An FPGA Based Controller for a MEMS Tri-mode FMCW Radar

摘要

In this thesis a Xilinx Virtex 5 FPGA platform based signal processing algorithm has been developed and experimentally verified for use in a MEMS based tri-mode 77GHz FMCW automotive radar to determine range and velocity of targets in the vicinity of a host vehicle. The Xilinx Virtex 5 FPGA based signal processing and control algorithm dynamically reconfigures a MEMS based FMCW radar to provide a short, medium, and long-range coverage using the same hardware. The MEMS radar comprises of MEMS SP3T RF switches, microfabricated Rotman lens and a microstrip antenna embedded with MEMS SPST switches, in additional to other microelectronic components. A CA-CFAR module has been used to eliminate false targets in a multi target clutter affected scenario. The refresh rate for the current design is 2.048ms for each mode of radar which is nearly 40 times lower than the BOSCH LRR3. The maximum percent difference from analytical to HDL calculated range values was found to be 0.16% which can be lowered with further refinement. The developed FPGA based radar signal processing algorithm can be implemented as an ASIC which can be batch fabricated to lower down the production cost so that automotive radars can become a standard item for all the vehicles on the road.