Coherent Deramping-Based Multi-FMCW Radar Architecture

The deramping scheme for frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radars provides them with a high range resolution while using a low-end analog-to-digital converter (ADC). This manuscript reviews the operation principle of FMCW radars with emphasis on the inexpensive recently-achieved phase coherence, which leads to the robust determination of the range and the radial velocities of all illuminated targets. In addition, a novel coherent deramping-based multi-FMCW radar scheme that inexpensively hybridizes several FMCW modes is mathematically analyzed. Simulations are shown to verify the theoretical framework and the suitability of the proposed minimum-hardware radar architecture to enhance the performance of cost-effective short-range radar systems.