This thesis presents solutions and studies related to the design of reconfigurable and wideband receiver circuits for system-on-chip (SoC) radiometer front-ends within the millimetre-wave (mm-wave) range. Whereas many of today’s mm-wave front-ends are bulky and costly due to having discrete RF components, single-chip receiver modules could potentially result in a wider use for emerging applications such as wireless communication, short range radar and passive imaging security sensors if realised with adequate performances and at a lower cost. Three main topics are considered in this thesis, monolithic integration of low-loss RF-MEMS (Dicke) switch networks and switched LNAs in MMIC/RFIC foundry processes, designs of SiGe wideband (IF) amplifier and broadband power detectors up to W-band (75-110 GHz). Low-loss and high isolation GaAs and SiGe RF-MEMS switch networks were designed and characterised for the 30-110 GHz range. A GaAs MEMS Dicke switch network has a measured minimum loss of 1 dB and maximum isolation of 19 dB at 70-96 GHz, respectively, making it a potential candidate in Dicke switched radiometer receivers. Furthermore, single-chip 30 GHz and W-band MEMS Dicke switched LNA designs have been realised for the first time in SiGe BiCMOS and GaAs mHEMT processes, respectively. For a targeted 94 GHz passive imaging application two different receiver topologies have been investigated based on direct-detection and direct-conversion (heterodyne) architectures. An optimised detector design fabricated in a 0.13 μm SiGe process achieves a more wideband input matching than earlier silicon W-band detectors and is competitive with reported III-V W-band detectors in terms of a higher responsivity and similar NEP. A SiGe 2-37 GHz high-gain differential (IF) amplifier design achieves a more wideband matching and an order of magnitude higher linearity than a recent single-ended SiGe LNA. The SiGe IF amplifier was integrated on-chip with a power detector in a 5-35 GHz IF section. Their broadband properties compared with other IF amplifier/detector RFICs, make them suitable for W-band down-conversion receivers with a larger pre-detection bandwidth and improved sensitivity. The experimental results successfully demonstrate the feasibility of the SiGe 5-35 GHz IF section for high performance SoC W-band radiometers using a more wideband heterodyne receiver architecture.

"This thesis presents a single-slice based fast stereotactic registration and tracking technique along with a corresponding modular system for guiding robotic mechanism or interventional instrument to perform needle-based interventions under live MRI guidance. The system can provide tracking of full 6 degree-of-freedom (DOF) in stereotactic interventional surgery based upon a single, rapidly acquired cross-sectional image. The whole system is constructed with a modular data transmission software framework and mechanical structure so that it supports remote supervision and manipulation between a 3D Matlab tracking user interface (UI) and an existing MRI robot controller by using the OpenIGTLink network communication protocol. It provides better closed-loop control by implementing a feedback output interface to the MRI-guided robot. A new compact fiducial frame design is presented, and the fiducial is wrapped with a passive resonant coil. The coil resonates at the Larmor frequency for 3T MRI to enhance signal strength and enable for rapid imaging. The fiducial can be attached near the distal end of the robot and coaxially with a needle so as to visualize target tissue and track the surgical tool synchronously. The MRI-compatible design of fiducial frame, robust tracking algorithm and modular interface allow this tracking system to be conveniently used on different robots or devices and in different size of MRI bores. Several iterations of the tracking fiducial and passive resonant coils were constructed and evaluated in a Phillips Achieva 3T MRI. To assess accuracy and robustness of the tracking algorithm, 25 groups of images with different poses were successively scanned along specific sequence in and MRI experiment. The translational RMS error along depth is 0.271mm with standard deviation of 0.277mm for totally 100 samples. The overall angular RMS error is less than 0.426 degree with standard deviation of 0.526 degree for totally 150 samples. The passive resonant coils were shown to significantly increase signal intensity in the fiducial relative to the surroundings and provide for rapid imaging with low flip angles. "

The design and implementation of mm-wave switches, variable attenuators, and a passive imaging system in 65-nm CMOS are presented. The design and analysis of shunt switches is presented with a demonstration circuit showing record performance for a single-pole single-throw switch with 1.6dB loss and 30dB isolation at 94GHz. Single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switches are shown, with 4dB insertion loss in the W-band (75-110GHz), and the only reported SPDT switch operating in the D-band (110-170GHz). A novel technique for implementing digitally controlled variable attenuation is presented, resulting in variable attenuation between 4 and 30dB in the W-band. Finally, a W-band radiometer is described integrating a record-high gain CMOS LNA, SPDT switch, and peak detector. This is the highest-frequency imaging system in CMOS with this level of integration, offering a responsivity over 90kV/W, and a noise-equivalent power less than 0.2pW/√Hz.

The design and implementation of mm-wave switches, variable attenuators, and a passive imaging system in 65-nm CMOS are presented. The design and analysis of shunt switches is presented with a demonstration circuit showing record performance for a single-pole single-throw switch with 1.6dB loss and 30dB isolation at 94GHz. Single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switches are shown, with 4dB insertion loss in the W-band (75-110GHz), and the only reported SPDT switch operating in the D-band (110-170GHz). A novel technique for implementing digitally controlled variable attenuation is presented, resulting in variable attenuation between 4 and 30dB in the W-band. Finally, a W-band radiometer is described integrating a record-high gain CMOS LNA, SPDT switch, and peak detector. This is the highest-frequency imaging system in CMOS with this level of integration, offering a responsivity over 90kV/W, and a noise-equivalent power less than 0.2pW/√Hz.

Sensor arrays play an instrumental role in a variety of applications, including radar, sonar, radio astronomy, and wireless communications. Employing an array of sensors permits direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation, interference suppression, and imaging of spatial distributions of sources or scatterers. Linear and planar array geometries can have sensors with uniform or non-uniform spacings. Non-uniform arrays require much fewer sensors to achieve comparable performance to uniform arrays in terms of the spatial resolution and the number of resolvable sources or scatterers. This dissertation proposes novel signal processing methods for narrowband passive (receive-only) sensing and imaging. The focus is on source estimation using linear and planar passive arrays with uniform and non-uniform geometries. Algorithm development for the non-uniform arrays is facilitated by a virtual array structure, called the difference coarray, which comprises pairwise differences of physical sensor positions. The difference coarray naturally arises from the passive sensing signal model. High-resolution DOA estimation techniques, such as the subspace-based methods, are computationally expensive, especially for arrays that span large apertures. Further, performance of such methods deteriorates for coherent sources. We propose efficient and effective Fourier-based iterative techniques for DOA estimation of coherent and uncorrelated sources using linear and planar arrays with both uniform and non-uniform geometries. The considered non-uniform arrays include those with uniform and non-uniform difference coarrays. The proposed DOA estimation techniques build on the iterative interpolated beamformer, which employs an estimate-and-subtract strategy to successively extract the sources and refines the estimates via an interpolation and spectral leakage subtraction scheme. We enable iterative beamforming in the coarray domain for linear and rectangular arrays, specifically compensating for non-uniformity of difference coarrays to yield asymptotically unbiased DOA estimates. We also design the iterative interpolated beamformer for oversampled and undersampled uniform circular arrays under the manifold separation framework, which permits the application of DOA estimation techniques that were developed for uniform linear arrays to arbitrary array geometries, such as circular arrays. The proposed iterative beamforming techniques not only estimate the source DOAs, but also provide source power/amplitude estimates. As such, these Fourier-based methods are applicable to narrowband passive imaging systems for providing an accurate estimate of the distribution of source intensity or amplitude as a function of angle. / Electrical and Computer Engineering

No description available.

La reconstruction passive des fonctions de Green par corrélation de bruit ambiant suscite aujourd’hui un grand intérêt en contrôle santé intégré (CSI). Dans ce manuscrit, nous proposons une méthode originale reposant sur l’application de cette approche pour détecter et localiser des défauts (fissures, trous, rainures) dans des plaques minces réverbérantes avec un faible nombre de capteurs. Les ondes de flexion qui se propagent sur la plaque sont engendrées soit par un ensemble de sources aléatoirement réparties sur la surface ou un bruit ambiant. Un réseau de capteurs sensibles au déplacement normal permet d’estimer la matrice de corrélations inter-éléments avant et après l’apparition d’un défaut. Un critère d’évaluation de la qualité des corrélations est proposé sous forme d’un niveau de bruit relatif entre les résidus de reconstruction et les fonctions de Green. La matrice différentielle de corrélations avant et après défaut est utilisée pour l’imagerie de défaut. En dépit de la reconstruction imparfaite des réponses impulsionnelles, la technique proposée s’avère comparable aux méthodes actives avec une excellente résolution. On a proposé ensuite une extension de la méthode passive par corrélation de champs pour l’identification des zones de bruit. Un filtrage basé sur la technique de décomposition en valeurs singulières (DORT) est tout particulièrement utilisé pour améliorer les images de localisation. Des sources acoustiques secondaires ont été développées pour la translation du bruit ambiant basses fréquences en composantes hautes fréquences, utilisées pour localiser des défauts dans des plaques. Enfin, on a montré que ce type de méthode pourrait être également utilisé pour caractériser un défaut dans une structure réverbérante, en particulier, il a été souligné que l’intensité des images de localisation obtenues est liée à la section de diffusion de celui-ci. / Green’s functions retrieval from ambient noise correlation has recently drawn a new interest in structural health monitoring. In this manuscript, we propose an original method based on this approach to detect and locate defects (cracks, holes, grooves) in a reverberant thin plate with a limited number of sensors. Flexural waves that propagate on the plate are generated by either a set of sources distributed randomly on the surface or an ambient noise. Covariance matrices are estimated from the sparse array after damage and compared to baseline-correlation matrix recorded from the healthy plate. An evaluation criterion has developed in the form of relative noise level to predict the quality of the GF reconstruction. The differential correlation matrix w/o defect is used to localize the defect. We have shown numerically and experimentally that this technique is exploitable for defect detection and localization, despite a non-perfect estimation of the GF. We have also proposed a passive technique to identify the regions of noise. A filtering technique based on the singular value decomposition is shown to improve the detection. A secondary acoustic sources have been developped to harvesting the LF ambient noise to HF field, used to localize defects in platelike structures. Finally, it was shown that such method could also be used to characterize a defect in a reverberant structure, in particular, it has been drawn that the obtained images intensity is related to the defect cross-section.

Le but de ce travail est de quantifier le potentiel et les capacités de la technologie térahertz à contrôler des colis afin de détecter les menaces telles que les armes et les explosifs, sans avoir besoin d'ouvrir le colis.Dans cette étude, nous présentons la spectroscopie térahertz résolue en temps et l'imagerie multi-spectrale pour la détection des explosifs. Deux types d’explosifs, ainsi que leurs mélanges binaires sont analysés. En raison de la complexité de l'extraction des informations face à tels échantillons, trois outils de chimiométrie sont utilisés: l’analyse en composantes principales (ACP), l'analyse des moindres carrés partiels (PLS) et l'analyse des moindres carrés partiels discriminante (PLS-DA). Les méthodes sont appliquées sur des données spectrales térahertz et sur des images spectrales pour : (i) décrire un ensemble de données inconnues et identifier des similitudes entre les échantillons par l'ACP ; (ii) créer des classes, ensuite classer les échantillons inconnus par PLS-DA ; (iii) créer un modèle capable de prédire les concentrations d’un explosif, à l'état pur ou dans des mélanges, par PLS.Dans la deuxième partie de ce travail, nous présentons l'imagerie par les ondes millimétriques pour la détection d'armes dans les colis. Trois techniques d'imagerie différentes sont étudiées : l'imagerie passive, l’imagerie active par des ondes continues (CW) et l’imagerie active par modulation de fréquence (FMCW). Les performances, les avantages et les limitations de chacune de ces techniques, pour l’inspection de colis, sont présentés. En outre, la technique de reconstruction tomographique est appliquée à chacune de ces trois techniques, pour visualiser en 3D et inspecter les colis en volume. Dans cet ordre, un algorithme de tomographie spécial est développé en prenant en considération la propagation gaussienne de l'onde. / The aim of this work is to demonstrate the potential and capabilities of terahertz technology for parcels screening and inspection to detect threats such as weapons and explosives, without the need to open the parcel.In this study, we first present terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and spectral imaging for explosives detection. Two types of explosives as well as their binary mixture is analyzed. Due to the complexity of extracting information when facing such mixtures of samples, three chemometric tools are used: principal component analysis (PCA), partial least square analysis (PLS) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The analyses are applied to terahertz spectral data and to spectral-images in order to: (i) describe a set of unknown data and identify similarities between samples by PCA; (ii) create a classification model and predict the belonging of unknown samples to each of the classes, by PLS-DA; (iii) create a model able to quantify and predict the explosive concentrations in a pure state or in mixtures, by PLS.The second part of this work focuses on millimeter wave imaging for weapon detection in parcels. Three different imaging techniques are studied: passive imaging, continuous wave (CW) active imaging and frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) active imaging. The performances, the advantages and the limitations of each of the three techniques, for parcel inspection, are exhibited. Moreover, computed tomography is applied to each of the three techniques to visualize data in 3D and inspect parcels in volume. Thus, a special tomography algorithm is developed by taking in consideration the Gaussian propagation of the wave.

Les travaux présentés dans cette thèse portent sur l’imagerie computationnelle active et passive en micro-ondes. L’utilisation d’une cavité chaotique comme composants compressif est étudiée tant théoriquement (modèle mathématique, résolution algorithmique du problème inverse) et expérimentalement. L’idée sous-jacente est de remplacer un réseau d’antennes par une unique cavité réverbérante dont un réseau d’ouvertures sur la face avant permet de coder l’information spatiale d’une scène dans la réponse temporelle de la cavité. La réverbération des ondes électromagnétique à l’intérieur de la cavité fournit les degrés de liberté nécessaires à la reconstruction d’une image de la scène. Ainsi il est possible de réaliser en temps réel une image haute-résolution d’une scène à partir d’une unique réponse impulsionnelle. Les applications concernent la sécurité ou l’imagerie à travers les murs. Dans ce travail, la conception et la caractérisation d’une cavité chaotique ouverte sont effectuées. L’utilisation de ce dispositif pour réaliser en actif des images de cibles de diverses formes est démontrée. Le nombre de degrés de liberté est ensuite amélioré en modifiant les conditions aux limites grâce à l’ajout lampes fluorescentes. L’interaction des ondes avec ces éléments plasma permet de créer de nouvelles configurations de la cavité, améliorant ainsi la résolution des images. L’imagerie compressive est ensuite appliquée à la détection et localisation passive du rayonnement thermique naturel de sources de bruit, à partir de la corrélation des signaux reçus sur deux voies. Enfin, une méthode novatrice d’imagerie interférométrique de cibles est présentée. Elle est basée sur la reconstruction de la réponse impulsionnelle entre deux antennes à partir du bruit thermique micro-ondes émis par un réseau de néons. Ces travaux constituent une avancée vers les systèmes d’imagerie futurs. / The broad topic of the presented Ph.D focuses on active and passive microwave computational imaging. The use of a chaotic cavity as a compressive component is studied both theoretically (mathematical model, algorithmic resolution of the inverse problem) and experimentally. The underlying idea is to replace an array of antennas with a single reverberant cavity with an array of openings on the front panel that encodes the spatial information of a scene in the temporal response of the cavity. The reverberation of electromagnetic waves inside the cavity provides the degrees of freedom necessary to reconstruct an image of the scene. Thus it is possible to create a high-resolution image of a scene in real time from a single impulse response. Applications include security or imaging through walls. In this work, the design and characterization of an open chaotic cavity is performed. Using this device, active computational imaging is demonstrated to produce images of targets of various shapes. The number of degrees of freedom is further improved by changing the boundary conditions with the addition of commercial fluorescent lamps. The interaction of the waves with these plasma elements allows new cavity configurations to be created, thus improving image resolution. Compressive imaging is next applied to the passive detection and localization of natural thermal radiation from noise sources, based on the correlation of signals received over two channels. Finally, an innovative method of interferometric target imaging is presented. It is based on the reconstruction of the impulse response between two antennas from the microwave thermal noise emitted by a network of neon lamps. This work constitutes a step towards for future imaging systems.