As technology continues to advance, the application of 60GHz millimeter wave radar sensors in consumer and personal electronics is becoming more and more common. 60GHz radar sensors such as Texas Instruments' IWRL6432 address this challenge through miniaturized device size, low cost, and the placement of multiple receive and transmit antennas in a small area, thereby delivering the enhanced performance and resolution required for the intended functionality . Compared with other technologies such as ultra-wideband and 24GHz devices, the longer wavelength 60GHz band can support a greater number of antennas, thereby achieving higher performance levels.
Traditional millimeter-wave radar usually uses packaging antenna technology to simplify circuit board design by etching the antenna on the package. However, the flexibility of this design is limited because the placement of the antenna is fixed. To address the challenges associated with different design requirements, the IWRL6432 radar sensor is available in a small package that allows the antenna to be etched on a low-cost printed circuit board, allowing for design flexibility.
In most applications, millimeter-wave radar needs to remain on to monitor and detect motion, while the rest of the product goes to sleep to save power. The IWRL6432 radar sensor designed by TI has ultra-low power consumption and only requires 2mW of power consumption to detect the presence of people. Users can also configure the device according to the target application to further reduce power consumption. For example, when higher power efficiency is required, the device can be placed into deep sleep mode for low duty cycle applications. Figure 4 shows a design example of a highly integrated IWRL6432 radar sensor.
Technological advances in radar sensors such as TI’s IWRL6432 have made it possible to apply 60GHz radar in consumer and personal electronics. These radar sensors enable intelligent detection, including situational presence and motion detection for intelligent decision-making, gesture recognition for HMI, vital signs monitoring of breathing and sleep, ultra-low power presence and motion monitoring, and monitoring when not in use while closing other product features, as well as low component and bill-of-materials costs, compact solution size and configurable antenna design. These features make the IWRL6432 radar sensor versatile in a variety of applications.