Holographic Subsurface Radar:
Technology and Application
Sergey I. Ivashov1, Vladimir V. Razevig1, Igor
A. Vasiliev1, Andrey V. Zhuravlev1
Timothy D. Bechtel2, Lorenzo Capineri3,
1Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Russia
2Franklin & Marshall College, PA, USA,
3the University of Florence, Italy
Received October 28, 2010
Abstract. Holographic
subsurface radars (HSR) are not in common usage now; possibly because of the
historical view amongst radar practitioners that high attenuation of electromagnetic
waves in most media of interest will not allow sufficient depth of penetration.
It is true that the fundamental physics of HSR prevent the possibility to
change receiver amplification with time (i.e. depth) to adapt to lossy media
(as is possible with impulse subsurface radar or ISR). However, use of HSR for
surveying of shallow subsurface objects, defects, or inhomogeneities is an
increasingly proven area of application. In this case, HSR can record images
with higher resolution than is possible for ISR images. The RASCAN family of
holographic radars is presented along with technical specifications and typical
case histories. Among the applications considered are civil and historic
building surveys, non-destructive testing of dielectric materials, security
applications, and humanitarian demining. Each application area is illustrated
by relevant data acquired in laboratory experiments or field tests. This paper
presents experiments with RASCAN imaging in media with different degrees of
attenuation, and illustrates the principle of HSR through an optical analogy.
Keywords: holographic
subsurface radar, humanitarian demining, impulse subsurface radar, lossy
medium, non-destructive testing, optical analogy, security applications.