IR-UWB antenna with built-in impulse-like waveform generator for impulse radar applications

This paper presents a novel impulse-radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) pulsed radar antenna integrated with an impulse generator circuit, designed and investigated for IR-UWB radar imaging applications. The performance of the proposed radar antenna is numerically evaluated using a predefined evaluation factor to optimize pulse radiation in the time domain. The evolution of antipodal Vivaldi antennas is examined by incorporating elliptical shaped slots and a metasurface director to enhance pulse radiation performance. An impulse-like waveform generator is compactly embedded with the optimized metasurface director and elliptical slots on the side of the radiator. The generated impulse-like waveform has a pulse width of 150 ps, with a corresponding −10 dB bandwidth of around 4 GHz, spanning from 0.5 to 4.5 GHz, which is ideal for pulsed radar imaging. This proposed antenna is crucial for directly monitoring real-time target signals for radar imaging. Pulsed radar imaging experiments conducted with the proposed antenna, using the inverse synthesized aperture radar and physical array imaging methods, successfully reconstruct radar target images.