Frequency-Modulated Continuous-Wave Radar

FMCW radar is a special type of radar sensor which radiates

continuous transmission power like a simple continuous transmitted
signal
wave radar (CW-Radar). In contrast to this CW radar FMCW
radar can change its operating frequency during the
measurement: that is, the transmission signal is modulated
received
in frequency (or in phase). Possibilities of Radar echo signal
measurements through runtime measurements are only
technically possible with these changes in the frequency (or
Figure 1: Ranging with an FMCW system
phase).
Simple continuous wave radar devices without frequency
modulation have the disadvantage that it cannot determine Table of Content:
1. Principle of measurement
target range because it lacks the timing mark necessary to allow 2. Range Resolution
the system to time accurately the transmit and receive cycle and 3. Modulation pattern
to convert this into range. Such a time reference for measuring  Sawtooth modulation
the distance of stationary objects, but can be generated using of  Triangle modulation
 Frequency Shift Keying
frequency modulation of the transmitted signal. In this method,  Stepped (staircase) modulation
a signal is transmitted, which increases or decreases in the 4. Blockdiagram
frequency periodically. When an echo signal is received, that 5. Imaging FMCW radar
6. Non-imaging FMCW radar
change of frequency gets a delay Δt (by runtime shift) like to as
the pulse radar technique. In pulse radar, however, the runtime must be measured directly. In FMCW
radar are measured the differences in phase or frequency between the actually transmitted and the
received signal instead.

Principle of measurement
Characteristics of FMCW radar are:
 The distance measurement is accomplished by comparing the frequency of the received
signal to a reference (usually directly the transmission signal).
 The duration of the transmitted waveform T is substantially greater than the required
receiving time for the installed distance measuring range.
The distance R to the reflecting object can be determined by the following relations:
c0 = speed of light = 3·108 m/s
𝑐0 ⋅ |𝛥𝑡| 𝑐0 ⋅ |𝛥𝑓|
𝑅= = Δt = delay time, run time [s]
2 𝛿(𝑓) Δf = measured frequency difference [Hz]
2⋅
𝛿(𝑡) R = distance between antenna and the reflecting object (ground) [m]
δ(f)/ δ(t) = frequency shift per unit of time
(1)

If the change in frequency is linear over a wide range, then the radar range can be determined by a
simple frequency comparison. The frequency difference Δf is proportional to the distance R. Since
only the absolute amount of the difference frequency can be measured (negative numbers for
frequency doesn't exist), the results are at a linearly increasing frequency equal to a frequency
decreasing (in a static scenario: without Doppler effects).
If the reflecting object has a radial speed with respect to the receiving antenna, then the echo signal
gets a Doppler frequency fD (caused by the speed). The radar measures not only the difference
frequency Δf to the current frequency (caused by the runtime), but additional a Doppler frequency
fD (caused by the speed). The radar then measures depending on the movement direction and the
direction of the linear modulation only the sum or the difference between the difference frequencies
as the carrier of the distance information, and of the Doppler frequency as a carrier of the velocity
information. If the measurement is made during a falling edge of a saw tooth (see right part of
Figure 3), then the Doppler frequency fD is subtracted of by the runtime frequency change. If the
reflecting object is moving away from the radar, then the frequency of the echo signal is reduced by
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the Doppler frequency additionally. Now, if the measurement is performed with a sawtooth as
shown in Figure 1, then the received echo signal (the green graph) is moved not only by the run time
to the right, but also by the Doppler frequency down. The measured difference frequency Δf is by the
Doppler frequency fD higher than according to the real run time should be.

Maximum Range and Range Resolution

By suitable choice of the frequency deviation per unit of time can be determined the radar
resolution, and by choice of the duration of the increasing of the frequency (the longer edge of the
red sawtooth in Figure 1), can be determined the maximum non-ambiguous range. The maximum
frequency shift and steepness of the edge can be varied depending on the capabilities of the
technology implemented circuit. For the range resolution of FMCW radar, the bandwidth BW of the
transmitted signal is decisive (as in so-called chirp radar). However, the technical possibilities of Fast
Fourier Transformation are limited in time (i.e. by the duration of the sawtooth Τ ). The resolution of
the FMCW radar is determined by the frequency change that occurs within this time limit.
ΔfFFT = smallest measurable frequency difference
1 𝛿(𝑓) δ(f)
/δ(t) = Steepness of the frequency deviation
𝛥𝑓𝐹𝐹𝑇 = = fup = upper frequency (end of the sawtooth)
𝑇 𝛿(𝑡) ⋅ 𝑈𝑃 − 𝑓𝐷𝑊𝑁 )
(𝑓 fdwn = lower frequency (start of the sawtooth)
(2)

The reciprocal of the duration of the sawtooth pulse leads to the smallest possible detectable
frequency. This can be expressed in the equation (1) as |Δf | and results in a range resolution
capability of the FMCW radar.

For example, given radar set with a linear frequency shift with duration of 1 ms, can provide a
maximum unambiguous range of less than 150 km theoretically. This value results from the
remaining necessarily overlap of the transmission signal with the echo signal (see Figure 1) to
get enough time for measuring a difference frequency. Most this range can never be achieved
due to low power of the transmitter. Thus always remains enough time for a measurement of
the difference frequency.
If the maximum possible frequency shift for the transmitter’s modulation is 250 MHz, then
depending on this edge steepness a delay time of 4 ns obtains 1 kHz frequency difference. This
corresponds to a range resolution of 0.6 m.
This example shows impressively the advantage of the FMCW radar: pulse radar must
measure these 4 ns delay difference, resulting in a considerable technical complexity. A
difference in frequency of 1 kHz, however, is much easier to measure because it is in audio
range.

Signal bandwidth of FMCW-Radar can be from 1 MHz up to 390 MHz. (Its upper border is mostly
limited by legal reasons. For example the mostly used for FMCW-applications European ISM-radio
band is defined from 24,000 MHz to 24,250 MHz with a given band width of 250 MHz.) As the
bandwidth increases, the achievable range resolution is decreasing and this means the monitored
objects can be seen more accurate. The maximum detected range becomes smaller when the
bandwidth increases. This can be shown in the following table:

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 approximately
Range Maximum Example
Bandwidth required
Resolution Range given
tx power

400 kHz 4 000 m 120 km 1,4 kW 76N6 (“Clam Shell”)

50 … 500 kHz 1 500 … 100 m 15 … 250 km 30 W OTH oceanography radar WERA

1 MHz 150 m 75 km 1,4 … 4 kW kleines Schiffsradar mit Magnetron

2 MHz 75 m 37,5 km

10 MHz 5m 7,500 m

50 MHz 3m 500 m 4 mW DPR-886

65 MHz 2.5 m 1 200 m 100 mW Broadband Radar™

250 MHz 0.6 m 500 m 4 mW Skyradar Basic II

8 GHz 3.5 cm 9m 4 mW Skyradar PRO

Table 1: Relationship between bandwidth and other parameters

As with any radar in the FMCW radar, besides the allocated bandwidth, the antennas beamwidth
determines the angular resolution in detecting objects.

Modulation pattern

There are several possible modulation patterns which can be used for
different measurement purposes:
 Sawtooth modulation
sawtooth
This modulation pattern is used in a relatively large range
(maximum distance) combined with a negligible influence of
Doppler frequency (for example, a maritime navigation radar).
triangular
 Triangular modulation
This modulation allows easy separation of the difference
frequency Δf of the Doppler frequency fD
 Square-wave modulation (simple frequency-shift keying, FSK) rectangular
This modulation is used for a very precise distance measurement
at close range by phase comparison of the two echo signal
frequencies. It has the disadvantage, that the echo signals from staircase voltage
several targets cannot be separated from each other, and that
Figure 2: Common
this process enables only a small unambiguous measuring range. modulation pattern for
 Stepped modulation (staircase voltage) an FMCW radar
This is used for interferometric measurements and expands the
unambiguous measuring range.
 Sinusoidal modulation
Sinusoidal modulation forms have been used in the past. These could be easily realized by a
motor turned a capacitor plate in the resonance chamber of the transmitter oscillator. The
radar then used only the relatively linear part of the sine function near the zero crossing.

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Sawtooth linear frequency changing

In a linear sawtooth frequency changing (see Figure 1) a delay will shift the echo signal in time (i.e. to
the right in the picture). This results in a frequency difference between the actual frequency and the
delayed echo signal, which is a measure of the distance of the reflecting object. This frequency
difference is called “beat frequency”. An occurring Doppler frequency would now move the
frequency of the entire echo signal either up (moving towards the radar) or down (moving away from
the radar).
In this form of modulation, the receiver has no way to separate the two frequencies. Thus, the
Doppler frequency will occur only as a measurement error in the distance calculation. In the choice
of an optimum frequency sweep can be considered a priori, that the expected Doppler frequencies
are as small as the resolution or at least, that the measurement error is as small as possible.
This will be the case for example in maritime navigation radar: Boats move in the coastal area at a
limited speed, with respect to each other perhaps with a maximum of 10 meters per second. In this
frequency band of these radar sets (X-Band mostly), the expected maximum Doppler frequency is
666 Hz. If the radar signal processing uses a resolution in the kilohertz range per meter, this Doppler
frequency is negligible. Because the at an airfield occurring take-off and landing speeds of up to
200 m/s, a maritime navigation FMCW radar would have trouble at all to see these planes. The
measurement error caused by the Doppler frequency can be greater than the distance to be
measured. The target signs would then theoretically appear in a negative distance, i.e. before the
start of the deflection on the screen.

Triangular frequency changing transmitted

signal
In a triangular-shaped frequency changing, a distance
received
measurement can be performed on both the rising and echo signal
on the falling edge. In Figure 3, an echo signal is shifted
due to the running time compared to the transmission
signal to the right. Without a Doppler frequency, the
amount of the frequency difference during the rising
edge is equal to the measurement during the falling
edge. A Doppler frequency shifts the echo signal in
height (green graph in the figure 3). It appears the sum
of the frequency difference Δf and the Doppler
frequency fD at the rising edge, and the difference
between these two frequencies at the falling edge.
This opens up the possibility of making an accurate
distance determination, despite the frequency shift Figure 3: Relationships with triangular modulation pattern
caused by the Doppler frequency, which then consists
of the arithmetic average of the two parts of measurements at different edges of the triangular
pattern. At the same time the accurate Doppler frequency can be determined from two
measurements. The difference between the two difference frequencies is twice the Doppler
frequency. Since the two differential frequencies, however, are not simultaneously available, this
comparison requires digital signal processing, with intermediate storage of the measured results.
The Doppler frequency-adjusted frequency for the distance determination and the Doppler
frequency of a moving target is calculated by:

𝛥𝑓1 + 𝛥𝑓2 f (R) = frequency as a measure of distance determination

𝑓(𝑅) = fD = Doppler frequency as a measure of the speed measurement
2 Δf1 = frequency difference at the rising edge
Δf2 = frequency difference at the falling edge
|𝛥𝑓1 − 𝛥𝑓2 |
𝑓𝐷 = (3),(4)
2
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The frequency f (R) can then be used in the formula (1) to calculate the exact distance.
However, this method has the disadvantage that, if appear a plurality of reflective objects, the
measured Doppler frequencies cannot be uniquely associated with a target. The assignment of the
wrong Doppler frequency to a destination in the wrong distance can lead to ghost targets. In figure 4
a graphical solution is shown. The position of a first target results from the functions [−δf1]1 + fD and
[+δf2]1 - fD. The intersection of the two lines is the position of the target 1. When a second object
([……]2) with a second Doppler frequency appears Just then
both pairs of linear slopes give a total of four intersections, two
ghost targets
of which are the ghost targets. The position of ghost targets also
depends on the steepness of the modulation pattern.
Therefore, the problem can be resolved by measuring cycles
with different slope steepness’s: then there to be shown only
those targets, of which the coordinates are measured in both
cycles in the same position.
Figure 4: Ghost targets, graphical solution
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)

The transceiver is simply switched back and forth with a

rectangular control voltage between two transmission
frequencies. There are two principal ways to process the output 1st frequency

signals of the transceiver. The first possibility is to measure the

duration of the frequency change. A signal appears at the
output of the transceiver whose envelope is a pulse having a
given pulse width as a measure for the distance. However, this
measurement is a pure waste of time like the measurement of
pulse radar and is therefore either inaccurate or technologically
2nd frequency
very complex.
A second possibility is to compare the phase angle of the echo
signals of the two frequencies. During the pulse top of the Figure 5: The phase difference Δn(φ) is a
measure of how much wavelengths are
rectangular pulse, the radar operates at the first frequency, and
equal to twice the distance (round trip)
during the interpulse period the radar operates at the second
frequency. During these times in the millisecond range, the radar will work as for CW radar method.
The output of the down mixer (see block diagram), a DC voltage appears as a measure of the phase
difference between the reception signal and its transmission signal. The phase difference between
the echo signals of different transmission frequencies (technically: the voltage difference at the
output of the mixer) is a measure of the distance. Again, both echo signals are not measured
simultaneously, the voltage values must be stored digitally.
However, because of the periodicity of the sine wave, this method has only a very limited
unambiguous measurement distance that is even this range; there the phase difference between the
both echo signals is smaller than the half-wavelength. A frequency difference of 20 MHz between
two transmission frequencies results in an unambiguous measuring range of 15 meters. Multiple
targets at close range cannot be separated, since only one phase angle can be measured at the
output of the mixer stage. Several targets overlap to only a single output voltage at which dominates
the strongest target.
If both analysis methods (in time and in phase) are applied simultaneously, then the time dependent
distance determination can used to as a rough evaluation. The detailed results of the phase analysis
can then be multiplied until the result is close enough to the distance from the measurement of time.
The bad unambiguous maximum range of the measurement of phase difference is thus avoided.

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Stepped frequency changing

In general, the same advantages and disadvantages of a stepped frequency modulation as the
method with a square-wave modulation apply. However, the FMCW radar is now working with
several successive frequencies. In each of these individual frequencies, a phase angle of the echo
signal is measured. The unambiguous measurement range widens considerably, however, since now
the phase relationships between several frequencies must be repeated to create ambiguities.
This method will be very interesting if resonances for individual component frequencies can be
observed at the irregularities of the reflecting object. This measurement method is then a field of
interferometry.

Block Diagram of an FMCW radar sensor

An FMCW radar consists essentially of the

transceiver and a control unit with a microprocessor.
Transceiver
The transceiver is a compact module, and usually
includes the patch antenna implemented as separate
transmit and receive antenna. The high frequency is
generated by a voltage controlled oscillator which
directly feeds the transmitting antenna, or its power
is additionally amplified. A part of the high frequency
is coupled out and fed to a mixer which down
Part of a microprocessor board
converts the received and amplified echo signal in
the baseband. Figure 6: Block Diagram of an FMCW radar
The control board contains a microprocessor that sensor
controls the transceiver, converts the echo signals in a digital format as well (usually via USB cable)
ensures the connection to a personal computer or laptop. Using a digital to analogue converter, the
control voltage is provided to the frequency control. The output voltage of the mixer is digitized.
If using a single antenna, then due to the method (simultaneously transmitting and receiving) the
FMCW radar needs a ferrite circulator to separate the transmitting and receiving signals. In the
currently used patch antennas, however, the use of separate transmitting and receiving antennas is
much cheaper. On a common substrate are placed directly above each other, a transmitting antenna
array and a receiving antenna array. The polarization direction is rotated by 180 ° against each other
often. Often is reduced by an additional shielding plate a direct “crosstalk” (i.e. a direct positive
feedback between the two antennas). Since the measurement is performed as a frequency
difference between the transmitting and receiving signal, the signal which is produced by this direct
coupling can be suppressed due to the very small frequency difference.
In pure CW radar applications only the Doppler frequency must be processed. This includes
frequencies only up to 16.5 kHz by using an FMCW transceiver operating in K-Band (about 24 GHz)
and the expected speeds for recording are up to 360 Kilometers per hour. Therefore as
microprocessor there can be used a simple stereo audio processor, which is produced in large
quantities and is used for example in sound cards for home computers. Even in the FSK method
(rectangular pattern modulation) such a processor can be used conditionally.
In contrast, the receiver in a FMCW radar application must be able to process the whole transmitter's
frequency shift. Thus frequencies up to 250 MHz are expected in the received signal. This has a
significant impact on the bandwidth of the subsequent amplifier and the necessary sampling
frequency of the analogue-to-digital converter. Thus, the signal processing board of FMCW radar is
considerably more expensive with respect to the CW radar.
There are currently on the market many inexpensive FMCW radar sensors or FMCW radar modules,
which contain a complete transceiver with integrated patch antenna array as so-called “front-end” of
FMCW radar device. These modules include as the core usually the MMIC module TRX_024_xx (see
data sheet) from Silicon Radar with a power output of up to 6 dBm. This chip operates in the K-Band
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(24.0 … 24.25 GHz) and can be used as a sensor for speed and distance measurements. The
modulation or a frequency change is dependent on a control voltage and is connected to an external
circuit, which is either a fixed voltage (then operates the module as a CW radar), or it is controlled by
a processor and based on the output voltage of a digital-analogue converter. The output signal of the
mixer is usually provided as I and Q signals, and needs to be substantially amplified before the
analogue-to-digital conversion.

Imaging FMCW radar

This radar method is used in the so called Broadband Radar™ as

navigational radar for maritime applications. Here, the frequency
sweep is stopped, however, after reaching the maximum
measurement range. Therefore, the transmission signal looks more
like a signal of pulse radar using intrapulse modulation. This break has
no direct influence on the maximum measuring distance here.
Figure 7: The patch antenna
However, it is necessary to read the measured data from a buffer, and array of a maritime FMCW
to transmit them lossless through narrowband line to the display unit. navigation radar in X-Band
Due to its operation - the frequency comparison of the received echo
signal with the transmitted signal, which is available across the entire distance - it remains an FMCW
radar, it will only intermittently switched off for a few milliseconds, as more data are simply not
needed.
An imaging radar must perform a distance measurement for each point on the monitor. A range
resolution that is more dependent here on the size of a pixel of this screen and from the ability of the
signal processing to provide the data in the required speed. It is required a high-resolution screen
with the pixel resolution, that as a minimum for each range difference two pixels must be available,
so even if the measured signal is exactly between the position of two pixels, both pixels 'light up' and
upon movement of the target, the number of pixels used, and thus the relative brightness of the
target character is the same.

With the above as an example mentioned Broadband-Radar™ with a frequency shift of 65 MHz per
millisecond you can get good measurements.
 For an unambiguous runtime measurement with this radar are measurable only a maximum
of 500 µs (see Figure 1) which corresponds to a possible maximum range of 75 km.
 The frequency deviation of 65 MHz per millisecond corresponds to a frequency changing of
65 hertz per nanosecond. If the following filters are technically able to resolve differences in
frequency of 1 kHz, then herewith a measuring of time differences of 15 nanoseconds is
possible, which corresponds to a range resolution of about 2 meters.
 If by the evaluation the maximum processable difference frequency is two megahertz, which
accomplish an easy one-chip microcomputer, then distances of up to 4000 meters can be
measured. (Without a microcontroller would then need 4000 different individual filters
operating in parallel.)
 Due to the measuring method here is the accuracy of measuring approximately equal to the
range resolution and is still limited by the resolution of the screen scale.

The FMCW radar can thus obtain a high spatial resolution with little technical effort. To obtain the
same resolution, a pulsed radar needs capable of measuring time in region of nanoseconds. That
would mean that the band width of this pulse radar transmitter must be at least 80 MHz, and for
digitization the echo signal needs a sampling rate of 166 MHz.

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Non-imaging FMCW radar

The measurement result of this FMCW radar is presented either as a

numeric value to a pointer instrument or digitized as alpha-numeric display
on a screen. It can be measured only a single dominant object, but this one
with a very high accuracy down to the centimeter range. This method of
distance determination is for example as used in aircraft radio altimeter.
Even an analogue pointer instrument can serve as an indicator for an FMCW
Figure 8: Analogue
radar (see Figure 8). The moving coil meter has a greater inductive
display of a radar
impedance for higher frequencies and therefore exhibits a value dependent altimeter
on the frequency, which is then, however, not linear.

Source: http://www.radartutorial.eu/02.basics/Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar.en.html

Author: Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Christian Wolff

© 2018 Christian Wolff www.radartutorial.eu, licensed with CC-BY-SA