Black box automotive radar characterization

High linearity is indispensable for radar transmit signals to measure range and Doppler precisely. Since radar manufacturers offer their own signal processing it’s not possible to access the IF signal. Different target ranges and Dopplers cause different beat frequencies and hence different impact from ramp nonlinearities. With the presented software defined echo simulation it is possible to simulate multiple targets at desired ranges to generate the IF spectrum from the transmit signal. The spectrum is used to test the sensors transmit signal quality and moreover to verify its resolution.