Compensation of Dispersion in Sinuous Antennas for Polarimetric Ground Penetrating Radar Applications

In order to improve the accuracy of subsurface target classification with ground penetrating radar (GPR) systems, it is desired to transmit and receive ultra-wide band pulses with varying combinations of polarization (a technique referred to as polarimetry). The sinuous antenna exhibits such desirable properties as ultra-wide bandwidth, polarization diversity, and low-profile form factor, making it an excellent candidate for the radiating element of such systems. However, sinuous antennas are dispersive since the active region moves with frequency along the structure, resulting in the distortion of radiated pulses. This distortion may be compensated in signal processing with accurately simulated or measured antenna phase information. However, in a practical GPR, the antenna performance may deviate from that simulated, accurate measurements may be impractical, and/or the dielectric loading of the environment may cause deviations. In such cases, it may be desirable to employ a simple dispersion model based on antenna design parameters which may be optimized in situ. This paper explores the dispersive properties of the sinuous antenna and presents a simple, adjustable, model that may be used to correct dispersed pulses. The dispersion model is successfully applied to both simulated and measured scenarios, thereby enabling the use of sinuous antennas in polarimetric GPR applications. View Full-Tex