Automotive radome and bumper testing

Ensuring the quality of radomes and bumpers

Automotive radars are usually mounted behind bumpers or radomes and the material RF transmission and reflection characteristics effect the performance of the radar sensor and the safety-critical system it supports. For example, radome inhomogeneity or too much attenuation will cause incorrect object distance and angular position data. Therefore, ensuring consistent material quality of the radome by accurate testing is important during the development and production process.

Radome material quality analysis solutions from Rohde & Schwarz use advanced microwave imaging techniques to make sure your radomes & bumpers stay within demanding performance limits.

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Your automotive radome & bumper test challenges:

Ensuring material quality and characteristics meet design specifications
Detailed insight into RF bumper & radome characteristics during development
Fast and comprehensive testing in production with awareness of material imperfections

Features of Rohde & Schwarz radome test solutions:

Accurate, 2-dimensional RF characterization of radomes resolved over the frequency of interest
Spatially-resolved transmission phase
Accuracy comparable to a network analyzer but with superior speed
Easier DUT handling in a production environment
Detection of inhomogeneities

Benefits of our microwave imaging radome & bumper test solutions:

Higher quality, more consistent product due to microwave imaging insights
Enhanced phase, polarization and homogeneity information accelerates development cycle
Seamless transfer from R&D to production with consistent performance
Increased yield on production line due to high accuracy and lower tolerances
Ease of DUT handling gives faster test time

Explainer video: Explore the benefits of the R&S®QAR50

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Cost-effective automotive radome and bumper testing. Fast. Precise.

The R&S®QAR50 Quality Automotive Radome Tester

Ensuring automotive radome & bumper quality from design to end-of-line-test.

The R&S®QAR50 is the ideal tool for accurately testing the quality of automotive radomes and bumpers in the automotive radar frequency range at the end-of-line (EOL).

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Our experts and partners

Thomas Baum, Managing Director and Sales Löhnert Elektronik GmbH

"Löhnert Elektronik integrates the R&S®QAR50 tester into a turn-key system for EOL production testing of radomes and bumpers. This includes automated sample handling and control software. The automation software LisRTV3 controls the R&S®QAR50 and evaluates the measurement results including result recording and sample labeling. Reference measurements for calibration, monitoring of the production tester and interfaces to MES systems are also supported."

Featured products for radome material analysis

R&S®QAR50 quality automotive radome tester

Precise transmission loss and reflection measurements plus frequency response in the automotive radar bands (72 GHz - 82 GHz)
Spatially resolved transmission phase and high resolution reflection image with a single measurement
Extremely short cycle time of 4 seconds ensures high throughput in production

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R&S®ZVA vector network analyzers

System frequency range: 10 MHz to 110 GHz
Dynamic range up to 130 dB (typ)
Two test ports, 1.0 mm male

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Related resources for automotive radome testing

App card: Characterizing the material properties of polymers for automotive applications

Automotive radar sensors can be well hidden behind bumpers, but require to be transmissible in the respective frequency domain. To select proper colors and coatings for such bumpers, the respective material properties must be known. This application card demonstrates a simplified method for material characterization in the automotive radar frequency domain (76 GHz to 81 GHz) based on the R&S®QAR50 automotive radome tester.

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App card: Characterizing the material properties of polymers for radomes and bumpers to optimize radar transparency

The R&S®QAR50 is the ideal tool to characterize the material properties of polymers and their influence on the quality of the radar signal at an early design stage and in quality control of material development. Learn more in our app card.

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App card: Testing radomes and bumpers in all phases – from design to high-volume production

The varying material properties of radomes and bumpers can massively influence signal quality. Rohde & Schwarz focus on a new approach: a test system that can be integrated in all test phases of each radome and bumper to ensure reliable and robust performance of the overall ADAS.

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Related videos for automotive radome testing

Application video: QAR50-R robotic solution

For larger DUT sizes such as grilles or bumpers, it might be appropriate to move the measurement equipment instead of the sample. Therefore, the QAR50-R was developed. This video was recorded at our partner Löhnert Elektronik where the QAR50-R is produced.

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Application video series: The complete guide to radome and bumper testing using the R&S®QAR50

The R&S®QAR50 automotive radome and bumper tester uses microwave imaging to give you deep insight into the material quality of your radomes during development and production but so much more. Watch this series of 14 application videos to get guidance on the options and capabilities of the QAR from measurement principles and calibration to frequency response and phase mask measurements.

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Application video: Measuring with the R&S®QAR50

Learn more about the QAR50's measurement capabilities and unique features within this 5 minute video.

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Webinar: Ensuring automotive radome & bumper quality from design to high-volume production

Learn about how microwave imaging technology can be utilized to provide accurate, 2-dimentional characterisation of radome and bumper quality, accelerate the design cycle and facilitate seamless transition from development in the lab to high-volume production.

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