DEVELOPMENT OF AN ULTRA-WIDEBAND (UWB) PULSE GENERATOR AND PRINTED ANTENNA FOR CONCEALED WEAPONS DETECTION RADAR

Abstract

This thesis demonstrates the further development of an ultra-wideband (UWB) pulse generator and of an UWB antenna. Custom prototypes of these devices were initially developed for an ongoing research project. The project topic is a compact and portable concealed weapons detection (CWD) radar system to find objects such as firearms, knives, and grenades hidden on persons as they pass by. The system uses the UWB pulse generator as a transmitter, while the UWB antenna radiates the pulse and receives the corresponding backscatter from targets and other objects. Initial device prototypes do not perform adequately according to project specifications. A key specification is of adequate operation over the entire 0.5 GHz to 5 GHz frequency band, where adequate operation is defined distinctly for the antenna and pulse generator. In this work, empirical investigations of both devices are performed using techniques such as simulation, fabrication, and measurement. Through these investigations, the designs of the devices have been incrementally modified. Measured performance data suggest that the research has yielded designs with substantially improved bandwidth as a result. Bandwidth increases from 3.31 GHz to 4.36 GHz (31.7%) for the pulse generator and from 0.46 GHz to 4.98 GHz (983%) for the antenna are demonstrated. Future work is needed to establish the effects of fabrication tolerance, component tolerance, and human error on the variation of the observed device performance.