Balanced antenna arrays for 24 GHz automotive UWB radar sensors

In this paper, the development of novel wideband balanced antenna arrays for 24 GHz vehicular high resolution radar (HRR) sensors is presented. The double- sided printed bow-tie dipole elements are used for the antenna arrays. These balanced antennas integrate well with the newly developed Silicon Germanium (SiGe) integrated circuits which have balanced inputs and outputs. The antenna arrays are very compact and are printed on a very thin RF substrate. Foam and dielectric spacers (for providing back reflector to achieve broadside radiation beam) of different thicknesses have been experimented to keep the antennas as thin as possible.