ICE-PENETRATING RADAR SYSTEM BASED ON VECTOR NETWORK ANALYZER TECHNOLOGY
Open Access
- Area of Honors:
- Electrical Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Sven G Bilen, Thesis Supervisor
- Sven G Bilen, Honors Advisor
- Sridhar Anandakrishnan, Faculty Reader
- Keywords:
- Electrical Engineering
- VNA
- Ice-Penetrating radar system
- Abstract:
- This thesis explores a vector network analyzer-based ice-penetrating radar to measure ice thickness in polar regions. The harsh operating environment requires the vector network analyzers to be low-cost and portable. In this project ,three vector network analyzers were tested. The first was the SDR-Kits VNA, which had its internal oscillator modified to reduce the system’s temperature sensitivity and improve measurement accuracy in 2012. Since then, new generations of portable vector network analyzers have been introduced on the market, and these vector network analyzers are of interest to determine if they can improve performance. This thesis compares the performance of the SDR-Kits VNA with two candidates, the Tektronix TTE506A VNA and the Keysight P5004A VNA. To determine the effectiveness of the new Tektronix and Keysight vector network analyzers, the performances of the SDR-Kits VNA, the TTR506A VNA, and the P5004A VNA are compared. Data for frequency stability, phase noise, and delay-line depth test were collected from all three vector network analyzers under varying thermal conditions. The tests show that a candidate network analyzer satisfies requirements for use in the ice penetrating radar system, and that its improved performance and compact size make it suitable as a replacement.