Spatial Diversity 24-GHz FMCW Radar with Ground Effect Compensation for Automotive Applications

Abstract

In automotive radar applications, a realistic road surface can cause multipath reflection, degrade the received power, and reduce detection probability. This paper proposes a one-transmitter-two-receiver (1T2R) 24-GHz frequency-modulation continuous-wave (FMCW) radar architecture with spatial diversity and ground effect compensation for automotive applications. A ray-tracing technique was developed to evaluate the multipath effect of the road surface. In the proposed design, suitable spacing between the two receiving antennas compensated for the multipath effect of the road surface and improved the signal-to-ground clutter ratio of the receivers by a minimum of 20 dB at certain distances. The measurement and calculation results of the proposed radar are in close agreement.