High Gain Compact UWB Antenna for Ground Penetrating Radar Detection and Soil Inspection

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Electromagnetics
• Metamaterials

Background:

• Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is crucial for subsurface investigation, including soil analysis and detecting buried objects.
• Existing GPR antennas often face limitations in bandwidth and gain, impacting imaging quality and detection range.
• Metamaterial structures offer novel ways to enhance antenna performance for specific applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and validate an ultrawide bandwidth (UWB) antenna for enhanced GPR applications.
• To improve soil moisture detection and metallic target imaging capabilities.
• To achieve a wide operating frequency range with high gain and efficiency.

Main Methods:

• A paddle-shaped microstrip antenna was designed using coplanar waveguide feeding.
• The antenna was enhanced with stubs, shorting pins, and a split-ring resonator (SRR) metamaterial.
• Performance was evaluated through simulations and measurements, considering soil types, distances, S-parameters, and gain.

Main Results:

• The antenna operates from 1.9-9.2 GHz, with additional resonances at 0.9 and 1.8 GHz, covering ISM and L-bands.
• Achieved a high gain of 10.8 dBi and maximum efficiency exceeding 97%.
• Demonstrated ability to discriminate, recognize shapes of hidden metallic objects, and detect them at various locations and soil conditions.

Conclusions:

• The designed UWB antenna significantly improves GPR performance for soil inspection and buried object detection.
• The integration of metamaterial structures effectively broadens bandwidth and increases antenna gain.
• Measurement results confirm the antenna's suitability for practical GPR applications requiring high-resolution subsurface imaging.