Standoff Landmine Detection

The results of our Phase I have shown that stand off detection of anti-tank mines is possible with a forward-looking ground-penetrating synthetic aperture radar (GPSAR). The design critera outlined in our Phase I report will be used in our Phase II effortto construct a more effective forward looking GPSAR system on a vehicular platform. The system will make stepped frequency measurements over 500-4000MHz bandwidth and a 3m wide swath with look-ahead distances from 10-30 m. The system shall permit a 1kphrate of advance. Key technical objectives include:1) Fabricate and test tapered slot antenna design. If proven effective these small form-factor antennas will be assembled into a densly packed array capable of both horizontal and vertical polarizations.2) Construct dense array of transmit/receive antennas in a Mill's cross configuration using PSI developed archimedean spiral and tapered-slot antennas. This will provide the GPSAR with the narrow vertical and azimuthal beamwidths prescribed by the PhaseI results.3) Implement spatial filtering and synthetic aperture techniques that exploit multiple looks at the target by the moving antenna array.4) Assess system performance by making measurements of mine and mine-like targets in variable soil tyes at U.S. Army test facilities