Non-cascading MIMO channel extenders for radar chips

A system, comprising:

• an integrated circuit, comprising:
• a receive extender;
• and
• a transmit extender, wherein the receive extender comprises:
• N receive contacts configured to couple to N receive antennas and configured to receive N receive signals associated with the N receive antennas, wherein Nis a non-zero integer;
• N phase-adjustment circuits, coupled to the N receive contacts, configured to adjust phases of the N receive signals;
• an N:1 demultiplexer, coupled to the N phase-adjustment circuits, configured to combine the N receive signals into an output signal;
• and
• an output contact, coupled to the N:1 demultiplexer, configured to provide the output signal to a second integrated circuit;
• and
• wherein the transmit extender comprises:
• an input contact configured to receive a transmit signal associated with the second integrated circuit;
• a 1:M multiplexer, coupled to the input contact, configured to separate the transmit signal into M transmit signals, wherein M is a non-zero integer;
• M phase-adjustment circuits, coupled to the 1:M multiplexer, configured to adjust phases of the M transmit signals;
• and
• M transmit contacts, coupled to the M phase-adjustment circuits, configured to couple to M transmit antennas and to provide the M transmit signals to the M transmit antennas;
• and
• the second integrated circuit coupled to the integrated circuit, wherein the second integrated circuit is configured to perform phase shifting of the output signal, the transmit signal, or both, based at least in part on an oscillator signal;
• and
• wherein control signals for the N phase-adjustment circuits, the M phase-adjustment circuits, or both, are synchronized between the integrated circuit and the second integrated circuit, and the oscillator signal is not synchronized between the integrated circuit and the second integrated circuit.

A method for extending a second integrated circuit, comprising:

• by a receive extender in an integrated circuit:
• receiving N receive signals from N receive antennas, wherein N is a non-zero integer;
• adjusting phases of the N receive signals using N phase-adjustment circuits;
• combining the N receive signals into an output signal using an N:1 demultiplexer;
• and
• providing the output signal to the second integrated circuit;
• or
• by a transmit extender in the integrated circuit:
• receiving a transmit signal associated with the second integrated circuit, wherein the second integrated circuit performs phase shifting of the output signal, the transmit signal, or both, based at least in part on an oscillator signal;
• separating the transmit signal into M transmit signals using a 1:
• M multiplexer, wherein Mis a non-zero integer;
• adjusting phases of the M transmit signals using M phase-adjustment circuits;
• and
• providing the M transmit signals to M transmit antennas;
• synchronizing control signals for the N phase-adjustment circuits, the M phase-adjustment circuits, or both, between the integrated circuit and the second integrated circuit, and not synchronizing the oscillator signal between the integrated circuit and the second integrated circuit.