Chapter 2

System Analysis

2.1Introduction

Two of the fundamental questions in the design of impulse-based UWB systems, or

simply UWB systems as referred to in this book, are how much transmitting power
is needed and what resolution is required to distinguish different targets. For UWB
applications involving targets of multiple stratified media, another important question
likely to be raised is how the radiated electromagnetic (EM) wave or signal propa-
gates in the stratified media and what effect reflections have on received signals. In
this chapter, a system analysis is conducted to find answers for these problems for the
design of UWB systems. For illustration purposes, the analysis assumes a multi-layer
structure as a specific target to be sensed by a UWB system. The a nalysis results will
be used as reference specifications for the design of a UWB system to be described in
subsequent chapters including transmitter, receiver, and antenna.
Specifically, the purposes of the system analysis performed here are to make
rough estimations of the required power budget (i.e., required transmitting power)
and range resolution for UWB systems. This simple analysis avoids the need of
delving deeply into more complicated analysis and design of UWB systems which
require more accurate information for the targets and more sophisticated model-
ing of the transmission and reflection of EM waves in multi-layer structures. More
general and in-depth analysis of UWB systems can be found in the literature. The
power budget analysis is based on the method of factorization of total loss presented
in [1]. The resolution is determined predominantly by the radiating pulse duration,
and hence an estimation of the required minimum pulse duration is derived based on
the minimum thickness among the layers of a multi-layer structure.

2.2UWB System Operation

As mentioned in Chap.1, there are various applications for UWB systems and hence
there exist different operations for UWB systems. Herein, for illustration purposes, we
consider a specific application of sensing a target represented by a stratified structure
C. Nguyen, J. Han, Time-Domain Ultra-Wideband Radar, Sensor and Components, 7
SpringerBriefs in Electrical and Computer Engineering,
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-9578-9_2, Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
8 2 System Analysis

Fig. 2.1 UWB system and its operating principle in sensing the internal structure of a stratified-
medium target

containing an object. Figure2.1 shows a bistatic UWB system having separate trans-
mitting and receiving antennas and its operational principle for this specific target. The
UWB system is used to detect reflected signals from each interface between layers and
the object. The first upper interface in Fig.2.1 is formed between air and the first layer,
and the second interface is formed between the first layer and the upper surface of the
object, etc. The UWB system consists of a transmitter, a receiver, antennas, and a data
acquisition and processing unit, similar to other sensing systems.
In Fig.2.1, an EM pulse radiated from the transmitting antenna impinges on
the surface of the target. Part of the incident wave to the surface is reflected back
and captured by the receiving antenna. The remaining is transmitted into the first
layer. This kind of reflection and transmission occurs on every layer interfaces as
described in Fig.2.1, and some of the reflected waves from each interface are cap-
tured by the receiving antenna. The received signal from the receiving antenna can
be represented in the time domain as shown on the right-hand side of Fig.2.1. Using
this kind of received signals, we may identify the relative location of each interface
and, eventually, the internal structure of the target. Further signal processing such as
image processing can give more detection information for the layers and the object
embedded within the target.
 2.3UWB Signals 9

1 1

0.8
0.5

Normalized Amplitude
Voltage Amplitude (V)

0.6

0
0.4

-0.5
0.2

-1 0
-0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Time (ns) Frequency (GHz)

Fig. 2.2 Gaussian impulse with 200-ps pulse duration and its frequency spectrum

2.3UWB Signals

The selection of impulse-signal types for UWB systems is one of the fundamental
considerations in designing UWB systems, antennas, and circuits because the type
of an impulse determines the UWB signals spectrum characteristic. Many types of
impulse signals such as step pulse, Gaussian-like (or monopolar) impulse, Gauss-
ian-like single-cycle (or monocycle) pulse, Gaussian-like doublet pulse, and multi-
cycle pulse can be used for UWB systems. Among those, Gaussian-like impulse,
doublet pulse, and monocycle pulse are typically used in UWB systems. Particu-
larly, the monocycle pulse is preferred in most UWB systems because of its spectral
characteristics that facilitate easier wireless transmission than the impulse, wider
bandwidth than the multi-cycle pulse, and easier to realize than the doublet pulse.

2.3.1Gaussian Impulse

Figure2.2 shows the time-domain waveform of a Gaussian impulse that has a shape
of the Gaussian distribution, along with its frequency-domain waveform or spectral
response. The impulse is assumed to have 200-ps pulse duration (or pulse width).
The Gaussian impulse can be expressed as
 2 2
y (t ) = Ae a t (2.1)

where A is the maximum amplitude of the Gaussian impulse and a is the constant
that determines the slope of the Gaussian pulse. The spectral response containing
the spectral components of the Gaussian impulse is obtained by taking its Fourier
transform as
2
 A
Y ( ) = e 4a
2
(2.2)
a 2
 10 2 System Analysis

1 1

0.8
0.5

Normalized Amplitude
Voltage Amplitude (V)

0.6

0.4

-0.5
0.2

-1
0
-0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Time (ns) Frequency (GHz)

Fig. 2.3 Gaussian monocycle pulse with 200-ps pulse duration and its frequency spectrum

The frequency corresponding to the peak value of the impulse in the frequency
domain is fo=0. The 3-dB bandwidth of the Gaussian impulse can be derived by
letting the amplitude of the impulse at the 3-dB band-edge equal to the 1 2 of the
maximum value at f=0 as

a 2
f = 0.8326 (2.3)
2

2.3.2Gaussian Monocycle Pulse

Gaussian monocycle pulse is the first derivative of the Gaussian impulse signal.
Figure2.3 shows a Gaussian monocycle pulse having the same 200-ps pulse du-
ration as the Gaussian impulse shown in Fig.2.2 and its spectrum. The Gaussian
monocycle pulse is described by
 2 2
y (t ) = a 2 Ate a t (2.4)

The spectral response of the Gaussian monocycle pulse is given as

 i A
2
Y ( ) = e 4 a2 (2.5)
a 2

The frequency corresponding with the peak value of the Gaussian monocycle pulse
in the spectrum is obtained as

a 2
fo = (2.6)
2

and the 3-dB bandwidth can be derived as

2.3UWB Signals 11

Fig. 2.4 Gaussian monocycle

pulses with different pulse
durations

 a 2 1.155
f = 1.155 = 1.155 f o = (2.7)
2 Tp

where Tp=1/fo is the pulse duration , which shows that the 3-dB bandwidth of the
Gaussian monocycle pulse is approximately equal to 115% of the pulses center fre-
quency fo. Figs.2.4 and 2.5 show the waveforms and spectrums of various Gaussian
monocycle pulses having different pulse durations.

2.3.3Gaussian Doublet Pulse

Figure 2.6 shows a Gaussian doublet pulse having 200-ps pulse duration and its
spectrum. The Gaussian doublet pulse is the second derivative of the Gaussian
impulse signal and hence can be expressed as
 2 2
y (t ) = 2a 2 A a t (1 2a 2 t 2 ) (2.8)

The spectral response of the Gaussian doublet pulse is

 2
A 2
Y ( ) = e 4 a2
(2.9)
a 2

The frequency at which the peak value of the Gaussian doublet pulse occurs in the
spectrum is
 12 2 System Analysis

Fig. 2.5 Spectrum of Gauss-

ian monocycle pulses with
different pulse durations

1 1

0.8
0.5
Voltage Amplitude (V)

Normalized Amplitude

0.6
0

0.4

-0.5
0.2

-1 0
-0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Time (ns) Frequency (GHz)

Fig. 2.6 Gaussian doublet pulse with 200-ps pulse duration and its frequency spectrum

a
(2.10)
fo =

This frequency is higher than that given in (2.6) for the Gaussian monocycle pulse.
The 3-dB bandwidth can be derived as
 a 2 f
f = 1.155 = 1.155 o (2.11)
2 2

Compared to the bandwidth of the Gaussian monocycle pulse given in (2.7), the
absolute bandwidth of the Gaussian doublet pulse is same, yet the fractional bandwidth
2.3UWB Signals 13

is larger assuming the same pulse duration. This result is due to the s econd-derivative
performed upon the Gaussian impulse. Additional derivatives taken on the Gaussian
impulse would produce other pulses having the same pulse duration but with
progressively increasing fractional bandwidth and frequency corresponding to the
peak pulse-magnitude. This phenomenon further implies that UWB signals generated
using higher derivatives of the Gaussian impulse may be a ttractive for high-frequency
UWB systems since they have higher frequencies and larger f ractional bandwidth for
the same pulse duration, which may be useful for some applications. It is noted that
using a Gaussian monocycle pulse, which is the first derivative of a Gaussian impulse,
at high frequencies requires a very narrow pulse duration which may be difficult to
realize with sufficient amplitude in practice.
As can be seen from the pulse waveforms, the Gaussian impulse has no zero
crossing point, while the Gaussian monocycle pulse and Gaussian doublet pulse
have one and two zero crossings, respectively, which help define the bandwidth
characteristics of these pulses. It is also observed that the spectral responses of
these pulses contain no side-lobes beyond the zero-crossing frequency points which
are desirable for signal transmission. For pulses whose spectral responses have
side-lobes, such as a rectangular or sinusoidal pulse, these side-lobes are always
outside the pass-band, which at most extends across the zero-crossing frequency
ends, and hence produce unwanted radiation, leading to possible false-target
detection and/or interference to other existing systems, especially when they have
sufficiently high energy.
It is particularly noted that, as the peak spectral amplitude of the Gaussian impulse
occurs at DC and as seen in Fig.2.2, the bulk of its energy is contained at DC and low
frequencies near DC. The monocycle and doublet pulse signals, on the other hand,
contain no DC component and have much lower low-frequency energy. In general,
the monocycle and doublet pulses have similar energy distributions in the low- and
high-frequency regions around the center frequency. It is the difference in the s pectral
shapes of these signals at DC and low frequencies that greatly a ffects the transmis-
sion of signals via antennas and the propagation of s ignals though components, and
ultimately the design of UWB antennas, components and systems. Impulses are not
transmitted and received effectively through practical antennas due to their large
portion of low-frequency spectral components which cannot be transmitted (or is
transmitted with very low efficiency) by practical a ntennas. Monocycle and doublet
pulses, on the other hand, can be transmitted more efficiently due to no DC compo-
nent and less low-frequency content. Furthermore, using monocycle or doublet pulse
facilitates the design of components including antenna in UWB systems due to no
design consideration at DC and less design emphasis at low frequencies, leading to
simpler and more compact design. It is further noted that signal fidelity is of utmost
important for UWB systems which require signals to be transmitted and received
with minimum distortion. With no DC component and less low-frequency spectral
amplitudes contained in monocycle pulses, antennas and other system components
can be more conveniently designed to cover desired bandwidth, hence minimizing
the distortion of signals traveling through these components and, consequently,
producing better fidelity for transmitting and receiving signals.
14 2 System Analysis

Fig. 2.7 Simplified diagram

of incident and reflected sig-
nals on a two-layer object
dy Zy
 

>

>

UWB systems always transmit a train of pulses (typically periodically) instead of

a single pulse. Consequently, according to Fourier analysis, the spectrums of UWB
pulse signals are not continuous and contain discrete spectral lines (corresponding to
discrete frequencies) spaced apart by 1/T, where T is the period of the UWB signals.
Fourier analysis also shows that a UWB signal consisting of a train of p ulses is not
substantially distorted by passive components including antennas having a band-
width approximately equal to the reciprocal of the pulse width, because of most of
the energy is contained within such bandwidth. According to the P arsevals theo-
rem, the average power in a periodic pulse train is equal to the sum of the powers in
its spectral components including DC and harmonics. Therefore, transmission of a
UWB signal consisting of periodic high-voltage pulses would be similar to simul-
taneous transmission of strong CW signals at different frequencies. The results of
the Parsevals theorem also suggest an alternate way of generating a UWB signal
of periodic pulses by combining various CW signals having appropriate amplitudes
and frequencies.

2.4Power Budget Analysis

The power budget analysis involves estimating the minimum required transmitter
output power to produce detectable reflected signals from a target. To illustrate this
analysis, we consider a target consisting of two dielectric layers as shown in Fig.2.7
together with the incident and reflected signals transmitted and received by the
transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) antennas of a system, respectively. For simplic-
ity without loss of generality, we only consider the signal reflected from the second
interface. That is, we are only interested in determining the power budget involved
with the first layer and neglect the signals entering and reflected from the second
layer 2. The analysis can be easily extended for multiple layers.
In Fig.2.7, the signals transmitted and received by the transmitter and receiver,
respectively, is represented by a power flow diagram that consists of the following
2.4Power Budget Analysis 15

powers: Pt (transmitters output power), Prad (radiating power from the transmit-
ting antenna), P1 (incident power from air to interface 1 or air/layer 1 interface), P2
(transmitting power from interface 1 into layer 1), P3 (incident power from layer
1 to interface 2 or layer 1/layer 2 interface), P4 (reflected power at interface 2), P5
(incident power from layer 2 to interface 1), P6 (transmitting power from interface
1 to air), P7 (incident power from air into the receiving antenna), and Prec (received
power from the receiving antenna).
The received power Prec in dBm can be expressed as

Prec (dBm) = Pt + Lt (2.12)

where Lt is the total loss defined as

 Prec
Lt (2.13)
Pt

The receiver sensitivity, Si, in dB can be represented, using the required minimum
transmitters output power, Pt, min, as

Si (dB) = Pt , min + Lt (2.14)

which shows that the required minimum transmitter output power can be determined
from the total loss and the receiver sensitivity determined by the receiver perfor-
mance. For a given receiver, the main problem to determine Pt, min is the c alculation of
the total loss. The total loss can be expressed using the powers defined in Fig.2.7 as
 Prec P7 P6 P5 P4 P3 P2 P1 Prad
Lt = (2.15)
P7 P6 P5 P4 P3 P2 P1 Prad Pt

The power ratios in (2.15) can be grouped into several loss factors according to
the cause of the loss [1]. We specify these loss factors as the antenna loss (Lant),
spreading loss (Ls), material attenuation loss (La), transmission coupling loss (Lt1),
retransmission coupling loss (Lt2), and target scattering loss (Lsc). These loss factors
are described as
 P P
Lant = rec rad (2.16)
P7 Pt

P1 P3 P5 P7
 Ls La = (2.17)
Prad P2 P4 P6

P2
 Lt1 = (2.18)
P1

 P6
Lt 2 = (2.19)
P5
16 2 System Analysis

 P4
Lsc = (2.20)
P3

It is noted that the antenna loss (Lant) represents the total loss incurred by both trans-
mitting and receiving antennas. The loss of each antenna can be divided further into
the antenna efficiency (Le) and the antenna mismatch loss (Lm). For instance, the
antenna loss due to the transmitting antenna can be represented as
 Prad Prad Pa
= = Le Lm (2.21)
Pt Pa Pt

where Pa is the actual power entering the antenna. Using these definitions for loss
factors, the total loss, Lt, in dB can be represented in terms of loss factors as

Lt (dB ) = 2 Le + 2 Lm + Ls + La + Lt1 + Lt 2 + Lsc (2.22)

In order to calculate the total loss, a detailed model for each loss factor is needed.
The antenna efficiency (Le) and mismatch loss (Lm) can be assumed simply as -1
dB which is reasonable for well-designed antennas. The other loss factors are elabo-
rated as follows.
Spreading Loss (Ls) Spreading loss occurs due to reduction of the power density
of a wave with distance as it propagates. The following well-known radar equation
represents the spreading loss in a general form for bistatic systems:
 Pra A A
= et er (2.23)
Pta 4 R 4 2

where Pra is the power received at the receiving antenna, Pta is the power radiated
from the transmitting antenna, Aet and Aer represent the effective apertures of the
transmitting and receiving antennas, respectively, is the RCS (Radar Cross Sec-
tion) of the target, R is the range from the system to the target, and is the operating
wave length. The RCS is not considered in the spreading loss here; it will be dealt
with in the target scattering loss later. After factoring out the RCS term, (2.23) can
be simplified as
Gt Aer
(2.24) Ls =
(4 R 2 ) 2

where Gt is the transmitting antenna gain. Equation (2.24) indicates that the spread-
ing loss is a function of the inversed 4th power of the range. This relationship with
the range is reasonable only for a point reflector type target. However, in the case of
a planar reflector type such as ground interface, the spreading loss expression needs
to be modified and can be approximated as
 P7 Gt Aer G2 2
Ls = = (2.25)
Prad La = 0 dB
(4 ) R
3/ 2 2
(4 )5/ 2 R 2
2.4Power Budget Analysis 17

(L ( U (U  (U  (Uc 
mGG
* 7 7 7 W
OsGWP

7 * 7

sGX X
* *

sGY
7 * Y

sGZ

Fig. 2.8 Main reflections and transmissions in multi-layer structure

where G is the antenna gain assuming identical transmitting and receiving antennas.
Ls is expressed in terms of the powers P7 and Prad defined in Fig.2.7. In (2.25), no
material attenuation effect is involved and the wavelength is not a single value due
to wave propagation in different media such as those depicted in Fig.2.7.
Material Attenuation Loss (La)EM waves propagating in a (practical) lossy
medium experiences loss or attenuation of its power. The attenuation constant of a
lossy material can be found in the expression for the complex propagation constant
of lossy materials as
 ''
= + j = j ' 1 j (2.26)
'

where is the phase constant, and are the real and imaginary parts of the ma-
terials complex dielectric constant, is the permeability of the material, and is
the radian frequency. The attenuation constant of a material can be approximately
obtained by an expansion of (2.26) as


= ( 1 + tan 2 1) (2.27)
2

where tan '' / ' is the loss tangent of the material. The total attenuation or loss in
dB for waves propagating a distance R in a material is then expressed as


La (dB) = 8.686 R ( 1 + tan 2 1) (2.28)
2

Transmission Coupling Loss (Lt1), Retransmission Coupling Loss (Lt2), and

Target Scattering Loss (Lsc) Transmission coupling loss (Lt1), retransmission cou-
pling loss (Lt2), and target scattering loss (Lsc) are related to the reflection and trans-
mission of EM waves at the interface of different media. Figure2.8 shows a target
18 2 System Analysis

consisting of multiple layers of materials and a simplified reflection-transmission

diagram illustrating multiple reflections and transmissions of electric fields (and
hence waves) occurred in the layers.
In Fig.2.8, for simple analysis, it is assumed that the radiated electric field from
the transmit antenna impinges perpendicularly on the surface of the multi-layer
structure. The reflections and transmissions for oblique incidence of waves with
parallel or perpendicular polarization can be easily extended. In Fig.2.8, Ei repre-
sents the incident electric field intensity onto the first interface; Erk, where k is an
integer, represents the returned electric field intensity caused by the (first) single
reflection at the kth interface; Erk represents the returned electric field intensity
caused by the (subsequent) double reflections at the kth interface, which is different
from the reflection described by Erk; Tmn represents the transmission coefficient for
the transmitted signal from the nth layer to mth layer; mn represents the reflection
coefficient for the incident signal from the nth layer to mth layer. It is noted that the
reflection-transmission diagram depicted in Fig.2.8 is simplified to include only
the main reflection-transmission pairs that significantly contribute to producing a
detectable returned signal; it does not include all possible reflection and transmis-
sion pairs that would occur in multi-layer structures.
Using the reflection-transmission diagram in Fig.2.3, we can obtain the ex-
pressions for the returned electric field intensities with respect to the incident field
intensity, Ei, as
 Er 1
= 10 (2.29)
Ei

Er 2
 = T10 21 T01 (2.30)
Ei

Er 3
 = T10 T21 32 T12 T01 (2.31)
Ei

Er2
 = T10 21 01 21 T01 = T10 21
2
01 T01 (2.32)
Ei

It is noted that, the returned electric field intensity including double reflections at
the 2nd interface, Er2, expressed in (2.32), is much smaller than others described in
(2.29)(2.31) because, in most sensing applications, the magnitude of the reflection
coefficient is much smaller than that of the transmission coefficient and E. (2.32)
includes three times more of reflections than others. Consequently, the resulting
magnitude of (2.32) is much smaller than others and hence can be ignored. Equa-
tions (2.29)(2.31) involving a single reflection can be written in general as
 Ern n 1
= n , n 1 ( Tm , m 1 Tm 1, m ) (2.33)
Ei m =1
2.4Power Budget Analysis 19

The reflection and the transmission coefficients in (2.33) can be calculated for nor-
mal incident waves as
 n n 1
n , n 1 = (2.34)
n + n 1

2n
 Tn , n 1 = (2.35)
n + n 1

where n = / n is the intrinsic impedance of the nth layer with and n being
the permeability and permittivity of the nth layer, respectively. The intrinsic im-
pedance of lossy materials is complex; therefore, the reflection and transmission
coefficients for lossy materials are also complex as well. To simplify the analysis,
however, we assume low-loss materials and hence the intrinsic impedances can be
assumed to be real.
The loss factors related to the reflection and transmission of signals are divided
into two groups: one is Lsc relating to the reflection, and the other is Lt1 and Lt2
relating to the transmission. Since the reflected power from a target is related to the
targets RCS as well as the reflection coefficient, the target scattering loss Lsc can
be defined as [1]
 Pref 2
Lsc = = (2.36)
Pinc

or, in dB,
 Lsc (dB ) = 20 log + 10 log (2.37)

where Pref is the reflected power , Pinc is the incident power, and is the RCS of the
target. Since the RCS value of a dielectric half-space such as the ground is known
as 1, it can be ignored in our analysis. The target scattering loss can therefore be
approximated as a simple multiplication of all the reflection coefficients occurred
at the interfaces on the signal propagation path. The transmission and retransmis-
sion coupling loss, Lt1 and Lt2, are in general the multiplication of the transmission
coefficients on two different propagation paths, one in a downward direction and
the other in an upward direction, respectively. As a result, Eq.(2.33) turns out to
be the total loss that includes all the loss factors related to the signal reflection and
transmission effects on a single returned signal, Ern. This new total loss factor is
defined as the transmission loss Lu:
 Ern
Lu (dB ) = Lsc + Lt1 + Lt 2 = 20 log (2.38)
Ei

Required Minimum Transmitting Power

Calculations of the loss factors, according to the derived equations, require
values of the physical and electrical parameters characterizing interested targets.
20 2 System Analysis

Table 2.1 Parameters of a typical pavement structure

Layer Thickness range (inch) Typical thickness (inch)
Asphalt 210 6
Base 414 10
Sub-base N/A 8

Table 2.2 Electrical properties of a pavement structure. r= r and r are the real and imaginary
parts of the relative dielectric constant; is the attenuation constant calculated from (2.27); and
120 / r is the intrinsic impedance
Layer r r (Np/m) at 2GHz ()
Asphalt 57 0.030.05 0.220.47 142168
Base 812 0.30.8 1.85.9 108133
Sub-base 20 N/A N/A 84

As an example, we list in Table2.1 the physical parameters of a typical pavement

structure consisting of (top) asphalt, base, and (bottom) sub-base with normal
physical dimensions. Table 2.2 summarizes the electrical parameters or properties
of each layer of the pavement structure.
The required minimum transmitting output power for the considered payment
structure can now be calculated based on the parameters in Table2.1 and 2.2. The
transmitting output power should be sufficient to detect the most distant object
which is the 3rd interface between the base and sub-base layers of the pavement
structure in this example. Therefore, the calculation of the required output power
should be based on the returned signal from the 3rd interface. Let us assume that
the interested frequency is 2GHz which is the center frequency of a transmitting
monocycle pulse with 400-ps duration. The thickness of the asphalt and base lay-
ers, depicted as d1 and d2 in Fig.2.8, is assumed as 6 and 10in., respectively. The
distance between the end of the antenna aperture and the top of the asphalt layer,
depicted as d0 in Fig.2.8, is assumed to be 10in.
First, the spreading loss Ls is calculated using (2.25). The same antenna is used
for the transmitting and receiving antennas, and the antenna gain G is assumed to be
10dB which is reasonable for well-designed antennas such as the microstrip quasi-
horn antenna to be described in Chap.5. The range R is 50in., which is the sum of
d0, d1 and d2. The calculated Ls is 22.6dB.
Second, the total material loss La is determined as the sum of the losses in all
layers calculated using (2.28). Let La1 and La2 be the loss per unit length in dB/m
for the asphalt (layer 1) and base (layer 2), respectively. These losses can be ob-
tained as 8.686, where is the attenuation constant of the individual layer in
Neper/m. Calculation results using the maximum values for provided in Table2.2
give La1=4.08dB/m and La2=51.2dB/m. The traveling distance in each layer is
twice of its thickness (2d1=0.5m and 2d2=0.7m). Therefore, the total material loss
in dB is La= 2La1d1+2La2d2=37.9dB.
Third, the transmission loss Lu defined as (2.38) is calculated. As mentioned
earlier, we are interested in the detection of the farthest object which is the 3rd
2.5Range Resolution Analysis 21

interface, which necessitates the calculation of Lu=20log|Er3/Ei| using (2.31). The

reflection and the transmission coefficients included in (2.31) can be calculated
using (2.34) and (2.35), respectively. The intrinsic impedances for the layers are
obtained as 0=377, 1=150, 2=120, and 3=84 based on the electrical
properties of these layers listed in Table2.2. The transmission loss can now be
calculated as Lu=17dB.
Finally, using the calculated loss factors, the total loss can be obtained as Lt=2
(Le+Lm)+Ls+La+Lu=82 dB, where the antenna efficiency Le and antenna mis-
match loss Lm are assumed as 1dB.
To obtain the required minimum transmitter output power according to (2.14),
we need to know the receiver sensitivity Si besides the total loss. Assume 8-dB
tangential sensitivity for the receiver, which is generally used for measurement sys-
tems [2], we can express the receiver sensitivity in dB as

Si (dB ) = kTBF + SNRo = kTBF + 8 (2.39)

where k=1.381023JK1 is the Boltzmanns constant, T is the absolute tempera-

ture in Kelvin degree (K), B is the receivers bandwidth, F is the receivers noise
figure, and SNRo is the required output SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio), which is 8dB
for the 8-dB tangential sensitivity. The calculation result for the receiver sensitivity
using T=298 KK (room temperature), B=5 GHz and F=3 dB is Si=66 dB.
Using (2.14) and the calculation result for the total loss and sensitivity, the required
minimum transmitter power is obtained as Pt, min=16dBm. Note that this is the
average power for the CW signal, which is at 2GHz as considered here. For a UWB
signal such as the monocycle pulse, we are interested in the pulse peak power or
peak-to-peak voltage value (Vpp). The conversion result from the average power
to the peak-to-peak voltage value is 4Vpp for 50- load, which is the required
minimum voltage of the transmitter output pulse and is equivalent to 80mW of the
peak power.

2.5Range Resolution Analysis

The minimum range resolution for UWB systems is required only for the detec-
tion of the thinnest layer in a multi-layer target. In our considered example of the
pavement structure, the thinnest layer is the asphalt layer. Let us assume that the
minimum thickness of the asphalt we need to discern from the base layer is 1in.
Therefore, the objective of the resolution analysis is finding the minimum re-
quired pulse duration to achieve the required range resolution of 1in. We can find
the minimum required pulse duration Tp from the simple equation of Tp=dm/vp,
where dm is the minimum thickness of the asphalt layer and vp is the phase velocity
of the propagating wave at a certain frequency. For low-loss materials, v p /
for plane waves, where the phase constant may be approximated for low-loss
materials as
22 2 System Analysis

{
mG {

kG
{

zG

Fig. 2.9 Two detected signals with minimum discernable time interval

 1
1 + tan 2 (2.40)
8

where = o r with o being the permittivity of air. The phase velocity vp can then
be approximated for low-loss non-magnetic materials as
 1 1 c
P = = (2.41)
o o r r

where c=3108m/s. The phase velocity in the asphalt layer, whose relative di-
electric constant is given in Table2.2, is calculated from (2.41) as 4.46109 to
5.28109in./sec. The minimum required pulse duration for the transmitting pulse
is then determined as Tp 200ps. This short pulse duration, however, does not take
into account the actual waveform shape in the detection stage. If the actual received
waveform from the receiving antenna is considered, then the minimum pulse
duration needed for the required range resolution is not the same as the t ransmitting
pulse duration.
As we will use the microstrip quasi-horn antennas described in Chap.5 for the
UWB system presented in this book, lets assume TEM horn antenna is used for the
transmitting and the receiving antennas in this analysis. For this type of antenna, the
radiating signal is the first derivative of the input signal [35]. Therefore, for an input
signal of monocycle pulse, the received waveform through the receiving antenna is
approximately similar to the Sinc-function as seen in Fig.2.9. Figure2.9 shows two
reflected signals from two different layer interfaces separated by a distance equal
to the minimum range resolution, which are detected in sequence, generated from a
monocycle pulse transmitted by a TEM horn antenna. The first and second reflected
signals are from the first and second interfaces, respectively. The pulse duration Tt
is assumed to be the same as that of the transmitting pulse, ignoring typically small
pulse-stretching effect of a well-designed TEM horn antenna and other pulse effects
due to the reflection coefficients at the interfaces. As shown in the waveforms of the
References 23

detected signals in Fig.2.9, a minimum time interval Ta is required to completely

discern the two detected signals without any overlap in the pulse main-lobes. In
order to achieve that, Ta should be equal to the minimum required pulse duration,
Tp. However, as shown in Fig 2.9, Ta is about a half of the transmitting pulse dura-
tion Tt,. Therefore, the transmitting pulse duration Tt needed for achieving a range
resolution of 1in. is about twice the time of Tp, which is about 400-ps.

2.6Summary

This chapter covers the theory and analysis of UWB systems, particularly the sys-
tem operating principle, power budget and range resolution. Various UWB pulse
signals commonly used for UWB systems, including Gaussian-like impulse, doublet
pulse, and monocycle pulse, are addressed. Detailed calculations for the minimum
requited transmitting power and minimum required pulse duration for a specific
range resolution are also presented using a typical multi-layer pavement structure.

References

1. Daniels, D.J.: Surface Penetrating Radar. IEE Press, London (1996)

2. Fontana, R.J., Richley, E.A., Beard, L.C., Barney, J.: A programmable ultra wideband signal
generator for electromagnetic susceptibility testing. In 2003 IEEE Conference on Ultra Wide-
band Systems and Technologies, pp.2125 (2003)
3. Taylor, J.D.: Introduction to Ultra-Wideband Radar Systems. CRC Press: Boca Raton (1995)
4. Theodorou, E.A., Gorman, M.R., Rigg, P.R., Kong, F.N.: Broadband pulse-optimised antenna.
IEE Proceedings, vol.128, pt.H, no.3, pp.124130 (June 1981)
5. Miao, M., Nguyen, C.: On the development of an integrated CMOS-based UWB tunable
pulse transmit module. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Technique, vol.MTT-54,
No.10, pp.36813687 (October 2006)
http://www.springer.com/978-1-4614-9577-2