Renesas unveils first family of automotive radar transceivers

Renesas Electronics Corporation, a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, is entering the automotive radar market with the introduction of a 4×4-channel, 76-81GHz transceiver designed to meet the demanding requirements of ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) and Level 3 and higher autonomous driving applications.

Leveraging automotive expertise accumulated through years of global customer engagements, Renesas will incorporate the new RAA270205 high-definition radar transceiver into its growing sensor fusion portfolio, which combines radar, vision systems, and other sensing modalities.

Designed in cooperation with Steradian Semiconductors Private Limited, which Renesas acquired earlier this year, the RAA270205 was featured in a Renesas product showcased at electronica, Munich, Germany, November 15-18, 2022.

The new transceiver MMIC (monolithic microwave integrated circuit) is especially suited for imaging radar, long-range forward-looking radar, and 4D radar. It can also be used for corner and central-processing radar architectures, the so-called “satellite” automotive radar systems.

Equipped with 4Tx and 4Rx channels, the RAA270205 supports up to 16 MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) channels. It can be cascaded to enable higher channel count and better radar resolution.

The RAA270205 features best-in-class accuracy with up to 5GHz of bandwidth, and a 112.5MSPS ADC (analog-to-digital converter) sampling rate that is nearly three times faster than competing devices. Power consumption of 1.2W is 50% lower than comparable transceivers and it delivers a noise figure of 9dB, which is 3dB less than other radar transceivers. Its superior chirp rate of up to 300MHz/µs improves radar resolution and object detection.

“Today’s radar transceiver MMICs must achieve higher definition to support the high-accuracy requirements of ADAS and autonomous driving safety platforms,” said Vivek Bhan, senior VP and Deputy General Manager of Renesas’ Automotive Solution Business Unit. “Working in close collaboration with Steradian, which brings deep radar design expertise, we are expanding our sensor fusion offerings with a focus on functional safety and low power consumption to help our customers lower their development costs and improve time to market.”