Design of horns and lensesfor a one-chip-radar

Omniradar (www.omniradar.com) designs and sell single-chip radars with include all RF functionality in combination with antennas on the silicon. Applications are level gauging, presence detection, park distance control, height or distance measurement, speed measurement, etc. The radiation pattern and the beam-width of the antennas-on-silicon are fixed by the design of the silicon and the package. Omniradar (www.omniradar.com) designs and sell single-chip radars with include all RF functionality in combination with antennas on the silicon. Applications are level gauging, presence detection, park distance control, height or distance measurement, speed measurement, etc. The radiation pattern and the beam-width of the antennas-on-silicon are fixed by the design of the silicon and the package. However, omniradar has  demonstrated that the addition of a horn and/or a lens gives the possibility of changing the beam-width of the radiation pattern. First designs for horns and lenses have been realized, but the theory in combination with practical simulations and realizations of various types is still unavailable. It is the purpose of this project to acquire this knowledge., omniradar has  demonstrated that the addition of a horn and/or a lens gives the possibility of changing the beam-width of the radiation pattern. First designs for horns and lenses have been realized, but the theory in combination with practical simulations and realizations of various types is still unavailable. It is the purpose of this project to acquire this knowledge.

The single-chip radar developed by Omniradar has a fixed antenna design and thus a fixed radiation pattern and beam-width as the antennas are implemented on-silicon. There are two ways of modifying this radiation pattern without changing the silicon or the package: use a horn or use a lens outside the packaged silicon. The purpose of the project is to investigate horns and lenses with various dimensions to predict the radiation pattern. The investigation will require a literature study on horn and lens design. Next simulation models will have to be built in CST. Design examples will be 3D-printed and/or milled. Next the radiation pattern of the combination of single-chip radar and horn/lens will be measured at the omniradar radiation pattern measurement setup and compared to the design and simulation results.

The  work  in  this  project  will  be conducted  on conjunction with Omniradar and supervised by Bart Smolders and Paul van Zeijl (paul.van.zeijl@remove-this.omniradar.com). Omniradar will support this work with hardware and measurement equipment. The work can be performed at the TUe and Omniradar premises.