Renesas Electronics is entering the automotive radar market with the new RAA270205 transceiver with 4 x 4 channels and 76 to 81 GHz. The device is designed for the requirements of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) and Level 3 and higher autonomous driving. Renesas will integrate the new high-definition radar transceiver into its growing sensor fusion portfolio, which combines radar, vision and other sensor systems.
RAA270205 was developed in collaboration with Steradian Semiconductors Private Ltd, which Renesas acquired earlier this year. It was presented at electronica 2022. The new MMIC (monolithic integrated microwave IC) transceiver is suitable for imaging radar systems, long-range forward-looking radar systems and 4D radar systems. However, it can also be used in corner and central processing radar architectures, the so-called satellite automotive radar systems. With 4Tx and 4Rx channels, RAA270205 supports up to 16 MIMO channels (multiple-input/multiple-output). It can be cascaded to enable a higher channel count and optimal radar resolution.
RAA270205 offers highest accuracy with a bandwidth of 5 GHz and ADC (analog-to-digital converter) sampling rate of 112.5 MSPS - almost three times faster than comparable products. In addition, the power consumption of 1.2 W is 50% lower and the signal-to-noise ratio of 9 dB is 3 dB lower than other radar transceivers. The chirp rate of 300 MHz/µs improves radar resolution and object detection.
"MMICs for radar transceivers need to have higher resolution to support the accuracy requirements of ADAS and autonomous driving safety platforms," explains Vivek Bhan, Senior VP at Renesas. "The focus is on functional safety and low power consumption. This should help our customers reduce their development costs and accelerate time to market." Renesas plans to combine the RAA270205 transceiver with other compatible devices from its automotive radar systems portfolio. The transceiver is available in a small, easy-to-integrate eWLB (embedded wafer-level ball-grid array) package measuring 7.6 x 5.6 mm. It meets the requirements of the automotive industry such as IATF 16949, AEC-Q100 Grade2 and ASIL B.
