Telemetric angle and position sensing using millimeter-wave metamaterial and a frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) chip

<p>We present a fully telemetric sensor concept for angle and position measurement. It is based on single-layer millimeter-wave metamaterials that exhibit an anisotropic resonant behavior in interaction with incident electromagnetic waves. The angle of rotation is determined from the reflected...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: A. Schossmann, M. Töfferl, C. Schmidt, A. Bergmann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2024-03-01
Series:Journal of Sensors and Sensor Systems
Online Access:https://jsss.copernicus.org/articles/13/31/2024/jsss-13-31-2024.pdf
Description
Summary:<p>We present a fully telemetric sensor concept for angle and position measurement. It is based on single-layer millimeter-wave metamaterials that exhibit an anisotropic resonant behavior in interaction with incident electromagnetic waves. The angle of rotation is determined from the reflected millimeter waves of the metamaterial target using a millimeter wave chip transceiver. We use a metamaterial geometry exhibiting anisotropic Fano-type resonant behavior. The Fano-type resonance shows a distinct minimum in the reflection spectrum, even with a single layer of metamaterial. The metamaterial target is manufactured on a printed circuit board (PCB) laminate with low-cost standard manufacturing methods. We present an analytical model estimating the resonance frequency of the metamaterial used. The model allows us to assess whether with the Fano-type metamaterial unit cell structure resonance frequencies in the millimeter wave regime are achievable and compliant with standard PCB manufacturing design rules. We performed proof-of-principle experiments with the metamaterial targets and a vector network analyzer, assisted by a detailed analysis of the sensor effect by means of finite-element method calculations. Finally, we implemented a demonstrator setup containing a state-of-the-art frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar chip and a metamaterial target manufactured with standard PCB manufacturing processes.</p>
ISSN:2194-8771
2194-878X