US 12,326,515 B2
Linear chirp automotive radar using millimeter wave metamaterial antennas
Dongyin Ren, East Brunswick, NJ (US); Ryan Haoyun Wu, San Jose, CA (US); and Satish Ravindran, Santa Clara, CA (US)
Assigned to NXP B.V., Eindhove (NL)
Filed by NXP B.V., Eindhoven (NL)
Filed on Mar. 3, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/685,668.
Prior Publication US 2023/0280446 A1, Sep. 7, 2023
Int. Cl. G01S 7/282 (2006.01); G01S 7/41 (2006.01); G01S 13/89 (2006.01)
CPC G01S 7/282 (2013.01) [G01S 7/414 (2013.01); G01S 13/89 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A radar system, comprising:
a radio-frequency (RF) transmitter unit connected to a single frequency-scanning transmit antenna which is configured to transmit a linear chirp signal comprising a sequence of chirp signals by sweeping a transmit energy focus across a transmit angle space with each chirp signal;
an RF receiver unit connected to a single frequency-scanning receive antenna and configured to generate digital output signals from one or more target return signals comprising a sequence of target return chirp signals received in response to the linear chirp signal, where the single frequency-scanning receive antenna is configured to receive the one or more target return signals by sweeping a receive energy focus across a receive angle space with each target return chirp signal, and wherein the single frequency-scanning receive antenna comprises a composite right/left-handed leaky wave metamaterial antenna array structure formed with a stack of dielectric layers and patterned conductive layers to provide beam steering across a predetermined receive frequency range; and
a radar control processing unit connected and configured to control the RF transmitter unit and the RF receiver unit;
wherein the radar control processing unit is configured to extract target range-angle information from each target return chirp signal by applying time-frequency analysis processing to the digital output signals to generate a first range-angle map which includes range-biased angle information, and then applying a group delay compensation process to generate a second range-angle map which includes target range-angle information that is generated by selectively adjusting the range-biased angular information in the first range-angle map with an angular adjustment.