Low Cost, High Performance, 16-Channel Microwave Measurement System for Tomographic Applications
<p>Schematic diagram of the complete system illustrating: (<b>a</b>) transmitting B210 board, (<b>b</b>) transmitting SP16T switch, (<b>c</b>) 16 switch/amplifier modules, (<b>d</b>) eight dedicated receive B210s, (<b>e</b>) switch module for the reference signal, and (<b>f</b>) 1-by-8 power dividers for the reference signal, respectively.</p> "> Figure 2
<p>Photographs of the B210 USRP circuit board (<b>a</b>) without and (<b>b</b>) with a commercial cover.</p> "> Figure 3
<p>Photograph of the B210 USRP circuit board mounted inside its custom shielded housing and associated cover, which exhibits a central ridge that isolates RF fields from the digital portion of the circuitry.</p> "> Figure 4
<p>Photograph of the switch/amplifier module illustrating compartmentalization of the single-pole/single-throw (SPST; left), single-pole/double-throw (SPDT; lower right), and low noise amplifier (LNA; upper right), and associated cover with raised surfaces.</p> "> Figure 5
<p>(<b>a</b>) Photograph of a test illumination chamber and (<b>b</b>) schematic diagram of the imaging field-of-view with 16 monopole antennas and the presence of a yellow test object.</p> "> Figure 6
<p>Photographs of the microwave electronic subsystem showing: (<b>a</b>) a complete system fully assembled external to the imaging system, (<b>b</b>) electronics with the grouping of eight shielded B210s (bottom) and switch/amplifier modules (top; USB hubs removed to expose componentry), respectively, and (<b>c</b>) a complete system integrated below the imaging tank and supported by the antenna array mounting plate.</p> "> Figure 7
<p>Photograph of the enclosed B210 with labels indicating probe measurement sites.</p> "> Figure 8
<p>Plots of the switch/amplifier insertion loss (or gain) for the transmission mode (between the Tx and Ant ports), and receive mode (between the Ant and Rx ports). Leakage between transmit and receive ports while operational in the receive mode is shown for the completely shielded housing and the compartmentalized housing without cover, respectively.</p> "> Figure 9
<p>SolidWorks 3D rendering of the switch amplifier housing with four measurement sites.</p> "> Figure 10
<p>Isolation levels measured at receivers for signal transmission from Channel 1 at 7 frequencies when remaining channels were activated in the receive mode and antenna ports were terminated with a 50 Ω matched load. Except for the 700 MHz case, all values are less than or equal to −135 dB.</p> "> Figure 11
<p>Plots of measurement data for antenna 1 transmission including cases with varying levels of added leakage signal: (<b>a</b>) raw magnitude, (<b>b</b>) calibrated magnitude, and (<b>c</b>) calibrated phases. The dashed black line represents the measured signal for the homogeneous bath whereas the solid black line indicates results when the object is present, respectively. Colored lines symbolize signals when the object is present but with progressively increasing leakage added.</p> "> Figure 12
<p>Reconstructed relative permittivity (<b>top</b>) and conductivity (<b>bottom</b>) at 1100 MHz for (<b>a</b>) no signal leakage, and (<b>b</b>–<b>e</b>) signal leakage of −130 dB, −120 dB, −110 dB, and −100 dB, respectively, of the square object depicted in <a href="#sensors-20-05436-f005" class="html-fig">Figure 5</a> for the 14.2 cm diameter field of view.</p> "> Figure 13
<p>Horizontal transects through the 1100 MHz (<b>a</b>) permittivity and (<b>b</b>) conductivity images shown in <a href="#sensors-20-05436-f012" class="html-fig">Figure 12</a>.</p> ">
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methods
2.1. Overall System Configuration
Ettus OctoClock | $2030 |
Ettus B210 (9) | $11,538 |
UMCC 1 × 16 Switch | $4620 |
Pulsar 1 × 8 Power Divider | $750 |
Miscellaneous cables, connectors, and wires | $1200 |
Shielded housings | $3500 |
Switch/amplifier circuit boards & components (16) | $1200 |
NI USB digital I/O boards (3) | $370 |
USB hubs (2) | $150 |
Total | $25,358 |
2.2. Isolation and Shielding
2.2.1. B210 USRP Housing Design
2.2.2. Switch/Amplifier Housing Design
2.2.3. Antenna Mutual Coupling
2.3. Packaging
2.4. Data Acquisition Sequencing and Time Considerations
2.5. Software and Performance Considerations
2.5.1. Transmit Channel Coherence
2.5.2. Tx/Rx Port Receive Function
2.5.3. Coherent Signal Acquisition Across Same-Board Ports
2.5.4. Set-up Time Minimization
2.5.5. System Calibration
3. Results
3.1. Isolation of Individual B210s
3.2. Performance of the Switch/Amplifier Module
3.3. System Isolation Specifications
3.4. Images Reconstructed from Measurement Data
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Location of Measurement Points | No Shielding (dBm) | Custom Shield (dBm) | Difference (dBm) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
900 MHz | 1300 MHz | 1700 MHz | 900 MHz | 1300 MHz | 1700 MHz | 900 MHz | 1300 MHz | 1700 MHz | |
Location 1 | −74 | −80 | −83 | −108 | −106 | −109 | −34 | −24 | −26 |
Location 2 | −66 | −70 | −77 | −99 | −98 | −107 | −33 | −28 | −30 |
Location 3 | −86 | −75 | −74 | −112 | −111 | −107 | −26 | −36 | −33 |
Location 4 | −84 | −80 | −73 | −106 | −112 | −109 | −22 | −32 | −36 |
Location 5 | −94 | −99 | −92 | −105 | −112 | −115 | −11 | −13 | −23 |
Location 6 | −94 | −109 | −94 | −94 | −102 | −112 | 0 | +7 | −18 |
Location 7 | −98 | −97 | −85 | −95 | −102 | −114 | +3 | −5 | −29 |
Location 8 | −100 | −92 | −78 | −101 | −106 | −114 | −1 | −14 | −36 |
Location of Measurement Points | No Shielding (dBm) | Custom Shield (dBm) | Difference (dBm) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
900 MHz | 1300 MHz | 1700 MHz | 900 MHz | 1300 MHz | 1700 MHz | 900 MHz | 1300 MHz | 1700 MHz | |
Location 1 | −81 | −89 | −90 | −108 | −112 | −109 | −27 | −23 | −19 |
Location 2 | −85 | −81 | −84 | −114 | −113 | −102 | −29 | −32 | −18 |
Location 3 | −82 | −78 | −80 | −96 | −99 | −102 | −14 | −21 | −22 |
Location 4 | −78 | −87 | −81 | −92 | −94 | −102 | −14 | −7 | −21 |
Location 5 | −100 | −89 | −94 | −106 | −111 | −112 | −6 | −22 | −18 |
Location 6 | −97 | −89 | −102 | −99 | −108 | −114 | −2 | −19 | −12 |
Location 7 | −92 | −90 | −102 | −92 | −102 | −114 | 0 | −12 | −12 |
Location 8 | −90 | −88 | −92 | −99 | −107 | −116 | −9 | −19 | −24 |
Location of Measurement Points in TX Mode | No Shielding (dBm) | Custom Shield (dBm) | Difference (dBm) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
900 MHz | 1300 MHz | 1700 MHz | 900 MHz | 1300 MHz | 1700 MHz | 900 MHz | 1300 MHz | 1700 MHz | |
Ant | −104 | −107 | −107 | −97 | −106 | −106 | +7 | +1 | +1 |
Tx | −101 | −99 | −99 | −91 | −99 | −87 | +10 | 0 | +12 |
Rx | −109 | −105 | −115 | −109 | −100 | −107 | 0 | +5 | +8 |
Location 4 | −95 | −90 | −92 | −97 | −95 | −103 | −2 | −5 | −11 |
Location of Measurement Points in TX Mode | No Shielding (dBm) | Custom Shield (dBm) | Difference (dBm) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
900 MHz | 1300 MHz | 1700 MHz | 900 MHz | 1300 MHz | 1700 MHz | 900 MHz | 1300 MHz | 1700 MHz | |
Ant | −91 | −87 | −96 | −115 | −116 | −112 | −24 | −29 | −16 |
Tx | −105 | −88 | −87 | −114 | −117 | −118 | −9 | −29 | −31 |
Rx | −83 | −82 | −84 | −102 | −102 | −107 | −19 | −20 | −23 |
Location 4 | −104 | −86 | −80 | −115 | −115 | −118 | −11 | −29 | −38 |
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Meaney, P.; Hartov, A.; Raynolds, T.; Davis, C.; Richter, S.; Schoenberger, F.; Geimer, S.; Paulsen, K. Low Cost, High Performance, 16-Channel Microwave Measurement System for Tomographic Applications. Sensors 2020, 20, 5436. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20185436
Meaney P, Hartov A, Raynolds T, Davis C, Richter S, Schoenberger F, Geimer S, Paulsen K. Low Cost, High Performance, 16-Channel Microwave Measurement System for Tomographic Applications. Sensors. 2020; 20(18):5436. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20185436
Chicago/Turabian StyleMeaney, Paul, Alexander Hartov, Timothy Raynolds, Cynthia Davis, Sebastian Richter, Florian Schoenberger, Shireen Geimer, and Keith Paulsen. 2020. "Low Cost, High Performance, 16-Channel Microwave Measurement System for Tomographic Applications" Sensors 20, no. 18: 5436. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20185436