A hardware system has been developed to perform ultrawideband (UWB) noise radar tomography over the 3–5 GHz frequency range. The system utilizes RF hardware to transmit multiple independent and identically distributed UWB random noise waveforms. A 3–5 GHz band-limited signal is generated using an arbitrary waveform generator and the waveform is then amplified and transmitted through a horn antenna. A linear scanner with a single antenna is used in place of an antenna array to collect backscatter. The backscatter is collected from the transmission of each waveform and reconstructed to form an image. The images that result from each scan are averaged to produce a single tomographic image of the target. After background subtraction, the scans are averaged to improve the image quality. The experimental results are compared to the theoretical predictions. The system is able to successfully image metallic and dielectric cylinders of different cross sections.

Date Published: 21 May 2015
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 9461, Radar Sensor Technology XIX; and Active and Passive Signatures VI, 94610W (21 May 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2176753

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9461:
Radar Sensor Technology XIX; and Active and Passive Signatures VI
G. Charmaine Gilbreath; Kenneth I. Ranney; Armin Doerry; Chadwick Todd Hawley, Editor(s)