Infineon Transceivers Provide Enhanced SNR, System Performance, and Resilience
Assistance in the development of application modules such as corner and high-resolution radar

Infineon Technologies (hereinafter Infineon) provides flexibility for a new software-centric automotive (SDV) architecture and enables lower development costs for 77GHz automotive radar applications.

Infineon announced on the 14th that it is launching the innovative next-generation radar RASIC™ CTRX8181 transceiver, the first product in its 76–81 GHz radar MMIC series based on 28nm CMOS technology.

The enhanced SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) and linearity of this transceiver provide high system performance and resilience.

This radar transceiver enables easily expandable platform access for various sensors, including corner radars, forward radars, and short-range radars.

Tomas Lucia, Marketing Director at Radar MMIC, Infineon Automotive, stated, “The new CTRX8181 transceiver enables reliable object recognition and differentiation to protect vulnerable road users, such as motorcycle riders, cyclists, and pedestrians,” adding that “reliable autonomous driving and for all SAE levels up to Level 4 and "Excellent RF performance is a prerequisite for the successful implementation of auxiliary functions," he said.

The CTRX8181 was developed in accordance with the latest ISO26262 safety standard and provides four transmit and four receive channels.

In addition, this product achieves an excellent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and increases the distance of standard modules by up to 25%.

With a high number of RF channels and improved linearity, it enables 33% higher vertical or horizontal angular resolution, making it possible to better distinguish various objects, such as pedestrians next to a car.

These features assist in the development of modules for all applications, ranging from corner radar to high-resolution radar.

The in-chip digital phase-locked loop (PLL) allows for faster ramps and ultra-fast flyback times for better distance resolution, which is a four-fold improvement over the best solutions available today.

This new feature reduces power consumption and provides more accurate speed information, allowing for better distinction between objects moving at similar speeds.

This allows for the ramp to be configured completely freely without sacrificing phase noise, thereby enhancing the robustness and reliability of the radar in various scenarios.

This point is particularly useful for interference avoidance methods using frequency, such as the compass technique.

The new CTRX family is the best match for Infineon's radar-dedicated AURIX™ microcontrollers (MCUs), the TC3x and the upcoming TC4x, which feature an embedded signal processing unit (SPU) and non-volatile memory for storing on-chip program code.

Combining the AURIX™ chipset with CTRX enables optimal performance in NCAP or real-world scenarios.

For example, it achieves enhanced reliability of radar functions even in bad weather.

This MMIC/MCU system partitioning enables various architectures, such as the conventional radar method of performing all signal processing within the module, or processing only partial signal processing and then streaming the processed data over 100 Mb/s or 1 Gb/s Ethernet with minimal effort.

In addition, it enables the selection of MMICs and microcontrollers suitable for the target application and allows for easy scalability according to various cost and performance requirements.

Since the connection between the MMIC and MCU supports both LVDS and CSI-2, it provides great flexibility in combining components.

Meanwhile, reliable high-performance radar modules play a key role in future enhanced autonomous driving assistance systems and autonomous driving.

For example, advanced features such as the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system, which must respond immediately when a motorcycle passes, require higher performance and a larger number of radar modules per vehicle.

The main drivers of this growth are the NCAP program and legal regulations.

Infineon Technologies has been a key player in the market for over 15 years and has established itself as the number one supplier of radar monolithic microwave ICs (MMICs).

In addition, it achieved transceiver integration (integrating the transmitter and receiver into a single chip) and launched the world's first 77GHz automotive radar chip based on SiGe in 2009.

Infineon offers a diverse range of radar products to meet all market demands, from short-range radars (corner radars) to premium forward radars.