Reduction of proximal metal structures interference for a Holographic RADAR 3D-Printed antenna

Abstract

Holographic RADAR images are used for investigating dielectric discontinuities in the soil. We use a holographic RADAR for landmine classification in humanitarian demining efforts. To improve the performance of the holographic RADAR, we developed an innovative 3D-Printed plastic waveguide antenna. The back-lobe radiation of this antenna interacts with the metallic mechanical scanning system generating artefacts in the images. To reduce the interaction effects, we built a Faraday cage for the antenna. To validate the performance of this shielded antenna we built a laboratory test bed in which electromagnetically similar objects to landmines could be placed in a controlled environment to inspect and visualize the shield’s effects. For this experiment we have used a box filled with water. The results show that the Faraday cage has a significant impact on the attenuation of interference in the images. These encouraging results indicate that our antenna design can be improved by reducing the radiation back lobe effect.