Through-wall radar imaging system utilizing a light-weight low-profile printed array

An UWB through-wall imaging system is proposed based on a planar low profile aperture array operating from 0.9 GHz to 2.3 GHz. The goal is to provide a lightweight, fixed array to serve as an alternative to synthetic aperture radars (SAR) that require continuous array movement while collecting data. The proposed system consists of 12 dual-linear printed elements arranged within a triangular lattice, each forming a “flower” shape and backed by a ground plane. The array delivers half-space radiation with wideband performance, necessary for imaging applications. UWB capability is realized by suppressing grating lobes via the introduction of virtual phase centers interwoven within the actual array feeds. Several high resolution 3-D images (of a cluttered room) containing a few sparsely distributed targets are presented. These images are forged in a non-typical fashion, incorporating both coherent and non-coherent processes. Specifically, several coherent images are forged from various fixed aperture locations (referred to as “snapshot” locations) and appropriately combined to create a fused scene image. Future work to optimize image quality is discussed, including algorithms for resolution enhancement, clutter mitigation, and image fusion treatments.