Temperature sensitivity of large digital-beamforming multistatic mm-wave imaging systems

Large multistatic mm-wave imaging systems have recently been developed and proved to be efficient for security applications. This work analyzes the effects caused by temperature changes on the imaging performance of a state-of-the-art system. The temperature dependent phase drift of a single measurement channel is characterized. A linearized model for the phase drifts in the RF channels is thus derived. This model is applied to simulate for systematic phase drifts in the recorded raw data of the imaging system at different temperature profiles. Afterwards, images are reconstructed using modified raw data. Accordingly, the degradation in the imaging performance due to temperature changes is presented in terms of image quality and the associated point spread functions.