A Picosecond Pulse Transmission and Reception System for Next Generation Wireless Sensing and Imaging Applications

This paper proposes and presents a complete ultrafast wireless system in support of transmission and reception of picosecond ultrashort pulses by estimating and incorporating antenna effects. The impact on pulse order, system fidelity factor, pulse distortion, stretch ratio, detailed ringing level, and figure of merit is studied on the receiver side with reference to wideband antipodal Vivaldi antenna. A comprehensive analysis is conducted in such a way that a Gaussian pulse is first generated and then transformed into its derivative for transmission. For both transmission and reception in this case study, a wideband antenna is considered to operate over a 2-to-20 GHz frequency range. An experimental demonstration is made, and a complete system model is derived while presenting the radiated pulse characteristics. This demonstration is set to open a new horizon in the field of future wireless sensing and imaging technologies and applications, specifically related to vital signs monitoring, UWB radars, breast tumor imaging and detections.