Renesas adds automotive radar transceivers

Renesas Electronics Corp. has entered the automotive radar market with the introduction of a 4 × 4-channel, 76-81 GHz transceiver designed to meet the requirements of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and Level 3 and higher autonomous driving applications.  The company will incorporate the new RAA270205 high-definition radar transceivers into its sensor fusion portfolio, which combines radar, vision systems, and other sensing modalities.

(Source: Renesas Electronics)

The RAA270205 is designed in cooperation with Steradian Semiconductors Private Limited, which Renesas acquired earlier this year. The new transceiver MMIC is suited for imaging radar, long-range forward-looking radar and 4D radar, but can also be used for corner and central-processing radar architectures, also called “satellite” automotive radar systems.

The RAA270205 with 4Tx and 4Rx channels supports up to 16 multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) channels and can be cascaded to enable higher channel count and better radar resolution. The transceiver is housed in a small, embedded wafer-level ball-grid array (eWLB) package, measuring 7.6 × 5.6 mm. It will be fully compliant with automotive industry requirements such as IATF 16949, AEC-Q100 Grade2, and ASIL B.

Key features include high accuracy with up to 5 GHz of bandwidth, and a 112.5 MSPS ADC (analog-to-digital converter) sampling rate that is nearly three times faster than competing devices, according to Renesas. The radar transceiver also offers power consumption of 1.2 W, which is 50 percent lower than comparable transceivers; a noise figure of 9 dB, which is 3 dB less than other radar transceivers, and a chirp rate of up to 300 MHz/µs, which improves radar resolution and object detection, said the company.

Renesas plans to develop Winning Combinations reference designs, including the Satellite Radar System for AD/ADAS, that combine the RAA270205 transceiver with other compatible devices. These Winning Combinations will be available in the second quarter of 2023.

The RAA270205 radar transceivers will be available in the first quarter of 2023 in sample quantities, with commercial production planned for 2024. The RAA270205 is featured in the company’s product showcase at electronica, Munich, Germany, November 15-18.