Absolute Phase-Based Distance Measurement for Industrial Monitoring Systems

In this paper, principal considerations for a high accuracy millimeter wave (mmw) radar distance measurement system applicable to be used in harsh industrial environments are presented. The system is based on continuous wave (CW) measurement of the reflection coefficient and interpretation of the signal phase. The ambiguity of the phase is overcome by means of a multiple frequency technique. For absolute distance determination, an online calibration procedure is applied. The applicability of the system is underlined by a laboratory demonstrator measurement.