Feasibility study of millimeter wave CMOS automotive pulse radars

The death toll and financial loss from automotive accidents necessitate the use of automotive radars. However, existing commercial automotive radars are bulky and expensive, and are therefore offered only in higher-end vehicles. The advancements in CMOS technology provide a great opportunity for it to be used in the 76-81 GHz frequency band allocated to automotive radar, thereby offering a lower-cost solution. This paper addresses some of the design challenges of millimeter wave CMOS transceivers from a system level perspective, proposes a radar system, and presents simulation results for key functions in the system that were obtained in AWR Visual System Simulator (VSS). The paper also discusses the options of built in self testability of CMOS transceivers thus envisioning a complete low cost solution for automotive radars.