Low-Cost S-Band FMCW Radar-Based Short-Range Displacement Sensor

Abstract

The following paper presents a detailed design of a frequency-modulated continuous wave radar system operating in the S-band, which has a very low cost and can be used for millimetric displacement measurements at close ranges. The low cost has been achieved by excluding any monolithic microwave integrated circuits thus all of the system blocks were designed using discrete components. The market price of all semiconductor components used in this project: radio frequency (RF) transistors, diodes, operational amplifiers, and voltage regulators, is about 9 USD when buying them in minimum quantity. The discrete nature of the system makes it an excellent tutorial on FMCW radar design and RF circuit techniques.