High-Resolution Polarimetric Radar for Autonomous Vehicle Research at W-Band Frequencies

This article presents a fully polarimetric instrumentation radar designed for conducting phenomenological studies in support of autonomous vehicle research at W-band frequencies. The compact radar utilizes a unique single-antenna system with a narrow beamwidth of 1.1° (two-way) and better than 45-dB isolation between the transmit and receive signal paths. It employs the frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) modulation scheme and operates over a maximum bandwidth of 5.5 GHz centered around 79.25 GHz. The radar benefits from a low phase noise level of −86 dBc/Hz at 10-kHz offset and its receiver channels have an effective noise figure value of 2.7 dB. The calibrated radar can be used to accurately measure the polarimetric response of both point and distributed targets. It can also generate high-resolution range-velocity maps of moving targets in a given traffic scene. The radar was used to characterize the polarimetric response of slow-moving targets, such as pedestrians and bicycles. The statistics of the radar cross sections (RCSs) of these targets were computed, and unique features observed in the range-velocity maps of these targets were revealed.