Millimeter-Wave Imaging System Based on Direct-Conversion Focal-Plane Array Receiver

Abstract

A new approach to millimeter-wave imaging was suggested and experimentally studied. This approach can be considered as the evolution of the well-established focal-plane array (FPA) millimeter-wave imaging. The significant difference is the use of a direct-conversion array receiver, instead of the direct-detection array receiver, along with the frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar technique. The sensitivity of the direct-conversion receiver is several orders higher than the sensitivity of the direct-detection one, which allows us to increase the maximum imaging range by more than one order of magnitude. The additional advantage of the direct-conversion technique is the opportunity to obtain information about the range to an object. The realization of the direct-conversion FPA imaging system was made possible due to original sensitive simple-designed receiving elements based on low-barrier Mott diodes. The suggested imaging method’s main characteristics, which include the achievable angular and range resolution and the achievable maximum imaging range, were studied. A maximum range of up to 100 m was experimentally determined. A 94 GHz 8 × 8 imaging system was developed for demonstration purposes and studied in detail. The suggested technique is assumed to be useful for creating a long-range millimeter-wave camera, in particular, for robotic systems that operate in poor environmental conditions.

One hundred fifty GHz folded dipole antenna‐on‐chip based on artificial magnetic conductor structure

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A Compact W-Band Low-Noise Radiometry Sensor for a Single-Pixel Passive Millimeter-Wave Imager

“…Although some systems use passive receiver arrays, they require an active source for imaging [10]. There are single-chip receivers in the MMIC structure [11]. Although compact receivers can be realized with such MMICs, these integrated circuits (IC) need external LO because they are super-heterodyne [12].…”