3-D Radar Imaging Based on a Synthetic Array of 30-GHz Impulse Radiators With On-Chip Antennas in 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS

We report a 30-GHz impulse radiator chip for high-resolution 3-D radar imaging. In this paper, an asymmetrical topology in the cross-coupled pulsed VCO is introduced to minimize timing jitter of radiated impulses to 178 fs, which enables highly efficient spatial combining. The coherent combining over the air has been performed with two widely spaced impulse radiators. The shortest full-width-at-half-maximum pulsewidth of 60 ps is recorded. 3-D images of various metallic objects and dielectric objects are produced using a custom-designed synthetic array imaging system. A depth resolution of 9 mm and a lateral resolution of 8 mm at a range of 10 cm have been achieved. The impulse radiator was implemented in a 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS process technology with an area of 2.85 mm
²
and an average power consumption of 106 mW.