VEE DIPOLES WITH RESISTIVE LOADING FOR SHORT-PULSE GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR

The worldwide crisis due to land mines has given rise to a need for better detection technologies. One means of detecting buried land mines is the short-pulse ground-penetrating radar (GPR). A short-pulse GPR system requires broadband directive antennas. Resistively loaded Vee dipoles, with either constant or linearly tapered conductivity, offer a simple means of achieving such antennas. Vee dipoles have greater directivities than conventional linear dipoles, and the resistive loading can greatly reduce unwanted signals (clutter) due to reflections from the open ends of the dipole arms and multiple reflections between the antenna and the surface of the ground. This clutter can obscure real targets. In most cases, the Vee dipole with a linearly tapered conductivity offers the best performance. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.