Infineon develops a complete 77/79 GHz radar chipset to accelerate the supply of autopilot core components

Photocoupler

According to James Consulting, Infineon has been able to provide a complete radar chipset for early adopters. The chipset includes a 77/79 GHz monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC), a high-performance multicore microcontroller with a dedicated sensor processing unit, and a secure power chip. This radar chipset accelerates the development of advanced radar systems.

“In recent years, we have found that the pace of innovation in the automotive industry is unprecedented, and innovative companies from Silicon Valley are taking the lead in the automotive industry innovation wave,” said Ritesh Tyagi, head of the Infineon Silicon Valley Automotive Innovation Center (SVIC).

The RF (radio frequency) radar single-chip transceiver in this radar chipset replaces the last three components: RF transmitters, RF receivers, and phase-locked loop (PLL) devices.

The RF radar single-chip transceiver, combined with Infineon's second-generation AURIX radar-specific microcontrollers and fail-safe power supplies, makes this scalable radar chipset. All three devices are fully compliant with the ISO26262 specification.

To support the new radar design of established automotive system suppliers and innovators, Infineon will launch a radar module kit in the first quarter of 2018.

The radar module kit will include the three ICs (RF radar single-chip transceiver, AURIX radar-specific microcontroller and safety power supply), and an integrated software package to take advantage of the dedicated signal processing hardware accelerator in the chipset. . It will be an evaluation kit for the development of radar sensors using the Infineon radar chipset.

In addition to radar chips, Infineon will offer two additional core sensors for semi-automatic and fully automated vehicles: a camera (a time-of-flight based 3D image sensor chip) and a LiDAR (Lidar) chip.

Lidar, radar and image sensors are the backbone of the future car, the picture is taken from "Automotive MEMS and sensor market and technology trends - 2017 version"

3D image sensor chip - Real3

The Infineon Real3 family includes a highly integrated single-chip 3D ToF (time-of-flight) image sensor. The ToF sensor was developed by Infineon and PMD technologies. Embedded in a high-performance ToF pixel matrix from PMD, Infineon's scale-proven CMOS process combines photosensors and mixed-signal circuits on a single chip. This ToF image sensor provides complete 3D environmental data and can be used to monitor drivers for distractions, drowsiness, dozing and facial expressions.

Lidar (LiDAR)

According to a report previously reported by Memes, Infineon acquired Innoluce, which was independent from Philips in 2016. The Dutch company specializes in the development and sale of solid state laser scanning modules based on resonant MEMS mirrors and associated signal processing integrated circuits. The MEMS micromirror-based lidar system can effectively reduce the cost of mechanical scanning components, and at the same time, the laser radar is smaller and more sturdy due to the absence of macroscopic moving parts.

Innoluce's LiDAR technology is based on 1D MEMS mirrors, which the company claims have more advantages than traditional 2D MEMS systems: higher horizontal resolution and field of view, better temperature stability, lower vibration sensitivity Smaller size and lower cost. In addition, the movement of the one-dimensional mirror is easier to control. Based on Innoluce's proprietary technology, Infineon will develop chip components for high performance lidar systems. Infineon's goal is to reduce the cost of laser radar to a level that is acceptable to every new car in the world.