Infineon joins hands with IMEC to develop automotive 79 GHz CMOS radar sensor chips

     IMEC, the world's leading microelectronics research center, and semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies have announced that they are collaborating on the development of CMOS sensor chips. Under an agreement announced at the annual IMEC Technology Forum (ITF Brussels 2016) in Brussels, Infineon and IMEC will work together to develop a highly integrated CMOS process 79 GHz sensor chip for automotive radar applications. The partnership will combine IMEC's advanced expertise in high-frequency systems, circuits and antenna design for radar applications with Infineon's expertise in radar sensor chips.

     The development of the first demonstration product using the 28 nm CMOS process is well underway as an important step towards fully autonomous driving. Infineon and IMEC expect to launch a prototype CMOS sensor chip in the third quarter of 2016 and a full radar system demonstration in early 2017.

     Nowadays, vehicles with driver assistance features are typically equipped with up to three radar systems. In the future, fully autonomous vehicles may be equipped with ten radar systems and more than a dozen cameras or liDAR systems.

     Ralf Bornefeld, Vice President and General Manager of the Sensors Business at Infineon Technologies AG, said: "Infineon is able to provide radar-based safety system components for semi-autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles. In the future, we will offer radar monolithic solutions for classical CMOS processes for applications such as automated parking. At the same time, Infineon continues to set the industry standard in radar technology and quality."

     Wim Van Thillo, Program Director of Sensing Systems at IMEC, said: "We are excited to be an important partner of Infineon in the development of 77GHz and 79GHz radars based on advanced CMOS processes. Compared to the mainstream 24 GHz band, the 77 GHz and 79 GHz bands support finer frequency division as well as Doppler and higher angular resolution. Building on these strengths, our goal is to design a radar prototype with an integrated multiple-input Multiple-output (MIMO) antenna that can detect not only larger objects, but also pedestrians and cyclists, ensuring a safer environment for all."