A UAV Based CMOS Ku-Band Metasurface FMCW Radar System for Low-Altitude Snowpack Sensing

Adrian Tang; Nacer Chahat; Yangyho Kim; Arhison Bharathan; Gabriel Virbila; Hans-Peter Marshall; Thomas Van Der Weide; Gaurangi Gupta; Raunika Anand; Goutam Chattopadhyay; Mau-Chung Frank Chang

doi:10.1109/JMW.2023.3327188

IEEE Journal of Microwaves (Jan 2024)

A UAV Based CMOS Ku-Band Metasurface FMCW Radar System for Low-Altitude Snowpack Sensing

Adrian Tang,
Nacer Chahat,
Yangyho Kim,
Arhison Bharathan,
Gabriel Virbila,
Hans-Peter Marshall,
Thomas Van Der Weide,
Gaurangi Gupta,
Raunika Anand,
Goutam Chattopadhyay,
Mau-Chung Frank Chang

Affiliations

Adrian Tang: ORCiD; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Nacer Chahat: ORCiD; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Yangyho Kim: ORCiD; Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Arhison Bharathan: University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Gabriel Virbila: University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Hans-Peter Marshall: Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA
Thomas Van Der Weide: Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA
Gaurangi Gupta: ORCiD; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Raunika Anand: ORCiD; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Goutam Chattopadhyay: ORCiD; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
Mau-Chung Frank Chang: ORCiD; University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/JMW.2023.3327188
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 4, no. 1
pp. 43 – 55

Abstract

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This article presents development of a UAV based frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar system for remotely sensing the water contained within snowpacks. To make the radar system compatible with the payload requirements of small UAV platforms, the radar electronics are implemented with CMOS technology, and the antenna is implemented as an extremely compact and lightweight metasurface (MTS) antenna. This article will discuss how the high absorption losses of snowpacks lead to dynamic range requirements much stricter than FMCW radars used for automotive and other sensing applications, and how these requirements are met through antenna isolation, leakage calibration and exploitation of the range correlation effect. The article discusses in detail the implementation of the radar system, the CMOS microwave and digital circuitry, and the MTS antenna. The developed radar was mounted on a drone and conducted surveys in both Idaho and Alaska during the 2022-2023 winter season. We present several of those field results.

Published in IEEE Journal of Microwaves

ISSN: 2692-8388 (Online)
Publisher: IEEE
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Technology: Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering: Telecommunication; Technology: Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering: Electric apparatus and materials. Electric circuits. Electric networks
Website: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=9171629

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