Rf system concept for vehicular radar having several beams

Abstract

A transceiver ( 20 ) for a millimeter wave signal, consisting of a PCB ( 140 ) having PCB microstrip lines ( 141 ) and PCB waveguide apertures ( 159 ), and one or more transmitter modules ( 22 ) and one or more receiver modules ( 24, 26, 28 ) mounted on the PCB. Each module has a single microstrip-waveguide transition ( 34, 48 ) and a microstrip-microstrip transition ( 47, 49 ). The microstrip-waveguide transition of each module couples to one of the PCB waveguide apertures via a PCB-module waveguide-waveguide transition ( 167 ). The microstrip-microstrip transition of each module couples to one of the PCB microstrip lines via a PCB-module microstrip-microstrip transition ( 165 ). The PCB-module transitions are low tolerance, facilitating implementation of the transceiver.

1 - 9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . A receiver module for millimeter waves, comprising:
 a receive microstrip-waveguide transition configured to convey millimeter waves and to couple to a printed circuit board (PCB) waveguide aperture so as to form a waveguide-waveguide transition;   a single microstrip-microstrip transition configured to couple to a PCB microstrip line;   an output port; and   receive active components coupled to receive a reference frequency from the microstrip-microstrip transition, to receive the millimeter waves from the waveguide-waveguide transition, to generate a down-converted signal in response to the reference frequency and the millimeter waves, and to transfer the down-converted signal via the output port.   
     
     
         11 . The module according to  claim 10 , wherein the receive active components comprise:
 a frequency multiplier that multiplies the reference frequency to produce a sub-harmonic of a millimeter wave frequency; and   a mixer that receives the millimeter wave signal and the sub-harmonic and generates the millimeter wave frequency therefrom as a local oscillator frequency, and that generates the down-converted signal in response to the local oscillator frequency and the millimeter waves.   
     
     
         12 . The module according to  claim 10 , and comprising another receive microstrip-waveguide transition configured to convey millimeter waves and coupled to another PCB waveguide aperture so as to form another receive waveguide-waveguide transition. 
     
     
         13 . The module according to  claim 12 , wherein the millimeter waves comprise a first millimeter wave signal and a second millimeter wave signal, and wherein the down-converted signal comprises a first down-converted signal and a second down-converted signal, wherein the receive active components comprise:
 a frequency multiplier that multiplies the reference frequency to produce a sub-harmonic of a millimeter wave frequency;   a first mixer that receives the first millimeter wave signal and the sub-harmonic and generates the millimeter wave frequency therefrom as a local oscillator frequency, and that generates the first down-converted signal in response to the local oscillator frequency and the first millimeter wave signal; and   a second mixer that receives the second millimeter wave signal and the sub-harmonic and generates the millimeter wave frequency therefrom as a local oscillator frequency, and that generates the second down-converted signal in response to the local oscillator frequency and the second millimeter wave signal.   
     
     
         14 . The module according to  claim 13 , and comprising a coupling between the frequency multiplier and the first and second mixers that rejects a frequency of the millimeter waves. 
     
     
         15 . The module according to  claim 10 , wherein the receive microstrip-waveguide transition comprises a receive short configured as a coherent reflector. 
     
     
         16 . The module according to  claim 15 , wherein the receive short is configured to prevent the millimeter waves leaking from the receive microstrip-waveguide transition. 
     
     
         17 . The module according to  claim 15 , and comprising a dielectric substrate which retains the receive short using microwave integrated circuit (MIC) technology. 
     
     
         18 . The module according to  claim 10 , and comprising a first and a second conducting layer having a dielectric substrate therebetween, wherein the receive microstrip-waveguide transition comprises one or more conductors coupling the first and the second conducting layers. 
     
     
         19 . A method for receiving millimeter waves, comprising:
 configuring a receive microstrip-waveguide transition to convey millimeter waves and to couple to a printed circuit board (PCB) waveguide aperture so as to form a waveguide-waveguide transition;   coupling a single microstrip-microstrip transition to a PCB microstrip line; and   coupling receive active components to receive a reference frequency from the microstrip-microstrip transition, to receive the millimeter waves from the waveguide-waveguide transition, to generate a down-converted signal in response to the reference frequency and the millimeter waves, and to transfer the down-converted signal via an output port.