Imaging radar sensor front-end with a large transmit array

A 24GHz imaging radar front-end intended for medium range automotive applications is presented in this article. In the fmnt-end a large switched transmit antenna array is combined with a coherent FM-CW architecture. It allows two dimensional electronic scanning in range and cross range with good crass range resolution over a wide angle of new using very low EIRP. In comparison to complex and cost intensive phased array approaches, it requires only a moderate number of active millimeter wave components. Within the scope of this paper an overview of the front-end??s architecture, design and realization is given. Performance is demonstrated by exemplary radar images obtained from measurements with a first setup.