Detecting power lines using 330GHz FMCW sensor

330 GHz sensor is developed for detecting power lines along the traffic of low altitude flying aircrafts. It is based on a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) mode of operation and includes the two high gain horn-lens antennas integrated with a homodyne transceiver. The FMCW signal at X-band is multiplied by a factor of 32 to generate the transmitted signal. An intermediate frequency (IF) signal obtained in the output port of the 2-nd harmonic mixer is employed for processing. Power line detection was done by data acquisition unit based on LabView interface and resulting in a range resolution about 5cm. Experiments carried out with real-world power lines have demonstrated an applicability of sub-mm wave range for improving flight safety conditions of such aircrafts.