A Ku -Band CMOS FMCW Radar Transceiver for Snowpack Remote Sensing

Journal article (2018)

Authors

Yanghyo Kim California Institute of Technology
Theodore James Reck California Institute of Technology
Adrian Tang California Institute of Technology
M. Alonso Del Pino Jet Propulsion Lab, Pasadena, CA
Thomas H. Painter California Institute of Technology
Hans Peter Marshall Boise State University
Edward H. Bair University of California
Jeff Dozier University of California
G. Chattopadhyay University of California
Kuo Nan Liou University of California
Mau Chung Frank Chang California Institute of Technology
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Published Date

2018-5

Language

English

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Abstract

This paper presents a Ku -band (14-16 GHz) CMOS frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar transceiver developed to measure dry-snow depth for water management purposes and to aid in retrieval of snow water equivalent. An on-chip direct digital frequency synthesizer and digital-to-analog converter digitally generates a chirping waveform which then drives a ring oscillator-based Ku -Band phase-locked loop to provide the final Ku -band FMCW signal. Employing a ring oscillator as opposed to a tuned inductor-based oscillator (LC-VCO) allows the radar to achieve wide chirp bandwidth resulting in a higher axial resolution (7.5 cm), which is needed to accurately quantify the snowpack profile. The demonstrated radar chip is fabricated in a 65-nm CMOS process. The chip consumes 252.4 mW of power under 1.1-V supply, making its payload requirements suitable for observations from a small unmanned aerial vehicle.