive 95 GHz Doppler Radar

• Published in: IEEE sensors journal Vol. 20; no. 11; pp. 5865 - 5875
• Main Authors: Cooper, Ken B., Rodriguez Monje, Raquel, Dengler, Robert J., Cochrane, Corey J., Alonso-Delpino, Maria, Tang, Adrian, El Bouayadi, Tristan Ossama, Pradhan, Omkar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01-06-2020; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Clouds; CMOS; Continuous radiation; Doppler radar; Insects; meteorological radar; Millimeter wave radar; Power amplifiers; Power consumption; Power demand; Power supplies; Radar equipment; Radar remote sensing; Radio frequency; Remote sensing; Sensors; Signal generation; Signal processing; Subsystems; System on chip; Waveforms
• ISSN: 1530-437X; 1558-1748
• DOI: 10.1109/JSEN.2020.2972535

We report on the architecture and performance of a highly sensitive 95 GHz Doppler radar instrument with 0.6Watt transmit power designed for low power consumption and small size. The radar's sensitivity is validated using a calibration target, and its remote sensing capabilities are demonstrated through the detection of clouds, rain, insects, and distant vehicles. The radar uses a frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) waveform, a single antenna with ultra-high-isolation quasioptical transmit/receive duplexing, an InP low-noise amplifier for receiving, and a GaN power amplifier for transmitting. A DC power consumption of 22 W for the RF and digital subsystems is achieved, in part, by a combination of a power-efficient waveform generation/detection and signal processing board and a CMOS-based system-on-chip W-band oscillator. Excluding power supplies and a computer interface, the radar system mass is under 6 kg, making it attractive for future deployment from platforms with constrained accommodation resources.