Broad Band RF Module of Millimeter Wave Radar Network for Airport FOD Detection System

Naruto Yonemoto, Akiko Kohmura and Shunichi Futatsumori Airborne System Technology Department Electronic Navigation Research Institute (ENRI) Tokyo, JAPAN yonemoto@enri.go.jp kohmura@enri.go.jp Tetsuji Uebo Saika Technological Institute Foundation Wakayama, JAPAN AbstractForeign Objects and Debris (FODs) must be removed from runways. With the necessity of automatic continuous survey, we are investigating a new FOD detection system based on a millimeter wave radar network. This paper describes the concept of this FOD detection system and the Radio Frequency (RF) module for this application. In order to minimize cost and size, we installed a broadband FMCW radar using commercial Millimeter wave Monolithic ICs (MMICs) to improve range resolution, with a performance of a 5 GHz bandwidth at the 76 GHz band. We also present the results of practical tests and field tests at Sendai airport using 500 MHz FM deviation. The results indicated that it was sufficient to detect -20 dBsm FODs using low power MMW radar.
Keywords: Millimeter wave, radar network, FOD sensor

Alexandre Saillard Ecole Nationale lAviation Civile (ENAC) Toulouse, FRANCE

candidates to detect FODs. In particular, the low profile of the FOD shown in Figure 1 requires a high-resolution system. This paper proposes different operational systems or systems under development [2,3]. Millimeter wave radar is one of the best such candidates, because it can operate 24 hours a day. The different above-mentioned systems use millimeter wave radar because of an excellent size versus resolution trade-off due to, on one hand, the use of small wavelengths, and on the other hand their insensitivity to varying weather conditions. Nevertheless, not all the technological difficulties and problems are solved. FOD radar requires 1000 times higher sensitivity than an automotive radar. Reflection of electromagnetic waves from tiny plastic objects such as carbon reinforced plastic fiber made for recent airplanes is significantly lower than that from metallic objects. Moreover the reflection coefficient depends on the incident angle of the millimeter wave. But on the other hand, it also needs a fragile structure because it must not cause any damage to an aircraft in case of accidents.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Foreign objects and debris (FODs) may cause accidents or disasters. The crash of a Concorde jet in France that killed 113 people in 2000 is a recent example of the danger created by a thin metal strip that fell from another airplane [1]. Figure 1 shows the strip of metal that caused the Concorde accident. In order to find and remove all FODs, runways usually undergo periodic manual searches made using the human eye once or twice a day depending on the airports size. The necessity of a continuous survey system has been asserted since the Concorde accident. Many sensors have been

Figure 1. A remarkable FOD in case of the Concorde accident

On the other hand, the false alarm rate is still high for the application under study. This operation is costly for airports as it implies traffic must stop for a minute or more depending on

where the object is located. Therefore, it is of primary importance to determine if the FOD is hazardous or not before any intervention. There is also a problem with birds. They are found on runways and represent non-hazardous FOD that increase the false alarm rate. As a result, identifying the FOD should be added to the capabilities of the detection system. Some systems have begun to incorporate this feature by integrating an optical sensor in addition to the radar. To reach this aim, extensive research work must be done on the system, and especially on the radar. We are investigating a FOD detection system suitable for Japanese airports which dont have enough space to install one. This paper describes a new concept of FOD detection system using wide band FMCW radar network. a prototype of RF module is presented and results of practical tests are also discussed.

III.

PRACTICAL TEST

In order to evaluate the performance of commercial MMICs, we assembled an RF module as shown in Figure 3, and its block diagram is shown in Figure 3(b). It includes a K-band Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO). Two RF antenna ports are located in front side of the module. Three ports (tuning voltage port, intermediate frequency output, and prescalar monitor) are located at the side. The prescalar monitor port provides a 1/128 frequency of VCO output to connect to an external phase lock loop circuit. This RF module will connect to an optical-electrical modem to communicate with the controller in the future.

II.

AIRPORT FOD DETECTION SYTEM

Figure 2 portrays the concept of an airport FOD detection system. It consists of many RF front-end connected by a fiber optic network to a control center located at the air traffic control tower.
Control Center Radar #n(Cross Section) Radome Mirror Runway Pillar Lens Primary Source RF Module Optical Fiber Network Rotator Surface Underground Radar #1 Radar #2

(a) RF module
Vtune K-band VCO Multiplier (x6) Tx

Rx IF out Mixer
RF Module

LNA

(b) Block diagram Figure 2. Concept of FOD sensor network Figure 3. Small RF module

Radar consists of a RF module with primary source, a rotator, a dielectric lens, a mirror, a pillar, and a radome. All electrical circuits are underground in order to avoid catastrophic damage in case of an accident. The radome is specially designed to achieve low losses and fragility so as not to be harmful to aircraft [4]. The mirror and the pillar are also made of the plastic. The base band generator is located at the control center and provides a well-controlled FM signal to the RF front ends to avoid electromagnetic interference each other. The base band signal is transmitted via optical fiber as modulated light signal. Each optical-electrical demodulator located at in front of RF module produces the FM RF signal from the optical signal. Emitted waves are concentrated by the dielectric lens and directed to the rotating mirror. The mirror provides a 180 or 360 degree sweep. The reflected signal from the target is collected at the primary source and mixed in the RF module. An intermediate frequency signal is also transmitted to a signal analyzer in the control center via optical fiber.

We measured the operational frequency of the transmitting antenna by The transmission port emits 75-80GHz with 5dBm level by 0 to 4.2V of tuning voltage. It means we can expect to obtain good range resolution in the future. However, a simple triangular wave or saw tooth voltage performs only narrow linear frequency modulation because of the non-linearity of the VCO. Additionally, we didnt put any filters on the DC source lines in order to realize smaller package but having some appropriate filters is preferable in order to improve S/N ratio. We conducted a field test at Sendai airport in order to check the feasibility of the RF module and the effect of clutter on the runway. Figure 4 shows a radar circuit for conducting a field test. A circulator is inserted between a 22.7 dBi standard gain horn antenna and two RF ports of the module to achieve monostatic configuration. The modulation circuit is located behind the aluminum plate to generate a triangular wave. The band width of the transmitting wave is regulated to 500 MHz because of the specification for low power radio equipment in Japan. We choose 76.25-76.75GHz band to obtain better linearity of the FM signal. Figure 5 (a) shows a typical setup for the feasibility test using a trihedral corner reflector. Most runways in Japan feature many grooves on the surface to

increase friction between the runway and the tires of aircraft. We must identify the effect from them to distinguish the target clutter.

Figure 6. Spectrogram of IF output Figure 4. Monostatic packaging for field test.

On the contrary, a 94GHz narrow band FMCW radar for power line detection[5] is also used for performance comparison. In the same configuration, its S/N ratio still exceeded 40dB with a 75 m target. The sensitivity of the RF module got relatively worse as a result. Additionally, we confirmed the presence of disturbance from the grooves on the runway using both radars. IV. DISCUSSION

(a) Radar setup Figure 5. Field test setup

(b) Target

The person with the 28.0 dBsm corner reflector shown in Figure 5 (b) shows Target cofiguration. We observed the IF output changing the distance until the signal disappears. We couldnt distinguish the IF signal from the target using the standard gain horn antenna because of the low gain antenna and high noise floor in the low frequency band caused by internal coupling from transmission to reception, such as leakage of the circulator or the reflection from the antenna. To enhance radar coverage, we installed a 28.7dBi lens antenna. Figure 6 shows a typical measurement signal from the RF module. IF signals are relatively narrow over a short distance and spread wide over a long distance. Moreover, some harmonics (second and third) of peak frequency appeared due to distortion of IF signals. This distortion came from the low frequency signal produced by the above mentioned leakage. The maximun detection distance was 75 m in this field test. The IF signal level was sufficient, but its purity got worse because of the non-linearity of the transmitting wave and noise from prescaler harmonics. We must consider of the linearity of the mixer inside the RF module.

To improve the purity of the impressed voltage, we changed the DA converters as the signal source. Moreover, the above mentioned low frequency noise interfered with the IF output signals. Normally, the noise signal would be stable in the case of no reflection, such as pointed at the sky or directed to an electromagnetic absorber. To reduce such stational noise, we installed new signal processing to improve the S/N ratio caused by internal coupling. Figure 7. shows the concept of noise reduction using typical mesurement result. At first, we made a template of an IF signal without any reflection. The template was made when the radar was covered with an electromagnetic absorber. In this case, some signals including low frequencies were observed. After obtaining the template, we determined the difference between the IF signal and the template for the purpose of calibration. After the calibration, the First Fourier Transform (FFT) calculation was performed on the difference between the IF signal and the template. The difference included some frequency components from the received signal. We were able to extract a clear frequency in comparison to the direct FFT calculation of the IF signals. Figure 8 shows the IF spectrogram after data processing in the case of the same test conditions. The color map indicates relative levels. We executed the calibration at 480 seconds. IF noise observed at 0-2m range disappeared after the calibration.

Table 1. Specifications of specified low power radio equipment[6] Usable Frequency Band Allowable Emission Maximum Antenna Gain Spurious Level 500MHz between 76 and 77 GHz 10mW (acceptable +50% to -70%) 40dBi Below 100 micro Watt

To achieve a sensor network, the maximum range of radar is quite an important factor to determine the cell size and number. According to this specification, we can emit 6.7dB higher power, and 17.3dB higher gain antenna, than that we used. In theoretical calculation, the maximum range to detect a -20dBsm target is 49m. This is sufficient range in comparison to the width of a typical runway. We can conclude that a single side survey will be achieved using a millimeter wave radar under this regulation. As the result, we can expect to reduce the cost of radar systems using low power radio equipment. V.
Figure 7. Concept of signal processing

CONCLUSION

We introduced the concept of our FOD detection sensor network using W-band radar. A practical RF front end with VCO emits 5 dBm with a 5 GHz bandwidth. A practical test was conducted at Sendai airport. Our proposed signal processing using the difference between an IF signal and a template obtained, in ideal conditions, again 11 dB better than the S/N ratio. Finally, we can conclude that the performance of low power radio equipment will achieve sufficient sensitivity to detect -20 dBsm FODs on the runway. We will improve the RF module to minimize internal coupling by adding appropriate filters. In the same manner, we will develop a high efficiency dielectric lens antenna to comprise the sensor head. REFERENCES
[1] Accident on 25 July 2000 at La Patte dOie in Gonesse (95) to the Concorde registered F-BTSC, operated by Air France, BEA Report translation, f-sc000725a, January 2002. P. D. L Beasley, G Binns, R. D. Hodges, and R. J. Badley,Tarsier, a Millimeter Wave Radar for Airport Runway Debris Detection, Proceedings of EuRAD 2004, pp. 261-264, Amsterdam, 2004. P. Feil, W. Menzel, T. P. Nguyen, Ch. Pichot, C. Migliacctio,Foreign Object Debris Detection (FOD) on Airport Runways Using a Broadband 78GHz Sensor, Proceedings of EuRAD, Amsterdam, October 2008. N. Yonemoto and M. Matsuzaki, Painted stylene radome for millimeter wave radar, Proceedings of RADAR 2009, Pasadena, 2009. N. Yonemoto, K. Yamamoto, K. Yamada, H. Yasui, N. Tanaka, C. Migliaccio, J-Y, Dauvignac, Ch. Pichot, Performance of obstacle detection and collision warning system for civil helicopters, Proceedings of SPIE Defense and Security Symposium, Orlando, April 2006. Association of Radio Industries and Businesses, Millimeter-wave radar equipment for specified low power radio station, ARIB STD-T48

[2]

Figure 8. IF spectrogram after signal processing.

[3]

The maximum range was 72 m, even when we used a 22.7 dBi standard gain antenna. It meant we could gain an 11dB higher S/N ratio by the signal processing and a purer signal source. We also expected to improve the S/N ratio averaging or other techniques with this algorithm. According to above mentioned results, we estimated the maximum performance of the millimeter wave radar under the regulation of low power radio equipment. Table 1 shows the typical specifications of low power radio equipment for 77GHz millimeter wave radar in Japan.

[4] [5]

[6]