Integrated Waveguide-in-Radome Antenna for In-Cabin Monitoring Radar at 60 GHz

A novel integrated waveguide-in-radome antenna for in-cabin monitoring radar at 60 GHz is introduced. A waveguide is created by applying a metallic coating to a shaped radome's inner surface, which is placed on the top metallic surface of a printed circuit board. By removing metalization in selected areas, an aperture can radiate through the radome material. A periodic structure is introduced next to the slot to mitigate undesired surface waves. A prototype is fabricated using plastic milling, silver metallization, and gluing. The antenna achieves an efficiency of 81% (-0.9 dB), which is remarkable for a radar system considering that no additional radome losses are expected. Overall, the concept presents an attractive method to integrate waveguide structures.