Handheld systems for radar imaging and antenna diagnosis and characterization (video)

The development of radiofrequency technology and tracking systems have enabled the development of compact portable systems for both electromagnetic imaging and characterization. This talk will provide an overview of conventional state-of-the-art imaging and antenna characterization systems, highlighting their features and limitations, and will present some emerging portable alternatives. The talk will focus on handheld systems and, more specifically, on freehand applications, which rely on the use of a compact device moved by hand whose position is tracked to enable the coherent processing of the acquired data, bypassing the need of bulky positioning equipment. In particular, different freehand imaging prototypes using millimeter-wave radar-on-chip modules will be presented, showing their capability to produce high-resolution real-time images of the area under inspection. In addition, two different freehand systems for antenna diagnosis and characterization will be discussed. The first alternative relies on amplitude and phase near-field acquisitions of the field radiated by the antenna under test, providing real-time diagnosis and far-field information. The second approach, validated through measurements from Ka band up to 300 GHz, is based on amplitude-only acquisitions, enabling the assessment of onboard antennas under operational conditions.