UWB Array-Based Sensor for Near-Field Imaging

TLDR

The paper presents a UWB array‑based time‑domain radar sensor designed for near‑field imaging in vehicle‑mounted multisensor systems for humanitarian demining. The sensor uses a single‑transmitter, multichannel‑receiver architecture that produces 3‑D subsurface images through 1‑D mechanical scanning combined with electronic steering of the receive antenna footprint in the cross‑scan direction and synthetic‑aperture processing along the scan direction. The system’s novel single‑transmitter, multichannel‑receiver design and UWB antenna array enable rapid 3‑D imaging, with footprint steering dramatically increasing scanning speed.

Abstract

In this paper, the development of an ultra-wideband (UWB) array-based time-domain radar sensor for near-field imaging is described. The radar sensor is designed to be used within a vehicle-mounted multisensor system for humanitarian demining. The main novelty of the radar lies in the system design with a single transmitter and multichannel receiver. Design of the UWB antenna array is also novel. The radar produces 3D images of subsurface by 1D mechanical scanning. The imaging capability of the radar is realized via electronic steering of the receive antenna footprint in a cross-scan direction and synthetic aperture processing in an along-scan direction. Imaging via footprint steering allows for a drastic increase in the scanning speed.