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HIGHLY-DIGITAL ARCHITECTURES AND INTEGRATED FRONT-ENDS FOR MULTI-ANTENNA GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR (GPR) SYSTEMS

Nguyen, Phong Hai
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3369-8762
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1594642732791415

Abstract Details

2020, Master of Sciences (Engineering), Case Western Reserve University, EECS - Electrical Engineering.
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a widely popular sensing method that provides subsurface images in a non-destructive manner. The first part of this work presents a multistatic GPR for vehicle-mounted roadway and utility monitoring applications that employs three methods to improve its performance compared to the state-of-the-art. First of all, the system illuminates the subsurface with pseudo-random codes (m-sequences) that have near-ideal autocorrelation properties. Therefore, the received signal can be matched-filtered to provide pulse compression, which improves both range-resolution and depth of scan compared to traditional impulse-based GPRs. Second of all, the system uses a highly-digital transmit and receive architecture based on direct FPGA-based transmit pulse generation and direct radio frequency (RF) sampling. Last but not least, the analog front-end uses an 8x8 multistatic antenna array design with broadband antipodal Vivaldi elements to provide spatial diversity, leading to improved object localization and reduced drift between scans. Experimental results from indoor and outdoor test-beds confirm the functionality of the proposed GPR system. The second part of this work proposes a proof-of-concept design of a multi-channel broadband low-noise analog front-end (AFE) for multistatic GPR receivers. This custom integrated circuit (IC) design employs the standard TSMC180 CMOS process. The IC includes four amplifier channels; each channel consists of a broadband low-noise amplifier (LNA) employing noise-canceling techniques, a gm-cell-based variable gain amplifier (VGA), and a voltage buffer. This combination allows the IC to achieve low noise figure (NF) and high linearity performance, thus improving the effective resolution and scan depth of the GPR. Measurement results confirm the functionality of the proposed custom multi-channel AFE IC.
Soumyajit Mandal (Committee Chair)
Kenneth Loparo (Committee Member)
Hossein Miri Lavasani (Committee Member)
150 p.
Electrical Engineering
ground-penetrating radar; multistatic antenna array; pseudo-random sequences; m-sequence; pulse compression; FPGA, low-noise analog front-end; low-noise variable gain amplifier

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Nguyen, P. H. (2020). HIGHLY-DIGITAL ARCHITECTURES AND INTEGRATED FRONT-ENDS FOR MULTI-ANTENNA GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR (GPR) SYSTEMS [Master's thesis, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1594642732791415

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Nguyen, Phong. HIGHLY-DIGITAL ARCHITECTURES AND INTEGRATED FRONT-ENDS FOR MULTI-ANTENNA GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR (GPR) SYSTEMS. 2020. Case Western Reserve University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1594642732791415.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Nguyen, Phong. "HIGHLY-DIGITAL ARCHITECTURES AND INTEGRATED FRONT-ENDS FOR MULTI-ANTENNA GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR (GPR) SYSTEMS." Master's thesis, Case Western Reserve University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1594642732791415

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.