Back radiation minimization of ultra wideband Vivaldi antenna for radar application

This paper deals with the minimization of the back radiation of the Vivaldi antenna for the radar application (e.g. portable through-wall radars). The high back radiation can give rise to the reflection from the radar operator or from the area behind the radar. These reflections can influence negatively the captured useful signal. Consequently, the measured view of the guarded area can be distorted or the undesired reflections can lead to a false alarm. In the paper, several types of shielding for the back radiation minimization are presented: an antenna with planar back-plane, a boxed antenna, a skewed and boxed antenna and a skewed and boxed antenna with planar frontplane. The reflections, radiated impulses and their distortion are discussed.