Modeling, Simulation, and Measurement of Balanced Antipodal Vivaldi (BAV) Antennas for Fully Polarimetric Forward-Looking Ground-Penetrating Radar (FLGPR) Receive Channels
Abstract
This report documents the design, simulation, and measurement of balanced antipodal Vivaldi (BAV) antenna elements for the receive channels of a US Army Research Laboratory fully polarimetric forward-looking ground-penetrating radar (FLGPR) system including recommendations for the antenna positioning in a 32-element aperture. The BAV elements are meant to be operated from 0.3 to 2.0 GHz in a stepped frequency system. The elements are designed to have improved antenna performance compared to the current receive channel antennas below 1.0 GHz. The BAV elements have significantly improved realized gain and impedance match over the operational bandwidth. The elements also have an improved transient response with reduced late time ringing. Pairs of elements were simulated in different side-by-side configurations to determine effects on individual antenna performance and mutual coupling. Simulations showed that the configuration to produce the most compact 32-element aperture at 2.2 m wide was that of vertical and horizontal elements positioned such that they produce an L shape. However, isolation between vertical and horizontal elements was considered critical, so a T-shaped configuration instead of an L shape would be preferred. Such an aperture would be nearly twice as wide at 4 m.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1038622
Entities
People
- Seth A. Mccormick
Organizations
- United States Army Research Laboratory