77GHz Automotive radar IC for Vehicles with Satellite Architecture

According to the company, the product, called AWR2544, is fabricated using 45 nm RFCMOS and is targeted for use in "satellite" rather than the more locally-demanding "edge" vehicle architectures, such as vehicles with radar at every corner.With the edge architecture, the radar performs Doppler and angular fast FFTs, and subsequent algorithms for object detection, classification and tracking, sending fully processed data to a centralized autonomous driving (ADAS) computer.

TI says, "In a satellite architecture, the radar sensor outputs semi-processed data to a central processor for ADAS decision making."As a result, radars targeting satellite architectures do not require as much processing power as edge architectures."The AWR2544 features an integrated 77GHz transceiver with four transmitters and four receivers," said TI. "It also includes a cost-optimized radar processing gas pedal and a 1Gbit/s Ethernet interface for generating and transmitting range FFT compressed data. The device meets ASIL (Automotive Safety Integrity Level) B requirements."

Its FMCW transceiver, which operates in the 76 to 81 GHz range, includes PLLs, VCOs, mixers and baseband ADCs, as well as a front-end controller for configuring and monitoring these. The user-programmable Arm Cortex-R5F is used for control and automotive interface applications and is supported by hardware gas pedals that handle FFT, scaling and compression.
Security processing is handled by the onboard Arm Cortex-M4 MCU and associated infrastructure.
TI's Vehicle Radar RF Coupling Pad is packaged in a 12.4 x 12mm FCCSP version of the launch solution that requires a ground pin ("VSSA") around eight transmitter pads.

An unusual feature of the radar IC package is that it has a built-in local radiating element (which TI calls a "launch-on-package" ("LOP")) designed to be connected to the system antenna via a waveguide inside the PCB."The LOP helps reduce the size of the sensor by up to 30 percent by mounting the 3D waveguide antenna on the other side of the PCB," the company said. "The LOP can also extend the sensor range beyond 200m with a single chip."