Prototype Development of an 8mm Band 2-Dimensional Aperture Synthesis Radiometer

A project to design and construct an airborne 8 mm band 2-Dimensional (2D) aperture synthesis radiometer BHU-2D was launched in the Electromagnetics Laboratory of BeiHang University (BHU). BHU-2D consists of 48 antenna/receiver elements, an FPGA-based 1 bit/2 levels digital cross-correlation subsystem, and a calibration subsystem. A ground based laboratory prototype of BHU-2D has been completed, which consists of 10 antenna elements arrayed in a T- shape configuration, 10 receivers, and a digital correlation and data processing subsystem. The testing and imaging experiments have been carried out. Initial results are successful; the images of some scenes and the person indoors are obtained. The instrument overview, calibration method, and preliminary imaging results of the prototype are presented in this paper.