The present invention relates to a radar device and to a method for producing a radar device. In particular, the present invention relates to a radar device for use in a motor vehicle.
Networked vehicles as well as assisted and autonomous driving will play an increasingly greater role. In this respect, the detection of the vehicle environment is of particular importance. In addition to camera systems, sensors that provide more accurate speed estimates and, even in low light conditions, deliver good measurement results are increasingly used with increasing degree of autonomy. Radar is one such technology that works reliably even in complete darkness or against the sun.
Initially, radar devices were used for comfort functions, such as the adaptive cruise control. Since then, sensor technology has evolved greatly and, today, safety aspects are in the foreground. Most notably, the safety classification of the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) organizations requires, for a good rating, not only safety in the crash test but also systems that prevent accidents from happening in the first place. For example, assistants for recognizing objects in the blind spot are part of the standard equipment in new vehicles, as are lane-change assistants. Emergency brake assist systems are also required, not only for simple scenarios between vehicles but also for scenarios in which so-called vulnerable road users are involved, e.g., pedestrians or cyclists.
For radar sensor technology, this means constantly increasing requirements with respect to sensitivity and selectivity, which imposes high requirements on the antenna field of the radar sensor. At the same time, costs are to be kept low. In this case, costs can be reduced by integration, e.g., by integrating electrical signal generation, transmission, reception, and processing into a single system on a chip (SoC).
In such single-chip approaches, there are no high-frequency connections between the chips on the circuit board. The conventionally used patch antenna is therefore the only remaining element that the printed circuit board requires for high frequencies. The sensor size is primarily determined by the patch antennas, which occupy a significant portion of the space on the high-frequency printed circuit board.
Besides form factor and size, a further limitation of today's patch antennas is their limited operational frequency bandwidth. Newer automotive radar sensors have increased spatial resolution requirements, which are reflected in operational bandwidths of 4 GHz to 5 GHz. While conventional patch antenna arrays typically have a narrower band, waveguide antennas can cover bandwidths of up to approx. 10 GHz. In addition, waveguide antennas promise better efficiency, lower losses, and a greater field of view in comparison to today's patch antennas. An exemplary waveguide interface is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2020/0365971 A1.
Transitioning to such antenna technology could therefore significantly reduce the printed circuit board size and the sensor size and, at the same time, improve the performance of the radar sensor. If the radar chip could additionally be directly coupled into such a waveguide antenna, this would allow the use of cheap printed circuit boards and thus pave the way for more cost-effective and better radar sensors.
A direct coupling between the radar chip and a waveguide antenna is realized by waveguide coupling devices, which are also referred to as waveguide launchers. These waveguide coupling devices must be integrated into the radar chip package so that no millimeter wave signal is transmitted on the printed circuit board.
The waveguide antenna and radar chip may be mounted on opposite sides of the printed circuit board so that a transition via the printed circuit board is required. In this case, the transitions must be precisely, smoothly and evenly metallized in order to achieve good millimeter wave transmission performance. Furthermore, the cooling system is located on the top surface of the housing, which is generally less efficient than a cooling system on the rear side.
Alternatively, the millimeter wave signal may not be transmitted through the printed circuit board but may be directly coupled into the waveguide antenna. The printed circuit board material can therefore be cost-optimized without any millimeter wave requirements or constraints. The heat dissipation can also be optimized by attaching heat sinks to both the top side and the underside of the chip. However, since the millimeter wave is conducted via the mold compound, any change in the electrical properties, e.g., during the production process, due to a changing temperature or due to age, can change or degrade the attenuation in the millimeter wave signal path. In addition, the production of such housings is complex, resulting not only in difficulty in meeting the required tolerances for low high-frequency losses and leakages but also in high producing costs.
The present invention provides a radar device and a method for producing a radar device.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein.
According to a first aspect, the present invention accordingly relates to a radar device. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, the radar device includes a printed circuit board; a signal generation circuit, which is arranged at least indirectly on the printed circuit board, is electrically coupled to the printed circuit board and is designed to generate a radar signal; a waveguide antenna device, which is arranged at least indirectly on the printed circuit board; and a waveguide coupling device, wherein the signal generation circuit is arranged on or in the waveguide coupling device, and wherein the waveguide coupling device is designed to couple the radar signal generated by the signal generation circuit, into the waveguide antenna device.
According to a second aspect, the present invention relates to a method for producing a radar device. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, the method comprises the steps of: providing a printed circuit board; arranging a signal generation circuit at least indirectly on the printed circuit board, wherein the signal generation circuit is electrically coupled to the printed circuit board and is designed to generate a radar signal; forming a waveguide coupling device at least indirectly on the printed circuit board, wherein the signal generation circuit is arranged on or in the waveguide coupling device; and arranging a waveguide antenna device at least indirectly on the printed circuit board, wherein the waveguide coupling device is designed to couple the radar signal generated by the signal generation circuit, into the waveguide antenna device.
The radar device of the present invention can be produced simply and cost-effectively while the millimeter wave losses can be kept low. Furthermore, the radar device can have good properties in terms of bandwidth, system costs, mechanical stability, and reliability.
According to an example embodiment of the present invention, the printed circuit board can be provided for transmitting low-frequency signals only. Furthermore, the printed circuit board provides a common mechanical base for the signal generation circuit (radar chip) and the waveguide antenna device. It is not used for the transmission or conduction of millimeter wave signals and can therefore be implemented in a cost-effective standard process.
According to a preferred embodiment of the radar device of the present invention, the waveguide coupling device comprises a mold compound, which at least partially surrounds the signal generation circuit. The mold compound can be applied by means of transfer molding. The mold compound protects the signal generation circuit from ambient stresses and impacts, such as during assembly of the radar device. However, according to other embodiments, the radar device may also not have any mold compound.
According to a preferred embodiment of the radar device of the present invention, the waveguide coupling device comprises an interposer designed to conduct the radar signal generated by the signal generation circuit, to the waveguide antenna device.
According to a preferred embodiment of the radar device of the present invention, the interposer comprises an integrated waveguide portion in order to conduct the radar signal generated by the signal generation circuit, to the waveguide antenna device.
According to a preferred embodiment of the radar device of the present invention, the interposer comprises an impedance adjustment portion in order to conduct the radar signal generated by the signal generation circuit, to the waveguide antenna device.
According to a preferred embodiment of the radar device of the present invention, an air gap is formed at least in sections between the waveguide coupling device and the waveguide antenna device. Depending on the choice of materials for the different components of the radar device and their mechanical properties (in particular their relative expansion), the air gap enables the compensation of the stresses in the radar device during small movements of the various components relative to one another. The coupling between the printed circuit board and the waveguide antenna device can be designed in such a way that stress compensation and small movements are possible.
According to a preferred embodiment of the radar device of the present invention, the waveguide antenna device is movably or displaceably disposed on the printed circuit board directly or via small pins. As a result, the friction between the waveguide and the printed circuit board can be reduced.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the radar device comprises a connection layer, which connects the waveguide coupling device at least in sections to the waveguide antenna device. In this embodiment, no air gap or only a partial air gap is thus formed between the waveguide coupling device and the waveguide antenna device. As a result, the mechanical stability can be increased. The materials used can be selected according to their material properties. In particular, the expansion properties of the waveguide coupling device, waveguide antenna device and printed circuit board are coordinated with one another. As a result of the connection of the structures, the radar device has low HF losses that occur at the transition between the interposer of the waveguide coupling device and the transition structure to the waveguide antenna device.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the connection layer only extends between the waveguide coupling device and the waveguide antenna device. However, there is no fixed connection layer between the waveguide antenna device and the printed circuit board. On the one hand, this enables efficient transmission of the HF signal from the waveguide coupling device to the waveguide antenna device with low losses. On the other hand, small movements of the components relative to one another are still made possible.
According to a preferred embodiment of the radar device of the present invention, the waveguide antenna device comprises a substrate and a cover arranged on the substrate, wherein at least one waveguide is formed at least in sections between the substrate and the cover. As a result, the radar device can be produced cost-effectively.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the radar device comprises at least one heat sink, which is at least indirectly connected to the signal generation circuit and/or the printed circuit board in order to dissipate heat.
According to a preferred embodiment of the radar device of the present invention, the signal generation circuit is a system-on-a-chip circuit or a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC).
According to a preferred embodiment of the radar device of the present invention, a heat sink is arranged on the printed circuit board on a side opposite the signal generation circuit. As a result, efficient heat transfer can be enabled.
In all figures, identical or functionally identical elements and devices are provided with the same reference signs.
The waveguide coupling device has a mold compound 103, which surrounds the signal generation circuit 108 on a side facing away from the printed circuit board 109. The waveguide coupling device furthermore comprises an interposer 104 with one or more metallization layers 105. The metallization layers 105, 106 can consist at least partially of copper. In deviation, more or fewer metallization layers may also be provided.
The interposer 104 is not surrounded by the mold compound 103 in the outer regions in order to enable low-loss coupling from the waveguide coupling device into a waveguide antenna device 102. For example, the interposer 104 may have a size of between 11×11 mm2 and 20×20 mm2.
The signal generation circuit 108 is arranged on the interposer 104 and the interposer 104 is connected to the printed circuit board 109 via solder balls or pads 107 so that a ball-grid-array (BGA)- or land-grid-array (LGA)-like housing is formed. The signal generation circuit 108 is a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC). According to further embodiments, the signal generation circuit 108 can also be a system-on-a-chip circuit. The signal generation circuit 108 is designed to generate and receive a radar signal (HF signal).
The waveguide antenna device 102 is arranged on the printed circuit board and surrounds the waveguide coupling device and the signal generation circuit 108 integrated therein. An air gap 110 is formed between the waveguide antenna device 102 and the waveguide coupling device. This air gap extends between the waveguide antenna device 102 and the mold compound 103 or the interposer 104 with the metallization layer 105. The air gap 110 can be reduced in size in order to enable physical contact between the waveguide antenna device 102 and the waveguide coupling device. The waveguide antenna device 102 can be or can comprise a metallized injection-molded part.
The waveguide coupling device is designed to couple the radar signal generated by the signal generation circuit 108, into the waveguide antenna device 102. The transition to the waveguide antenna device 102 is advantageously realized on a portion of the interposer 104 that is not surrounded by the mold compound 103, which reduces HF losses and ensures high bandwidth.
Furthermore, air-filled cavities 717 are formed in the lateral regions next to the waveguide channels 720. For HF signals transmitted through the air gap 110, the cavities serve as λ/4 trap so that there is a reduction in HF leakages and cross-couplings. Three air-filled cavities 717 are illustrated, one near the signal generation circuit 108 at the edge of the interposer 104, one on the side of the interposer 104, and one on the side of the printed circuit board 109. However, according to further embodiments, there can also be more or fewer cavities 717.
According to further embodiments, the cavities 717 can surround the region 719 in whole or in part.
According to further embodiments, the cavities 717 can be replaced by compensation structures in the interposer 104 up to or into the printed circuit board 109.
The correct positioning of the waveguide antenna device 702 relative to the printed circuit board 109 and to the waveguide coupling device is improved with the aid of a centering 721 by pins. In further embodiments, self-centering structures can be provided. For this purpose, the underside of the waveguide antenna device 702 can be structured with a solder island, the total base area of which is adjusted to the printed circuit board top side, wherein a reflow soldering process serves to center the waveguide antenna device 702. In order to reduce stress, the centering components, such as pins or the like, can be arranged near the waveguide coupling device.
The coupling mechanisms illustrated in
Thermal cooling of the radar device 1400 can be further improved through the use of a heat-conducting adhesive or solder in that an efficient cooling path from the signal generation circuit 108 to the printed circuit board 109 along the mold compound 103, the interposer 104, and the metallization layer 106 is created. At the same time, the waveguide antenna device 1402 itself acts as a cooling element.
As a result of the shown structure of the radar device 1600, the radar device 1600 can be produced cost-effectively since the waveguide antenna device 1602 is realized with only one external block. In order to achieve a low-loss transition between the waveguide coupling device and the waveguide antenna device 1602, the waveguide antenna device 1602 and the transition region of the waveguide coupling device are joined by means of a highly conductivity adhesive or solder 1523 and by means of an impedance adjustment portion 1602a in the launcher region.
Rather, pins or webs 1801 are also formed in this region. Furthermore, a centering 721 is provided.
In further embodiments, all radar devices shown above can have a planar cover (as in
In a first step S1, a printed circuit board is provided.
In a second step S2, a signal generation circuit is arranged at least indirectly on the printed circuit board, wherein the signal generation circuit is electrically coupled to the printed circuit board and is designed to generate a radar signal.
In a third step S3, a waveguide coupling device is formed, wherein the signal generation circuit is arranged on or in the waveguide coupling device.
In a fourth step S4, a waveguide antenna device is arranged at least indirectly on the printed circuit board.
The waveguide coupling device is designed to couple the radar signal generated by the signal generation circuit, into the waveguide antenna device.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2021 204 296.1 | Apr 2021 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2022/061028 | 4/26/2022 | WO |