A W-band multichannel receiver module for passive millimeter wave imaging

A W-band integrated multi-channel receiver for passive Millimeter-wave (PMMW) imaging application is developed. The construction and operating principle of multi-channel receiver module is described. For each channel, heterodyne receiver is realized in order to reach high stability, which is very important to PMMW system. High integration of the multi-channel receiver front end is achieved by using Millimeter-wave integrated circuits (MIMICs) and planar multi-chip module (MCM) design and process. A traveling-wave feed scheme is adopted to simplify distribution of the local-oscillation (LO) signal. The results show the noise figure of the receiver is less than 5.3dB at 4 GHz bandwidth and the difference of gain of each channel is less than 1dB. The receiver is used in a prototype PMMW imaging system and field tested. The PMMW image of typical scenario is acquired. This works provide a feasible solution schematic for integrated receiver in W-band PMMW imaging system. © 2009 Copyright SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering.