Patent Application
20240012102
The present disclosure generally relates to radar systems. In particular, the present disclosure relates to radar systems employing an adhesive layer used for mounting an antenna printed circuit board to a radar control module.
In conventional radar (“radio detection and ranging”) systems, an antenna printed circuit board (PCB) is mounted on a radar control module (RCM) using an adhesive layer, for example a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA). Vertical feed lines connect antennas on the antenna PCB and the RCM. In such a radar system, electromagnetic energy leaks into the adhesive layer (e.g. PSA layer) causing an unwanted coupling between the vertical feed lines of the antennas. There is thus a need in the art to address this technical problem.
According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a radar system comprises: an antenna printed circuit board comprising at least one transmit antenna and at least one receive antenna; a radar control module; an adhesive layer provided between the antenna printed circuit board and the radar control module; and vertical feed lines respectively connecting the at least one transmit antenna and the radar control module and respectively connecting the at least one receive antenna and the radar control module; whereby the adhesive layer comprises at least one cut-out region being structured by having a non-straight side boundary to direct an electromagnetic wave emanating from a first vertical feed line away from arriving at one or more of the vertical feed lines.
According to a second aspect of the present disclosure the at least one cut-out region comprises a first-type cut-out region having the first vertical feed line disposed therein.
According to a third aspect of the present disclosure the first-type cut-out region has a tapered form or a widening form, whereby the first-type cut-out region is tapered between the first vertical feed line and a third vertical feed line disposed in the first-type cut-out region.
According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure the at least one cut-out region comprises a second-type cut-out region having spatial dimensions smaller than the vertical feed lines and being structured so that the electromagnetic wave emanating from the first vertical feed line in a first cut-out region is directed away from arriving at a second vertical feed line in a second cut-out region.
According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure the second-type cut-out region comprises a plurality of line segments each being connected to at least one other of the plurality of line segments at a certain angle.
According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure the second-type cut-out region has a V-shape or a Y-shape.
According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure the second-type cut-out region is oriented between the first and second cut-out region so that a tip of the second-type cut-out region is directed toward the first vertical feed line.
According to an eight aspect of the present disclosure a plurality of second-type cut-out regions is arranged between the first and second cut-out region.
According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure the plurality of second-type cut-out regions is provided along a first row having a predetermined radar wavelength dependent distance from the first cut-out region.
According to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure the plurality of second-type cut-out regions is staggered to each other along a first row and a second row.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure a distance between a first second-type cut-out region in the first row and a second second-type cut-out region in the second row is a predetermined radar wavelength dependent distance.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure the adhesive layer further comprises a linear-shaped cut-out region having spatial dimensions smaller than the vertical feed lines and being provided in front of the second cut-out region.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure the second-type cut-out region has a permittivity different from the adhesive layer.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present disclosure an adhesive layer for a radar system is configured to mount an antenna printed circuit board to a radar control module, the antenna printed circuit board comprising at least one transmit antenna and at least one receive antenna, each of which being respectively connected to the radar control module via a vertical feed line; whereby the adhesive layer comprises at least one cut-out region being structured by having a non-straight side boundary to direct an electromagnetic wave emanating from a first vertical feed line away from arriving at one or more of the vertical feed lines.
According to a fifteenth aspect of the present disclosure a vehicle comprises a radar system according to one of the first to thirteenth aspect.
Embodiments of the present disclosure, which are presented for better understanding the inventive concepts, but which are not to be seen as limiting the disclosure, will now be described with reference to the figures in which:
Various conventional radar systems use an adhesive layer for mounting an antenna PCB to an RCM. The antenna PCB comprises at least one transmit (Tx) antenna and at least one receive (Rx) antenna, each of which are connecting to the RCM via vertical feed lines. The vertical feed lines may leak energy into the adhesive layer in the form of transverse electromagnetic radiation. The adhesive layer between the antenna PCB and the RCM can be considered as a dielectric medium.
Conventional materials for low-cost adhesive layers have a low permittivity and low dielectric loss. The surfaces of both the antenna PCB and the RCM contain approximately full-surface metallization. Therefore, the adhesive layer in between the antenna PCB and the RCM creates a parallel plate waveguide, enabling parasitic leakage paths between vertical feed lines. In conventional radar systems, leakage through the adhesive layer may correspond to up to 10% of the total transmitted power through the feeding lines. As a consequence, the electromagnetic coupling between antennas (Rx-Tx/Rx-Rx/Tx-Tx) has reached levels which deteriorate the range accuracy, angle accuracy and noise floor of the whole radar system.
It is an aim of the present disclosure to provide a solution to the above problem at low cost, that is, without resorting to a more expensive conductive material for the adhesive layer material or using more expensive hybrid-PCBs, which do not require an adhesive layer. The present disclosure enables controlling and reducing the leakage of energy into the adhesive layer by optimizing the structure of the adhesive layer.
The present disclosure shall now be described in conjunction with specific embodiments. The specific embodiments serve to provide the skilled person with a better understanding but are not intended to in any way restrict the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the appended claims. In particular, the embodiments described independently throughout the description can be combined to form further embodiments to the extent that they are not mutually exclusive.
A radar system comprises an antenna printed circuit board (PCB) 1 with at least one transmit antenna and at least one receive antenna. Electromagnetic waves in the radio-frequency (RF) or microwave domain may be transmitted by the at least one transmit antenna. The electromagnetic waves may be reflected by one or more objects and the reflected electromagnetic waves may then be received by the at least one receive antenna. This way, the radar system may determine the distances, angles, and radial velocities of the one or more objects relative to the radar system.
Radar systems may be applied in automotive vehicles to provide monitoring of the environment. This may include detection and ranging of other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and other obstacles. The data generated by the radar system may be used to facilitate autonomous driving and parking and may enable safety features such adaptive cruise control (ACC) and emergency braking.
The radar system further comprises a radar control module (RCM) 3. The RCM 3 may be used to control the at least one transmit antenna and process signals received by the at least one receive antenna. The electronic circuitry of the RCM 3 may be implemented using another substrate-based PCB.
The radar system further comprises an adhesive layer 2 provided between the antenna PCB 1 and the RCM 3. The adhesive layer 2 may provide a mechanical connection between adjacent parts with which it is in contact. In other words, the antenna PCB 1 may be glued to the RCM 3 using the adhesive layer 2. Typically, the thickness of the adhesive layer 2 may be around 50 μm. The adhesive layer 2 may be provided by a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA), for example, in the form of a double-sided tape. The adhesive layer 2 may be provided by a single piece of adhesive tape or by and arrangement of multiple pieces of adhesive tape. The adhesive layer 2 may facilitate mounting of the antenna PCB 1 to the RCM 3 at low manufacturing costs.
The radar system further comprises vertical feed lines 4, 5, 55 respectively connecting the at least one transmit antenna and the RCM 3 and respectively connecting the at least one receive antenna and the RCM 3. In other words, each antenna may be connected to the RMC 3 using a dedicated vertical feed line. This way, the antennas 6, 7, 77 of the antenna PCB 1 may exchange signals with the RCM 3. The RCM 3 may control the transmission of electromagnetic waves by the at least one transmit antenna and detect signals, such as reflected electromagnetic waves, received by the at least one receive antenna, via the respective vertical feed lines 4, 5, 55.
The adhesive layer 2 comprises at least one cut-out region 8, 60. A cut-out region may generally be considered as a spatial region of the adhesive layer from which the inherent adhesive layer material (material from which the adhesive layer is made) is removed. One or more vertical feed lines 4, 5, 55 may be disposed within one or more of the at least one cut-out region 8, 60. A cut-out region in which one or more vertical feed lines 4, 5, 55 are disposed is referred to as a first-type cut-out region in the following. Likewise, there may exist one or more cut-out regions with spatial dimensions smaller than the vertical feed lines 4, 5, 55, which means that no vertical feed lines 4, 5, 55 are disposed therein. This kind of cut-out region is referred to as a second-type cut-out region in the following.
The positional arrangement of the antenna PCB 1, adhesive layer 2 and RCM 3 is described with reference to
Note that the layout of the RCM 3 is not limited to that shown in
The dashed line 99 in
According to present studies of conventional radar systems, the parallel plate waveguide may cause that up to around 10 percent of the energy in the vertical feed lines 4, 5, 55 leaks into the adhesive layer 2 in the form of transverse electromagnetic wave propagation. This way, the first, second and third vertical feed lines 4, 5, 55 may become coupled to one another. Depending on the amount of energy leaked from one vertical feed line to another vertical feed line, the coupling between them may increase.
A coupling between vertical feed lines of two receive antenna, between vertical feed lines of two transmit antennas or a coupling of a vertical feed line to itself may lead to lead to various technical problems. For example, the coupling may lead to an increase in gain (amplitude) and phase ripples in the radar signal. Furthermore, due to the coupling, the difficulty of single feed line matching may increase. That is, matching an input impedance at the end of a feed line of an antenna to the characteristic impedance of the feed line. Moreover, the coupling may lead to an increase of the phase and/or angle error on the detected angle of an object with respect to the radar system. It is, however, difficult to reduce this phase and/or angle error through calibration. In the following, transverse electromagnetic waves are simply referred to as electromagnetic waves.
By reducing the coupling of vertical feed lines, the effects of the above problems may be reduced. One solution would be to use a conductive material for the adhesive layer. This way, propagation of electromagnetic wave would be omitted. However, compared to dielectric materials, such a solution would result in a significantly more expensive radar system. Hence, the present disclosure aims to provide a solution applicable to lost-cost adhesive layers made from dielectric material by using an optimized layout and shape of cut-outs regions.
The at least one cut-out region 8, 60 is structured by having a non-straight side boundary to direct an electromagnetic wave emanating from the first vertical feed line 4 away from arriving at one or more of the vertical feed lines 4, 5, 55. A non-straight side boundary 12 may have any irregular shape involving two or more different directions such as a graded, tapered, widening, convex, concave, zig-zag or sawtooth shape. A cut-out region 8, 60 with a non-straight side boundary 12 may be provided, for example, by two or more line segments connected at a certain angle. A rectangular boundary 11 having rounded corners is not considered to be a non-straight side boundary. The boundary between a cut-out region and the adhesive layer represents a material transition from one medium to another. Due to the non-straight side boundary 12, an electromagnetic wave emanating from the first vertical feed line 4 may have a non-perpendicular angle of incidence at the boundary 12 between the at least one cut-out region 8, 80, 61 and the adhesive layer 2. In other words, the at least one cut-out regions 8, 60 is arranged such that an electromagnetic wave emanating from the first vertical feed line 4 is reflected or refracted at the boundary 12 of the at least one cut-out region 8, 60 and the adhesive layer 2 in such a way that the electromagnetic wave is deflected and does not arrive at one or more of the vertical feed lines 4, 5, 55.
Since no other material is required and only the structure of the at least one cut-out region 8, 60 in the adhesive layer 2 is affected, the implementation of the adhesive layer 2 according to present embodiments can be assumed to be an approximately cost-neutral factor in the production of the radar system.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the at least one cut-out region 8, 60 may comprise a first-type cut-out region 8 having the first vertical feed line 4 disposed therein. The first-type cut-out region 8 may be structured to direct the electromagnetic wave emanating from the first vertical feed line 4 away from arriving back at the first vertical feed line 4. By preventing such back-reflections, self-coupling of the first vertical feed line 4 may be reduced.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the first-type cut-out region 8 may be structured in such a way so that the electromagnetic wave emanating from the first vertical feed line 4 has a non-perpendicular angle of incidence at a boundary 12 between the first-type cut-out region 8 and the adhesive layer 2. In other words, the shape of the first-type cut-out region 8 may be configured such that electromagnetic wave hits the boundary 12 of the first-type cut-out region at an angle in which the electromagnetic wave is deflected and subsequently propagates away from the first vertical feed line 4. For example, the shape of the first-type cut-out region may be convex with respect to the first vertical feed line 4 within the first-type cut-out region 8. This way, back-reflection of the electromagnetic wave may be prevented and self-coupling of the first vertical feed line 4 is suppressed.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the first-type cut-out region 8 may have a tapered form or a widening form, whereby the first-type cut-out region is tapered or widened between the first vertical feed line 4 and a third vertical feed line 55 disposed in the first-type cut-out region 8. An hour-glass silhouette is an example for a tapered form. An ellipse is an example for a widening form. The tapered or widening shape of the first-type cut-out region may reduce the coupling between the first and third vertical feed line 4, 55. Additionally, the tapered or widening shape may prevent back-reflection of electromagnetic waves emanating from the first and third vertical feed line 4, 55, thereby also reducing self-coupling of first and third vertical feed line 4, 55.
The rectangular shape of the conventional cut-out region may lead to a back-reflection (arrow 27) at a boundary 11 to the first vertical feed line 4. Hence, the first vertical feed line 4 may become coupled to itself leading to a degraded matching.
Furthermore, the rectangular shape of the first-type cut-out region may lead to reflected wave (arrow 37) arriving at the third vertical feed line 55. This transferred energy may lead to a degradation of the phase behavior both for a transmit antenna and a receive antenna because the phase information between multiple antennas may be mixed up. As a result, the achieved angular accuracy of the radar system may be degraded.
Summarizing the functional and structural improvements presented in
Each of the two conventional rectangular cut-out regions may contain additional vertical feed lines. Note that, in this case, the terms “first” (“second”) vertical feed line may refer to any one of the vertical feed lines disposed in the first (second) cut-out region. For example, the vertical feed lines in the first cut-out region may be connected to transmit antennas and the vertical feed lines in the second cut-out region be connected to transmit antennas.
Arrow 16 indicates an electromagnetic wave emanating from the first vertical feed line 4. The electromagnetic wave enters the adhesive layer 2′ and may propagate through the adhesive layer 2′ as indicated by arrow 18. Therein, the electromagnetic wave may propagate without being dampened significantly due to the low-loss properties of typical dielectric materials used for low-cost adhesive layers. Arrow 17 indicates the transmitted electromagnetic wave arriving at the second vertical feed line 5, resulting in a strong coupling between the first and the second vertical feed line 4, 5.
Such a coupling of transmit and receive antennas may introduce noise and reduce the achievable sensitivity of the radar system. Reduced sensitivity may be identified as a range reduction of the radar system or as a lower probability to detect low reflecting objects such as pedestrians or cyclists at low distances.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the at least one cut-out region may comprise a second-type cut-out region 60 having spatial dimensions smaller than the vertical feed lines 4, 5, 55 and being structured so that the electromagnetic wave emanating from the first vertical feed line 4 in a first cut-out region is directed away from arriving at a second vertical feed line 5 in a second cut-out region. The second-type cut-out region 60 having spatial dimensions smaller than the vertical feed line 4, 5, 55 means that the second-type cut-out region 60 does not have vertical feed lines disposed therein and/or that the second-type cut-out region 60 has a size smaller than the first-type cut-out region containing vertical feed lines.
In other words, a second-type cut-out region 60 may be arranged such that an electromagnetic wave emanating from the first vertical feed line 4 is refracted at a boundary of the second-type cut-out region 60 and the adhesive layer 2 in such a way that the electromagnetic wave is deflected and does not arrive at the second vertical feed line 5. Hence, the isolation of the first and second vertical feed lines 4, 5 may be improved and thus coupling effects may be mitigated. Preferably, the second-type cut-out region 60 is arranged between the first and the second cut-out region.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the second-type cut-out region 60 may comprise a plurality of line segments each being connected to at least one other of the plurality of line segments at a certain angle to form a non-straight side boundary. Here, Each individual line segment may correspond to a linear-shaped cut-out region but when they are connected together at a certain angle (not 180°/360°), the resulting second-type cut-out region 60 has a non-straight side boundary. For example, the plurality of line segments may comprise two line segments connected at an angle of about 90° to form a V-shaped second-type cut-out region 60. For another example, the plurality of line segments may comprise three line segments connected at a common point at an angle of about 120° to form a Y-shaped second-type cut-out region 60. Alternatively, the angles between the line segments of the Y-shape may comprise one acute angle equal or less than 90° and two angles equal or less than 135° (in sum 3600).
According to a further preferred embodiment, the second-type cut-out region 60 may have a V-shape or a Y-shape. The opening angle of the V-shape and of the acute-angled part of the Y-shape and the lengths of the line segments are selected parameters to improve the achieved isolation of the vertical feed lines and depend on the positions thereof. The opening angle of the line segments of the V-shape and of the acute-angled part of the Y-shape may be arranged such that the line segments are directed away from the second vertical feed line 5.
Further aspects for the preferred geometry of the V-shape and Y-shape may be good manufacturability and suitable structural size requirements for low-cost stamped-out features. Preferably, small features of the second-type cut-out region 60 that require special treatment like laser structuring are avoided.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the second-type cut-out region 60 may be oriented between the first and second cut-out region so that a tip of the second-type cut-out region 60 is directed toward the first vertical feed line 4. This way, an electromagnetic wave emanating from the first vertical feed line may hit a boundary of the line segments of the V-shape and of the acute-angled part of the Y-shape at a non-perpendicular angle of incidence. In this case, the electromagnetic wave is deflected and subsequently propagates away from the second vertical feed line 4.
According to a further preferred embodiment, a plurality of second-type cut-out regions may be arranged between the first and second cut-out region. By having more than one second-type cut-out region 60 the isolation of first and second vertical feed lines 4, 5 may be improved. The shapes of the plurality of second-type cut-out regions may be the same for all or may be different for each.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the plurality of second-type cut-out regions 60 may be provided along a first row having a predetermined radar wavelength dependent distance from the first cut-out region. The distance may be an integer multiple of one half of the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave inside the adhesive layer 2. This way, destructive interference with the reflected electromagnetic waves may further improve the isolation of the first and second vertical feed lines 4, 5.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the plurality of second-type cut-out regions may be staggered to each other along a first row and a second row. Depending on the available space between the first and second cut-out region, the plurality of second-type cut-out regions may be staggered to each other along three rows or more.
According to a further preferred embodiment, a distance between a first second-type cut-out region in the first row and a second second-type cut-out region in the second row may be a predetermined radar wavelength dependent distance. The distance may be an integer multiple of one half of the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave inside the adhesive layer 2. This way, destructive interference with the reflected electromagnetic waves may further improve the isolation of the first and second vertical feed lines 4, 5.
Note that each of the plurality of second-type cut-out regions may also have a shape other than the V-shape shown in this example. The best shape and layout of the plurality of second-type cut-out regions is subject to optimization. The second-type cut-out regions may also be referred to as deflecting structures. Here, a first row of V-Shaped deflecting structures may be placed inside the adhesive layer 2 at a distance of nλ1/2 to the adhesive edge next to vertical transition 4, where n is an integer number and λ1 is the wave length of the TEM wave inside the adhesive layer 2.
This ensures minimized reflection by the V-Shape structures. The function of the V-Shape is to catch propagating TEM waves 16, and alternate their propagation directions 18, so that the major amount of electromagnetic energy propagating from vertical transition 4 to 5 is redirected towards non-critical areas (i.e. areas not occupied by vertical transitions). A smaller yet more acceptable part of this TEM energy 17 may still be coupled into vertical transition 5. Optionally, a second or more rows of V-Shapes may be added according to geometrical distance recommendation given in the
Here, the opening angle of the V-shaped deflecting structures and the lengths of the V's are parameters to improve the achieved isolation and depend on the position of the transitions. A further aspect for selecting the proposed V-shaped deflecting structures geometry is good manufacturability and suitable structural size requirement for low cost stamped out features. Small features that require special treatment like laser structuring are avoided. In summary, leaked TEM waves are deflected by V-Shaped deflecting structures leading to reduced Tx-Rx coupling and therefore, to a reduction of the noise floor.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the adhesive layer 2 may further comprise a linear-shaped cut-out region 61 having spatial dimensions smaller than the vertical feed lines 4, 5, 55 and being provided in front of the second cut-out region. The linear-shaped cut-out region 61 having spatial dimensions smaller than the vertical feed line means that the linear-shaped cut-out region 61 does not have vertical feed lines disposed therein.
For example, the linear-shaped cut-out region 61 may be disposed behind the plurality of second-type cut-out regions to further reduce the coupling between the first and second vertical feed line 4, 5.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the second-type cut-out region 60 may have a permittivity different from the adhesive layer 2. The second-type cut-out region 60 may be made of air or may be made of a dielectric material with a different permittivity than the material of the adhesive layer 2. In other words, the volume, defined by the shape of the cut-out region 60 and the height of the adhesive layer 2, may be filled with air or may be filled with a dielectric material with a different permittivity than the material of the adhesive layer 2. Likewise, the linear-shaped cut-out region 61 may also have a permittivity different from the adhesive layer 2. The permittivities of one or more second-type cut-out regions 60 and the linear-shaped cut-out regions 61 may be mutually different.
The radar system 1 may be applied in a vehicle. The radar system 1 may be used to provide monitoring of the environment of the vehicle. This may include detection and ranging of other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and other obstacles. The data generated by the radar system 1 may be used to facilitate autonomous driving and parking and may enable safety features such adaptive cruise control (ACC) and emergency braking. The adhesive layer 2 according to present embodiments enables such vehicle operations to be performed with higher accuracy without increasing the manufacturing cost of the radar system 1 of the vehicle.
As shown by the greyscale ripples, transverse electromagnetic waves emanate from the transmit antennas propagating predominantly parallel to the y-direction and arriving at the receive antennas. At the receive antennas these transverse electromagnetic waves result in a peak signal-to-noise ratio of up to around −25 dB as indicated by the greyscale. Hence, a strong coupling mediated by a conventional adhesive layer between the transmit and receive antennas can be observed.
As shown by the greyscale ripples, transverse electromagnetic waves emanating from the transmit antennas are dispersed by the second-type V-shaped and linear-shaped cut-out regions such that a significant portion of the energy of the transverse electromagnetic waves is deflected and does not arrive at the receive antennas. At the receive antennas the peak signal-to-noise ratio reaches up to around −33 dB as indicated by the greyscale. Hence, the coupling between transmit and receive antennas may be significantly reduced compared to the conventional adhesive layer discussed with reference to
Similar results as the ones exemplified by
Similar improvements as the ones exemplified by
The present disclosure provides the following technical benefits:
The skilled person understands that the present disclosure differs from the prior art by introducing a control of the propagation direction of leaked TEM waves inside adhesive layers of a radar system (such as PSA layers), using special adapted cut-outs and features.
This may lead to a reduced coupling at the antenna feed lines (such as Tx-Rx, Rx-Rx, Tx-Tx) and improves the achievable angular accuracy by the radar system. Furthermore, reduced Tx-Rx coupling also can decrease the noise floor. Furthermore, also single feed line matching can be improved. Since just the cut-out mask of the adhesive layer (such as PSA layer) may be changed by this disclosure, these additional features are low cost in nature, as compared to, for example solutions that employ more expensive PSA materials or hybrid PCBs that do not require a PSA layer.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22183626.5 | Jul 2022 | EP | regional |
