INTEGRATED CIRCUIT, RADAR DEVICE AND METHOD OF CALIBRATING A RECEIVER

• US 20160109559A1
• Filed: 03/17/2015
• Published: 04/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP USA, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: DELBECQ, DOMINIQUE, DOARE, OLIVIER, MONTORIOL, GILLES
• Granted Patent: US 9,835,715 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/34 using transmission of continuous, frequency-modulated waves while heterodyning the received signal, or a signal derived therefrom, with a locally-generated signal related to the contemporaneously transmitted signal
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4056 specially adapted to FMCW
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4073 involving an IF signal injection

Abstract

An integrated circuit for a radar device comprises at least one transmitter and at least one receiver. The integrated circuit comprises: a direct digital synthesiser, DDS, configured to output a control signal; and a multiplier configured to receive a local oscillator input signal and a further input signal from the DDS. In a first mode of operation, the DDS and multiplier cooperate to generate at least one transmitter signal to be transmitted from the radar device; and in a second mode of operation the DDS and multiplier cooperate to generate at least one low frequency modulated transmitter signal to be internally routed to the at least one receiver for calibrating the at least one receiver.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit for a radar device comprising at least one transmitter and at least one receiver, the integrated circuit comprising:

a direct digital synthesiser, DDS, configured to output at least one control signal; and

a multiplier configured to receive a local oscillator input signal and a further input signal from the DDS;

wherein;

in a first mode of operation the DDS and multiplier cooperate to generate at least one transmitter signal to be transmitted from the radar device; and

in a second mode of operation the DDS and multiplier cooperate to generate at least one low frequency modulated transmitter signal to be internally routed to the at least one receiver for calibrating the at least one receiver.

2. The integrated circuit of claim 1 wherein the DDS is configured to output a DC control signal in the first mode of operation and re-configured to output a low frequency control signal in the second mode of operation.

3. The integrated circuit of claim 2 wherein in the second mode of operation the at least one DDS control signal comprises two low frequency signals separated by 90 degrees.

4. The integrated circuit of claim 1 wherein the multiplier is at least one from a group of:

a phase shifter, a radio frequency, RF, mixer, a RF quadrature mixer.

5. The integrated circuit of claim 1 wherein the multiplier is configured to realize vector modulation in the second mode of operation.

6. The integrated circuit of claim 1 wherein the multiplier cooperating with the DDS is configured to realize phase generation and low frequency generation in at least two modulated transmitter signals.

7. The integrated circuit of any preceding claim 1 wherein the local oscillator input signal comprises two radio frequency signals separated by 90 degrees.

8. A radar device comprising:

at least one receiver to be calibrated; and

at least one transmitter comprising;

a direct digital synthesiser, DDS, configured to output at least one control signal; and

a multiplier configured to receive a local oscillator input signal and a further input signal from the DDS;

wherein;

in a first mode of operation the DDS and multiplier cooperate to generate at least one transmitter signal to be transmitted from the radar device; and

in a second mode of operation the DDS and multiplier cooperate to generate at least one low frequency modulated transmitter signal to be internally routed to the at least one receiver for calibrating the at least one receiver.

9. The radar device of claim 8 wherein the DDS is configured to output a DC control signal in the first mode of operation and re-configured to output a low frequency control signal in the second mode of operation.

10. The radar device of claim 9 further comprising a signal processor configured to process the received at least two modulated transmitter signals;

and calibrate the at least one receiver of the radar device using the processed at least at least one low frequency modulated transmitter signal.

11. The radar device of claim 10 further comprising a memory operably coupled to the signal processor and configured to store calibration information related to the at least one receiver of the radar.

12. The radar device of claim 8 further comprising a controller operably coupled to the DDS and adapted to re-configure the DDS to output at least one low frequency control signal in the second mode of operation.

13. The radar device of claim wherein the radar device is from a group of:

a long range radar device, short range radar device, operating at millimetre waveform frequencies.

14. A method of calibrating at least one receiver of a radar device, the method comprising:

switching the radar device to a receiver calibration mode of operation;

re-configuring a transmitter circuit of the radar device to generate at least one low frequency modulated transmitter signal;

routing the generated at least one low frequency modulated transmitter signal to the at least one receiver internally within the radar device;

processing the received at least one low frequency modulated transmitter signal; and

calibrating the at least one receiver of the radar device using the processed at least one low frequency modulated transmitter signal.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein re-configuring a transmitter circuit of the radar device to generate at least one low frequency modulated transmitter signal comprises re-configuring a direct digital synthesiser to generate at least one digital intermediate frequency modulation signal

16. The method of claim 15 wherein re-configuring the direct digital synthesiser to generate at least one digital intermediate frequency modulation signal comprises generating two digital intermediate frequency signals separated by 90 degrees.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein calibrating the at least one receiver comprises determining a phase difference between the at least two modulated transmitter signals routed through the at least one receiver path(s).

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the at least one low frequency modulated transmitter signal comprises at least two independently low frequency modulated signals.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein re-configuring a transmitter circuit of the radar device to generate at least one low frequency modulated transmitter signal comprises applying independent low frequency modulated control signals to two input local oscillator signals separated by 90 degrees.