Millimeter wave (mmWave) is a special class of radar technology that uses short-wavelength electromagnetic waves. Radar systems transmit electromagnetic wave signals that objects in the path then reflect. By capturing the reflected signal, a radar system can determine the range, velocity and angle of the objects.

mmWave radars transmit signals with a wavelength that is in the millimeter range. This is considered a short wavelength in the electromagnetic spectrum and is one of the advantages of this technology. Indeed, the size of system components such as the antennas required to process mmWave signals is small. Another advantage of short wavelengths is the high accuracy. An mmWave system operating at 76–81GHz (with a corresponding wavelength of about 4mm) has the ability to detect movements that are as small as a fraction of a millimeter.

A complete mmWave radar system includes transmit (TX) and receive (RX) radio frequency (RF) components: analog components (such as clocking), digital components (such as analog-to-digital converters (ADCs)), microcontrollers (MCUs), and digital signal processors (DSPs). TI devices implement a special class of mmWave technology called frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW). As the name implies, FMCW radars transmit a frequency-modulated signal continuously to measure range and angle and velocity. This differs from traditional pulsed-radar systems, which transmit short pulses periodically.

TI Reference Collaterals

• The mmWave training curriculum provides foundational content and hands-on examples for users to learn the fundamentals of FMCW technology and mmWave sensors to start development quickly. The training can be accessed from mmWave training series.

Figure 3-1 mmWave Training Series Landing Page

• The Radar Academy is a collection of training modules for all developers to learn about TI's radar sensor offering and the underlying mmWave Radar technology. The academy explores the technical foundation of mmWave sensing and demonstrates how this can be leveraged with TI's radar sensor portfolio. The training can be accessed from Radar Academy.

Figure 3-2 Radar Academy Landing Page

• TI has leveraged the traditional advantages of CMOS designs in terms of higher transistor density and low power to create a compelling family of mmWave devices. The CMOS MMIC Ready for Road – A Technology Overview application note enumerates some of these challenges, respective designs, and advantages of CMOS as leveraged in TI mmWave Sensing devices.
• The Moving from legacy 24GHz to state-of-the-art 77GHz radar white paper discusses the shift in the industry toward 77GHz radar and the various benefits users can achieve. TI has a family of highly integrated radar sensors that enables customers to leverage the benefits of the 77GHz frequency band for radar applications.