Design and Performance Analysis of mmWave FMCW MIMO Radar Antenna

This research work focuses on the design and performance analysis of millimeter-wave (mmWave) Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) MIMO radar, which combines multiple transmit and receive channels to deliver high-resolution, three-dimensional sensing essential for automotive driver-assistance and industrial monitoring. This work presents the design and simulation-based performance analysis of a compact 4×2 inverted-F coplanar patch array operating at 24 GHz, 60 GHz, and 77 GHz. Antenna modeling and FMCW radar signal processing, including chirp generation, beat-frequency extraction, and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis, are implemented in MATLAB (MathWorks), leveraging the Antenna and Phased Array System toolboxes. Impedance matching (S₁₁ < –10 dB) is achieved across each band, and simulated radiation patterns exhibit directional beams with narrow beamwidths and robust angular coverage. Peak gains in the main lobes are 11.92 dBi (azimuth) and 5.11 dBi (elevation) at 24 GHz, 5.06 dBi and 1.76 dBi at 60 GHz, and 4.01 dBi and 3.16 dBi at 77 GHz. FMCW simulations confirm accurate range and velocity measurement capabilities, visualized via spectrograms and range-Doppler maps. These results demonstrate that the proposed antenna architecture enables reliable, high-resolution radar sensing under challenging environmental conditions, shaping its applicability across various domains.