Scientists from the University of California in Davis have developed an experimental sensor that can lay the basis for a new era of radars on millimeter waves.
Millimeter radars use fast electromagnetic waves to analyze movement, position, and speed of objects based on the reflected waves. The main advantage of millimeter waves is their high sensitivity to small movements and the ability to detect data from microscopic objects. The new sensor, with its innovative design, has the capability to determine vibrations a thousand times smaller and changes in object position a hundred times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. Moreover, the sensor itself, which is no larger than sesame seeds, is cost-effective to produce and has a long battery life.
Professor Omid Momeneus from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences led the research project. The work has been published in the September 2023 issue of the journal IEEE XPLORE. (source: IEEE XPLORE)
Working with millimeter waves poses certain challenges due to high energy consumption and limited semiconductor productivity at such frequencies. In the initial stages of the sensor’s development, the main issue was determining the desired signal source amidst a significant amount of interference.
A solution was proposed by student Hao Wang, who suggested utilizing the interference for their own suppression. This approach significantly enhanced the accuracy of the sensor.
The chip developed by Wang is easy to manufacture and features a unique design that greatly improves the sensor’s energy efficiency on millimeter waves.
The team of researchers plans to further refine their design. They believe the sensor can be utilized for monitoring the state of buildings, enhancing virtual reality, and other applications whose full potential is yet to be realized.