Real-time 3D millimeter wave imaging based FMCW using GGD focal plane array as detectors

Millimeter wave (MMW) imaging systems are required for applications in medicine, communications, homeland security, and space technology. This is because there is no known ionization hazard for biological tissue, and atmospheric attenuation in this range of the spectrum is relatively low. The lack of inexpensive room temperature imaging systems makes it difficult to give a suitable MMW system for many of the above applications. 3D MMW imaging system based on chirp radar was studied previously using a scanning imaging system of a single detector. The system presented here proposes to employ a chirp radar method with a Glow Discharge Detector (GDD) Focal Plane Array (FPA) of plasma based detectors. Each point on the object corresponds to a point in the image and includes the distance information. This will enable 3D MMW imaging. The radar system requires that the millimeter wave detector (GDD) will be able to operate as a heterodyne detector. Since the source of radiation is a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW), the detected signal as a result of heterodyne detection gives the object's depth information according to value of difference frequency, in addition to the reflectance of the image. In this work we experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of implementing an imaging system based on radar principles and FPA of GDD devices. This imaging system is shown to be capable of imaging objects from distances of at least 10 meters.