Ultra-Wideband Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Photonic Radar System for Three-Dimensional Terahertz Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging

Three-dimensional (3D) imaging remains an expensive and challenging task in the THz band. In this study, a frequency-modulated continuous-wave photonic radar system was presented in the 300-GHz band, instead of using electronic-based devices. The proposed system can obtain a 6-dB bandwidth of 120 GHz to achieve a range resolution of ∼1.1 mm. The frequency sweep linearity of a laser source was calibrated with respect to the imaging distance and range resolution, through which a maximum detectable distance of ∼800 mm was achieved with the collimated beam. To obtain the desired 3D information, the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technique was introduced to the proposed system to achieve 3D imaging, which was not bounded by the fixed focal distance of a focus lens. It can provide a spatial resolution of ∼1.5 mm within a 3D imaging range up to ∼300 mm. The potential and limitations of SAR imaging schemes are discussed based on the theoretical and experimental results.