MMWCAS-RF-EVM: TI mmWave Cascaded Radar – Boresight Reflection Issue

Tool/software:

Dear TI Experts,

I’m currently working with the TI MMWCAS-RF evaluation module (EVM) with four AWR2243 devices, aiming to perform close-range imaging of a leather sample. My objective is not to detect the leather as an object, but rather to visualize the spatial reflections across its surface—essentially treating the radar as an imaging tool to analyze surface structure or texture.

Here’s the setup:

The leather sample is placed flat on a table, on top of appropriate RF absorbers to minimize background reflections.

I’ve tried inclining the radar system itself to reduce the impact of the boresight reflection. This approach does help mitigate the dominance of the boresight return, but it comes with a tradeoff: the overall reflected signal becomes significantly weaker, resulting in poor imaging quality.



I would appreciate your input on the following:

1- Is it possible to explore different MIMO configurations (e.g., adjusting the virtual array geometry) to reduce direct path reflections?

2- Can I use two cascaded radar systems (or exploiting our previous AWR1642BOOST-ODS as TX) in a bi-static setup—with separated transmit and receive arrays placed on opposite sides of the leather sample (i.e., in a sandwich-like configuration)?

3-What is the near-field limit for the cascaded our MMWCAS-RF-EVM setup? Specifically, what is the minimum distance at which we can reliably capture meaningful reflections or measurements in an imaging configuration?

4- Are there any chirp/antenna settings that are particularly suited for near-field surface imaging using mmWave radar? (also what about choosing between "Cascade_Configuration_MIMO.lua" and "Cascade_Configuration_TXBF.lua".)


Any suggestions, examples, or references from similar material inspection applications would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your support!

Best regards,
Amir