Single-chip mmWave sensors ideal solution for low-power, ultra-accurate industrial radar systems

Texas Instruments IWR1443 Single-chip mmWave sensors are based on FMCW radar technology able to operate in the 76GHz to 81GHz band with up to 4GHz continuous chirp. The device is a perfect solution for self-monitored, low-power, ultra-accurate radar systems in industrial applications. The device is built with the company’s low-power 45nm RFCMOS process, allowing new levels of integration in a remarkably small form factor. The device incorporates a monolithic implementation of a 3TX, 4RX system with built-in PLL, and A2D converters. A fully configurable hardware accelerator is incorporated on the mmWave sensors that supports complex FFT and CFAR detection. Also, the device comprises two ARM R4F-based processor subsystems. One processor subsystem is for master control and further algorithms. The second processor subsystem is responsible for front-end control, configuration, and calibration. The device allows simple programming model changes that can provide a broad assortment of sensor implementation, with the opportunity of dynamic reconfiguration for implementing a multimode sensor. The device incorporates reference hardware design, software drivers, API guide, sample configurations, training, and user documentation.