When we talk about microwave radar Lifebeing presence sensors, antenna technology inevitably takes center stage. It is an indispensable component in radar systems, directly affecting the entire performance parameters including the detection range, detection accuracy, stability, and anti-interference capability. As the core technology in the microwave radar sensing field, the antenna technology plays a vital role in ensuring the overall system performance. But how exactly does the antenna achieve this role? Let’s take a closer look.

Main Roles of Antennas in Microwave Radar Sensors

Signals Transmission and Reception: Antenna can convert the electrical signals generated by the radar system into electromagnetic waves which are radiated into space in the form of beams to detect targets. When the electromagnetic waves meet targets, it will be reflected back and subsequently received by the antenna. By analyzing the characteristics of the reflected waves, the radar system can determine key information such as distance, speed, and direction of the targets.

Signals Conversion: The antenna serves a dual function. On one hand, the antenna converts electrical signals into electromagnetic waves for transmission. On the other hand, it converts the received electromagnetic waves back into electrical signals, which are then fed into the radar system’s signals processing unit for analysis and further processing.

Directionality Control: In electromagnetics, directivity is a parameter of an antenna which measures the degree to which the radiation emitted is concentrated in a single direction. Directivity refers to an antenna’s ability to concentrate energy in a particular direction when transmitting or receiving electromagnetic waves. High-directional antenna focus energy into a narrow beam, reducing radiation in other directions, thereby increasing signal strength and improving the targeting accuracy and efficiency of detection in the intended direction.

Antenna Gain: The antenna gain is closely related to its size, shape, and material. By optimizing antenna design, higher gain and narrower beam width can be achieved, thereby further improving the spatial resolution of the radar.

Resolution Enhancement: The antenna’s bandwidth affects range resolution. The wider the bandwidth, the higher the range resolution and the greater the detection area. The antenna’s beam width affects angular resolution. The narrower the beam, the higher the spatial resolution of the radar for targets, enabling more precise target localization.

Anti-Interference Capability: Optimizing antenna design can improve the anti-interference capacity of radar systems by reducing side lobe effects, filtering out clutter and interference signals, and increasing the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the radar signals.

Common Types of Antennas Used in Microwave Radar Sensors

Common types of antennas used in Microwave Radar Sensor Industry include:

• Columnar/Cylindrical Antenna: It is one of the most basic antenna types, belongs to omnidirectional antenna, and can be applied in all kinds of wireless communication systems.
• Planar Antenna: It is a miniaturized type of antenna with a compact size and light weight, which can be integrated on printed circuit board of a device, making it  suitable for space-constrained application.
• Parabolic Antenna: It’s a single-reflector antenna, known for its high gain and narrow beam characteristics, commonly used in long-distance communication and directional transmission
• Array Antenna: Composed of multiple antenna elements, which can provide higher gain and more flexible directionality

Merrytek Self-developed Antennas address Key Industry Pain Points In Depth

Traditional columnar/cylindrical antenna has a limited small detection area, poor stability, and is prone to self-oscillation, which can be triggered by false signals; while conventional ordinary planar antennas exhibit large side lobes, low gain, and poor environmental adaptability. Consequently these limitations in traditional antennas can lead to unstable performance in microwave radar sensors, restricting their overall effectiveness.

Merrytek, as a National-Level Specialized, Refined, Unique, and Innovative “Little Giant” Enterprise is leading in microwave radar sensing technology with significant advantages in antenna technology research and development. Merrytek with a research and development (R&D) team of over 60 experts, and holds more than 600 proprietary independent intellectual property rights, including numerous self-developed antenna technology patents. Merrytek provides comprehensive solutions to address industry challenges, pain points and difficulties.

Merrytek core patented antenna technologies:

• Low Impedance Antenna Technology: Capable of effectively resisting interference from 2.4G Bluetooth, 5G WiFi, 5G communication, RF, and other radio frequency electromagnetic signals.
• Lifebeing Presence Detection Technology: Capable of detecting human presence by sensing subtle motion attributed to chest and abdominal movements during human respiratory activity. Itcan effectively avoid airflow interference from devices like air conditioners, exhaust fans, and blowers, accurately distinguishing human respiratory signals.
• Antithetical Dipoles Antenna Technology: Antithetical dipoles antennas have advantages characterized by low side lobes, large beam angle, no detection blind zone, and high gain, and is well suited for open scenes such as parking lot, where long-distance detection and high reliability are required.
• Circular Polarized Antenna Technology: It’s an integrated transmit-receive circularly polarized microwave detection antenna that exhibits excellent resistance to multipath reflection, WiFi attenuation, and rain/fog interference. It maintains balanced beam energy radiation in all 360° directions, making it ideal for deep-mounted installation applications (such as recessed downlights)
• Horizontal Half Wave Folding Antenna Technology: Horizontal half wave folding antenna is characterized by a large beam angle and low signal reception loss. It offers highly sensitive signal response. When applied to products, it can achive overlapping detection ranges, covering the detection of human’s largegross motor movements, micro fine-motor movements and human presence/occupancy.

Based on its profound technical expertise and robust independent research and development capabilities, Merrytek continually enhances product performance and user experience to satisfy the evolving needs of a dynamic market and drive the advancement of the entire microwave radar sensing industry.

In the future, Merrytek will keep dedicating and focusing on the innovation and advancement of antenna technology, delivering more groundbreaking and breakthroughs achievements to the microwave radar sensing industry. Coupled with proprietary self-developed signals processing technologies and core algorithms, Merrytek aims to provide more targeted and user-friendly products for the public.