Antenna Design for a 3D Image Radar System

The aim of this work is to develop a radar imaging system. The miniaturized radar has the ability to see through obstacles in the line of sight. To achieve 3D visualization, we developed, integrated and tested a custom digitally steered phased-array antenna system designed for ultra-wideband (UWB) frequencies. A 3x3 array of Vivaldi antennae was fabricated on three separate printed circuit boards including 1x3 arrays each. Time Domain’s PulsON 440 was the chosen radar measurement platform due to its small form factor, its high depth resolution and its high bandwidth capabilities. The key performance metrics of the antennae were simulated including reflection coefficients and radiation patterns and compared with the measured results of the fabricated system. A digital logic system was designed using a Teensy microcontroller to control the beam steering of the antenna platform. A Matlab program was written to synchronise the PulsON 440 and the beam steering control and to output the 3D image data in real time including some signal processing. Experiments were performed to display the resolution and accuracy of the See-Through Wall radar images.