High fill factor RF aperture arrays for improved passive, real-time millimeter wave imaging

Thomas E. Dillon; Christopher A. Schuetz; Daniel G. Mackrides; Andrew Wright; Kevin Shreve; Charles Harrity; Stephen Kocazik; Shouyuan Shi; Peng Yao; Dennis W. Prather

doi:10.1117/12.2304869

15 May 2018 High fill factor RF aperture arrays for improved passive, real-time millimeter wave imaging

Thomas E. Dillon, Christopher A. Schuetz, Daniel G. Mackrides, Andrew Wright, Kevin Shreve, Charles Harrity, Stephen Kocazik, Shouyuan Shi, Peng Yao, Dennis W. Prather

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10642, Degraded Environments: Sensing, Processing, and Display 2018; 106420U (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2304869
Event: SPIE Defense + Security, 2018, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

Sensors operating in the millimeter wave region of the electromagnetic spectrum provide valuable situational awareness in degraded visual environments, helpful in navigation of rotorcraft and fixed wing aircraft. Due to their relatively long wavelength, millimeter waves can pass through many types of visual obscurants, including smoke, fog, dust, blowing sand, etc. with low attenuation. Developed to take advantage of these capabilities, ourmillimeter wave imager employs a unique, enabling receiver architecture based on distributed aperture arrays and optical upconversion. We have reported previously on operation and performance of our passive millimeter wave imager, including field test results in DVE and other representative environments, as well as extensive flight testing on an H-1 rotorcraft. Herein we discuss efforts to improve RF and optical component hardware integration, with the goal to increase manufacturability and reduce c-SWaP of the system. These outcomes will allow us to increase aperture sizes and channel counts, thereby providing increased receiver sensitivity and overall improved image quality. These developments in turn will open up new application areas for the passive millimeter wave technology, as well as better serving existing ones.

Citation Download Citation

Thomas E. Dillon, Christopher A. Schuetz, Daniel G. Mackrides, Andrew Wright, Kevin Shreve, Charles Harrity, Stephen Kocazik, Shouyuan Shi, Peng Yao, and Dennis W. Prather "High fill factor RF aperture arrays for improved passive, real-time millimeter wave imaging", Proc. SPIE 10642, Degraded Environments: Sensing, Processing, and Display 2018, 106420U (15 May 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2304869

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
9 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Extremely high frequency

Imaging systems

Sensors

Point spread functions

Driver's vision enhancers

Upconversion

Diffraction

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years