Search Results (168)

Multistatic sonar networks (MSNs) have emerged as a powerful approach for enhancing underwater surveillance capabilities. Different from monostatic sonar systems which use collocated sources and receivers, MSNs consist of spatially distributed and independent sources and receivers. In this work, we address the problem of determining the optimal route for a mobile multistatic active sonar source to maximize area coverage, assuming all receiver locations are known in advance. For this purpose, we first develop a Mixed Integer Linear Program (MILP) formulation that determines the route for a single source within a field discretized using a hexagonal grid structure. Next, we propose an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) heuristic to efficiently solve large problem instances. We perform a series of numerical experiments and compare the performance of the exact MILP solution with that of the proposed ACO heuristic. Full article

A co-design of radar cross section (RCS) reducing surface and array antenna on a single-layer printed board is presented in this paper. To achieve this goal, two kinds of artificial magnetic conductors (AMCs) are designed and optimized. The first kind of AMC shares the same geometry with the array element and thus is simultaneously used as the array element. The other kind of AMC generates opposed-phased reflections for a normal incident wave, and when they are in a checkerboard configuration, the RCS is reduced via phase cancellation of opposed-phased reflections. In the range of 10 GHz to 16 GHz, the designed bi-functional surface achieves an 8 dB decline in monostatic RCS, while the array antenna obtains a gain of 15 dBi, a side-lobe less than −10 dB, and a cross-polarization less than −20 dB at 13.5 GHz. To validate the calculation results, a prototype is fabricated and measured. To feed the array antenna, a T-type power divider network is etched under the ground and the array is fed via coupling slots on the ground. The measured results agree with the simulation results. Full article

In this study, a novel improved ultra-wideband (UWB) antipodal Vivaldi antenna suitable for breast cancer detection via microwave imaging was designed. The antenna was made more directional by adding three pairs of nestings to the antenna fins by adding elliptical patches. The frequency operating range of the proposed antenna is UWB 3.6–13 GHz, its directivity is 11 dB, and its gain is 9.27 dB. The antenna is designed with FR4 dielectric material and dimensions of 34.6 mm × 33 mm × 1.6 mm. It was demonstrated that the bandwidth, gain, and directivity of the proposed antenna meet the requirements for UWB radar applications. The Vivaldi antenna was tested on an imaging system developed using the CST Microwave Studio (CST MWS) program. In CST MWS, a hemispherical heterogeneous breast model with a radius of 50 mm was created and a spherical tumor with a diameter of 0.9 mm was placed inside. A Gaussian pulse was sent through Vivaldi antennas and the scattered signals were collected. Then, adaptive Wiener filter and image formation algorithm delay-multiply-sum (DMAS) steps were applied to the reflected signals. Using these steps, the tumor in the breast model was scanned at high resolution. In the simulation application, the tumor in the heterogeneous phantom was detected and imaged in the correct position. A monostatic radar-based system was implemented for scanning a breast phantom in the prone position in an experimental setting. For experimental measurements, homogeneous (fat and tumor) and heterogeneous (skin, fat, glandular, and tumor) breast phantoms were produced according to the electrical properties of the tissues. The phantoms were designed as hemispherical with a diameter of 100 mm. A spherical tumor tissue with a diameter of 16 mm was placed in the phantoms produced in the experimental environment. The dynamic range of the VNA device used allowed us to image a 16 mm diameter tumor in the experimental setting. The developed microwave imaging system shows that it is suitable for the early-stage detection of breast cancer by scanning the tumor in the correct location in breast phantoms. Full article

As an evolutionary advancement to conventional synthetic aperture radar (SAR), passive bistatic SAR (PBSAR) utilizing geostationary orbit (GEO) satellite signals demonstrates significant potential for high-resolution imaging. However, PBSAR faces dual challenges in computational efficiency and phase error compensation. Traditional accelerated back-projection (BP) variants developed from monostatic SAR are incompatible with PBSAR’s geometry, and autofocus BP (AFBP) methods exhibit prohibitive computational costs and inadequate space-variant phase error handling. This study first develops a bistatic ground Cartesian back-projection (BGCBP) algorithm through subimage wavenumber spectrum correction, specifically adapted to GEO-satellite-based PBSAR. Compared to conventional BP, the BGCBP achieves an order-of-magnitude complexity reduction without resolution degradation. Building upon this foundation, we propose a subimage autofocus BGCBP (SIAF-BGCBP) methodology, synergistically integrating autofocus processing with BGCBP’s accelerated framework. SIAF-BGCBP reduces phase estimation’s complexity by 90% through subimage pixel density optimization while maintaining estimation accuracy. Further enhancement of SIAF-BGCBP via geometric inversion would enable the precise compensation of space-variant phase errors while remaining efficient. Simulations and real-environment experiments verify the effectiveness of the proposed methods. Full article

This paper presents an improved rapid prediction method for solving the full-space bistatic scattering sound field of underwater vehicles. The scattering sound field is represented as the product of the acoustic scattering transfer function and the sound source density function. By utilizing target surface mesh information and partial scattered sound pressure data as known inputs, the method predicts other bistatic scattering sound fields through numerical integration, matrix theory, and the least squares method. To reduce the data input required for predicting the scattering field, the monostatic to bistatic equivalence theorem is incorporated into the algorithm. A comparison with simulation results demonstrates that the proposed approach achieves favorable computational efficiency and reliability. Experimental tests on a double-layered ribbed cylindrical shell further validate the method’s performance. Full article

This article reviews results from the literature illustrating the bottlenecks and tradeoffs of integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) through the lens of information theory, thus offering a distinct perspective compared to recent works that focus on signal processing, wireless communications, or other related overviews. Different models and scenarios are considered and compared. For example, scenarios where radar sensing is performed at the communication and radar transmitter (mono-static ISAC) and scenarios where the radar receiver differs from the radar transmitter (called bi-static radar). Similarly, we discuss ISAC bottlenecks and tradeoffs both in slowly-varying environments where the main sensing target is described by a single parameter and accordingly, sensing performance is described by detection error probabilities, as well as in fast-varying environments, where the sensing targets are described by vectors and thus vector-valued performance measures such as average distortions like mean-squared errors are used to determine sensing performances. This overview article further also considers limitations and opportunities in network ISAC environments, such as collaborative or interactive sensing, and the influence of secrecy and privacy requirements on ISAC systems, a line of research that has received growing interest over the last few years. For all these scenarios, we provide and discuss precise models and their limitations and provide either bounds or full characterizations of the fundamental information-theoretic performance limits of these systems. Further extensions as well as important open research directions are also discussed. Full article

Spectrum conversion is one of the important applications in the non-linear electromagnetic (EM) field, which is widely used in antennas, wireless communication, radar imaging, etc. However, controlling spectrum conversion with excellent retrospective characteristics at oblique incidence directions remains a major issue in microwave systems. In this paper, a time-modulated Van Atta array is proposed to manipulate the spectral distribution of the echo signal. The array prototype experiments are conducted to demonstrate the variation properties of the monostatic radar cross section (RCS) at oblique incidence directions. On this basis, the periodic modulation model of the retrospective signal is established for the time-modulated Van Atta array. Several discrete harmonic components are symmetrically distributed on both sides of the original spectra. The influence of modulation parameters on the generated harmonics is analyzed in detail. The array prototype experiment is carried out, and the variation characteristics of the monostatic RCS in the oblique incidence direction are verified. Full article

A novel frequency-selective polarization converter (FSPC) is proposed based on the new method of combining a polarization conversion metasurface (PCM) with a bandpass frequency-selective surface (FSS), which provides an efficient transmission band and broadband radar cross-section (RCS) reduction. The upper and lower layers are combined to form the proposed FSPC. In the upper layer design, the bowtie-shaped structure is used to achieve polarization conversion on both sides of the transmission band. Regarding the lower layer design, the second-order bandpass FSS is employed, which acts as an equivalent ground for the polarization conversion layer outside the passband and provides a highly efficient transmission window within the passband. Ultimately, the magnitude of the co-polarized reflection of the FSPC that is below −10 dB ranges from 5.1 GHz to 16.1 GHz, with a relative bandwidth of 104%, and the co-polarized transmission window with an insertion loss of less than 1 dB is presented ranging from 8.7 GHz to 12.6 GHz, with a relative bandwidth of 36%. Furthermore, by arranging the upper bowtie-shaped PCM in a checkerboard pattern, the monostatic RCS can be effectively reduced in a broad frequency range. Samples of the proposed design are fabricated for the measurement verification of performance. The results show that the measurement results match well with the simulation results. Compared with other designs, the proposed FSPC exhibits efficient co-polarized transmission, with insertion loss as low as 0.34 dB and the passband flatness being good. Full article

This paper describes a flexible and seamless processor for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery. When designing a focusing algorithm for large-scale and high-resolution SAR images, efficiency and accuracy are two mandatory aspects to consider. The proposed processing scheme is based on a modified version of Fast Factorized Back-Projection (FFBP), in which the factorization procedure is interrupted on the basis of a computational cost analysis to reduce the number of complex operations at its minimum. The algorithm gains efficiency in the case of low-altitude platforms, where there are significant variations in azimuth resolution, but not in the case of conventional airborne missions, where the azimuth resolution can be considered constant in the swath. The algorithm’s performance is derived by assessing the number of complex operations required to focus an SAR image. Two scenarios are tackled in a numerical simulation: a UAV-borne SAR with a short synthetic aperture and a wide field of view, referred to as the ground-based-like (GBL) scenario, and a classical stripmap scenario. In both cases, we consider mono-static and bi-static radar configurations. The results of the numerical simulations show that the proposed algorithm outperforms FFBP in the stripmap scenario while achieving the same performance as FFBP in the GBL scenario. In addition, the algorithm is validated thanks to an experimental UAV-borne SAR campaign in the X-band. Full article

In this study, we present a novel ultra-wideband passive polarization conversion metasurface (PCM) that integrates double V-shaped patterns with circular split-ring resonators. Operating without any external power supply or active components, this design effectively manipulates the polarization state of incident electromagnetic waves. Numerical and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed PCM can convert incident linear polarization into orthogonal states across a wide frequency range of 7.1–22.3 GHz, encompassing the C-, X-, Ku-, and K-bands. A fabricated prototype confirms that the polarization conversion ratio (PCR) exceeds 90% throughout the specified band. Furthermore, we explore an additional application of this passive metasurface for electromagnetic stealth, wherein it achieves over 10 dB of monostatic radar cross-section (RCS) reduction from 7.6 to 21.5 GHz. This broad effectiveness is attributed to strong electromagnetic resonances between the top and bottom layers, as well as the Fabry–Pérot cavity effect, as evidenced by detailed analyses of the underlying physical mechanisms and induced surface currents. These findings confirm the effectiveness of the proposed design and highlight its potential for future technological applications, including 6G communications, radar imaging, anti-interference measures, and electromagnetic stealth. Full article

An electromagnetic (EM) absorber-embedded Ka-band double-layer tapered slot antenna (DLTSA) is proposed in this work. The EM absorber is placed on both sides of the tapered radiating slots as a means of achieving the reduced monostatic radar cross section (RCS) at the X-band. A conventional tapered slot antenna (TSA) with EM absorbers at the same position suffers from the distorted current distribution from the feedline to the radiating slots and causes a degraded radiation performance with a tilted beam. In contrast, the DLTSA with EM absorbers maintains the impedance and radiation characteristics of the antenna without the EM absorbers, while achieving the reduced monostatic RCS for the cross-polarized incident wave. The functionality of the reduced RCS is verified with the 4-by-4 DLTSA array design. The 4-by-4 array prototype with FGM-125 EM absorbers is matched at the Ka-band with a 14.7 dBi boresight gain at 35 GHz. The monostatic RCS is measured in an indoor environment, showing 6.5 dB monostatic RCS reduction at the X-band on average, verifying the computed expectations. This work validates the possible use of EM absorbers at the front side of a missile seeker composed of end-fire radiating elements. Full article

In this paper, a novel Doppler shift estimation method for frequency diverse array (FDA) radar based on graph signal processing (GSP) theory is proposed and investigated. First, a well-designed graph signal model for a monostatic linear FDA is formulated. Subsequently, spectral decomposition is conducted on the constructed signal model utilizing graph Fourier transform (GFT) techniques, enabling the extraction of the target’s Doppler shift parameter through spectral peak search. A comprehensive series of simulation experiments demonstrates that the proposed method can achieve the accurate estimation of target parameters even under low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions. Furthermore, the proposed method exhibits superior performance compared to the MUSIC algorithm, offering enhanced resolution and estimation accuracy. Additionally, the method is highly amenable to parallel processing, significantly reducing the computational burden associated with traditional procedures. Full article

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a promising scheme for high-resolution wide-swath (HRWS) imaging. After echo separation processing, a MIMO-SAR system can provide many equivalent phase centers (EPCs) in azimuth. However, EPC duplication occurs for traditional monostatic systems with uniform antenna arrays, leading to system resource waste. Moreover, range ambiguity suppression is a necessary process for wide-swath SAR systems. In this paper, a novel MIMO-SAR echo separation and range ambiguity suppression processing framework is proposed for HRWS imaging. A set of transmission delays is introduced to the transmit channels to displace the repetitive EPCs. The transmission delays can also be used to flexibly control the performance of echo separation. A wide-null beamformer is employed to accomplish echo separation and ambiguity suppression simultaneously. The proposed framework is designed for real-time processing and therefore does not require frequency-domain operations. Finally, the proposed framework is verified through point target and distributed scene simulation experiments. Full article

Tomographic synthetic aperture radar (TomoSAR) is an advanced three-dimensional (3D) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging technology that can obtain multiple SAR images through multi-track observations, thereby reconstructing the 3D spatial structure of targets. However, due to system limitations, the multi-baseline (MB) monostatic SAR (MonoSAR) encounters temporal decorrelation issues when observing the scene such as forests, affecting the accuracy of the 3D reconstruction. Additionally, during TomoSAR observations, the platform jitter and inaccurate position measurement will contaminate the MB SAR data, which may result in the multiplicative noise with phase errors, thereby leading to the decrease in the imaging quality. To address the above issues, this paper proposes a MB bistatic SAR (BiSAR) 3D imaging method based on the phase error calibration that combines the phase gradient autofocus (PGA) and energy balance intensity-squared optimization autofocus (EB-ISOA). Firstly, the signal model of the MB one-stationary (OS) BiSAR is established and the 3D imaging principle is presented, and then the phase error caused by platform jitter and inaccurate position measurement is analyzed. Moreover, combining the PGA and EB-ISOA methods, a 3D imaging method based on the phase error calibration is proposed. This method can improve the accuracy of phase error calibration, avoid the vertical displacement, and has the noise robustness, which can obtain the high-precision 3D BiSAR imaging results. The experimental results are shown to verify the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed MB BiSAR 3D imaging method. Full article

In an autonomous robotic space debris removal mission, an essential sensor used for navigation is an FMCW radar designed for close-range relative navigation. To achieve the required range performance, minimizing RF leakage between the transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) antennas is essential for the accurate detection of the range and velocity of the targeted space debris. Antennas positioned above the metallic satellite front face are highly susceptible to RF leakage, primarily caused by surface current propagation and lateral waves traveling parallel to the platform. This study presents two lightweight, single-layer planar metamaterials—a novel compact electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) and a non-uniform high-impedance surface (HIS)—optimized to suppress both surface waves and interact with space waves within the 9.3–9.8 GHz frequency range. These designs address strict size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints while ensuring compatibility with extreme space conditions and resistance to mechanical shocks. Experimental validation indicates that a minimum Tx/Rx isolation improvement of 10 dB is achieved using the HIS, and 20 dB is achieved using the EBG across the radar’s operational bandwidth (5%). Full article