Radar System Concepts
A key focus at the Institute of Microwave Engineering is the design and development of complex radar systems. To this end, the institute possesses in-depth expertise in the various subfields of radar technology. Building on this foundation, new concepts for radar systems with diverse applications are developed. These include, for example, system concepts for coherent MIMO radar sensors and systems with distributed radar sensors. Signal processing, the development of suitable modulation schemes, and hardware design are of great relevance to this research.
Single Sensors The institute designs individual radar sensors with very high resolution capabilities in four dimensions. These include range, velocity, and angle in both the horizontal and vertical planes. To achieve these goals, various concepts are being investigated. In particular, the research focuses on very high operating frequencies up to 0.3 THz, a very high channel count with well over 1,000 virtual channels, and antenna concepts inspired by nature.
To improve system performance, stochastic approaches to array optimization and various types of signal distribution within the radar are employed. In addition, the institute also investigates and develops new MIMO multiplexing techniques for digital radars (OFDM, PN). Our key considerations in sensor design are high integration density, maximum flexibility, and an optimal balance between complexity and performance.
Sensor Networks Compared to individual MIMO sensors, distributed radar sensors offer an advantage in the localization and characterization of targets. This is made possible by large sensor spacing. Research at the institute ranges from incoherent sensor networks with very simple radars to coherent systems consisting of multiple distributed MIMO sensors. Depending on the sensor concept, different algorithms for cooperative localization are investigated and developed.
Cost-effective alternatives to coherent sensor networks can also be achieved through the use of repeaters in conjunction with a radar sensor. In this context, the repeaters function as additional virtual antennas, enabling improved radar imaging while simultaneously providing great flexibility in network configuration. Another area of application for radar repeaters is their use in radar target simulators. These enable a fully flexible selection of scenarios with a variety of simulated targets for the evaluation of radar sensors.
Expertise
- Design, simulation, and implementation of MIMO systems
- Front-ends and antennas for MIMO radars
- Hardware concepts for MIMO radars
- Design of radar sensor networks
- Algorithms for localizing and characterizing extended targets in sensor networks
Funded Projects In addition to a large number of bilateral industry projects, the following research project is currently underway:
- DFG: Sub-THz Scalable Sensor SoC
- DFG: BinoMIMO – High-Resolution Binocular MIMO Millimeter-Wave Radars
- DFG: Biomimetic Antenna Concepts for Angular-Resolving Millimeter-Wave Sensors
- DFG: PN radar networks with phase noise suppression
- DFG: Multistatic coherent MIMO radar networks
- InnoSÜD: Radar target simulation for automotive radar sensors