Ground penetrating radar with synthesized end-fire array
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A radar system for detecting targets embedded in a subsurface medium comprising:
- an antenna assembly;
an antenna chamber, wherein said antenna assembly is enclosed within said antenna chamber;
means for translating the antenna assembly along a boresight axis within said antenna chamber; and
a fluid, wherein said fluid is enclosed in said antenna chamber such that said antenna assembly remains immersed in said fluid as the antenna assembly is translated along the boresight axis within the antenna chamber, and wherein said fluid has a dielectric constant that matches a dielectric constant associated with the subsurface medium.
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Abstract
In a ground penetrating radar system, A-scan images of subsurface targets lying along the antenna boresight axis can be substantially improved and generated in real-time by employing a synthetic aperture, end-fire array, despite the inhomogeneous nature of the subsurface volume. The synthetic aperture, end-fire array is achieved by generating electro-magnetic (EM) ultra-wideband impulses at a number of precise locations along the antenna boresight access, shifting the returned EM signals in the time domain according to the corresponding antenna boresight location, and then integrating the shifted, returned EM signals.
40 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A radar system for detecting targets embedded in a subsurface medium comprising:
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an antenna assembly; an antenna chamber, wherein said antenna assembly is enclosed within said antenna chamber; means for translating the antenna assembly along a boresight axis within said antenna chamber; and a fluid, wherein said fluid is enclosed in said antenna chamber such that said antenna assembly remains immersed in said fluid as the antenna assembly is translated along the boresight axis within the antenna chamber, and wherein said fluid has a dielectric constant that matches a dielectric constant associated with the subsurface medium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for transmitting and receiving ground penetrating radar signals into and out of a subsurface medium comprising:
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antenna means for transmitting and receiving radio frequency energy at a plurality of points along a boresight axis; antenna repositioning means for translating said antenna means to each of the plurality of points along the boresight axis; and means for keeping said antenna means immersed in a fluid as said antenna means transmits and receives radio frequency energy at each of the plurality of points along the boresight axis, wherein said fluid has a dielectric constant that matches a dielectric constant associated with the subsurface medium. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus for transmitting and receiving ground penetrating radar signals into and out of a subsurface medium comprising:
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an antenna chamber; antenna means for transmitting and receiving radio frequency energy at a plurality of points along a boresight axis within said antenna chamber; antenna repositioning means for translating said antenna means to each of the plurality of points along the boresight axis; and means for displacing air located between said antenna chamber means and the subsurface medium with a fluid that has a dielectric constant that matches a dielectric constant of the subsurface medium, as said antenna means transmits and receives radio frequency energy at each of the plurality of points along the boresight axis. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for illuminating potential subsurface targets embedded in a subsurface medium comprising the steps of:
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immersing an antenna in a fluid, wherein the fluid has a dielectric constant that is equal or substantially equal to a dielectric constant associated with the subsurface medium; translating the antenna to each of a plurality of points along a boresight axis of the antenna, wherein the antenna remains immersed in the fluid; and transmitting and receiving radio frequency energy at the plurality of points along the boresight axis, wherein the radio frequency energy is transmitted from the antenna into the fluid and then into the subsurface medium, and wherein the radio frequency energy is reflected by the target, if one exists, through the subsurface medium and into the fluid. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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Specification