A Ku-band CMOS FMCW radar transceiver with ring oscillator based waveform generation for snowpack remote sensing

Yanghyo Kim, Adrian Tang, Kuo Nan Liou, Thomas H. Painter, Mau Chung Frank Chang

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper presents a Ku-band (14-16 GHz) CMOS frequency modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar transceiver developed to measure snow depth for water management purposes and to aid in retrieval of snow water equivalent (SWE). An on-chip direct digital frequency synthesizer (DDFS) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) digitally generates the chirping waveform which then drives a ring oscillator based Ku-Band phase-locked loop (PLL) to provide the final Ku-band FMCW signal. Employing a ring oscillator as oppose to a tuned inductor based oscillator (LC-VCO) allows the radar to achieve wider chirp bandwidth resulting in a higher axial resolution (7.5cm) which is needed to accurately quantify the snowpack profile. The demonstrated radar chip is fabricated in a 65nm CMOS process, and it consumes 250mW of power under 1.1V supply, making its payload requirements suitable for observations from a small UAV.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2017 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium, IMS 2017
Pages64-66
Number of pages3
ISBN (Electronic)9781509063604
DOIs
StatePublished - 4 Oct 2017
Event2017 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium, IMS 2017 - Honololu, United States
Duration: 4 Jun 20179 Jun 2017

Publication series

NameIEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest
ISSN (Print)0149-645X

Conference

Conference2017 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium, IMS 2017
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityHonololu
Period4/06/179/06/17

Keywords

  • FMCW
  • PLL
  • Ring Oscillator
  • Snow Depth Measurement

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