Ulrich Rohde

This talk will provide an introduction to the Special Session on Ultrawideband Theory, Technology, Applications, and Systems. The definitions of ultrawideband (UWB) and its underlying theory, some of its component technology, and selected systems, with a focus on the two UWB application areas (radar and communication systems), will be discussed. Over the last three decades, tens of non-military UWB radars have been designed and fielded for forestry, detecting underground utilities, automotive control, search and rescue, and humanitarian demining. However, in the past decade, UWB communication systems have come to the forefront.  The main reasons for using an UWB radar are its abilities to image objects due to its ultra-high resolution and to penetrate structures and detect shielded objects at lower radiofrequencies. Although the competing capabilities of resolution and penetration are desirable, UWB radar has technological and electromagnetic-compatibility (EMC) issues, which will be discussed. In UWB communication, voice and data transmissions with digital pulses permit very low-power and relatively low-cost signals to carry information at very high rates over short distances. However, this application also can have EMC concerns, because a large number of UWB communication devices can significantly raise the noise floor of systems with very sensitive receivers like radars, thereby reducing their performance (detection range). Since the antenna is a crucial component in both applications, broadband antennas and arrays will be discussed briefly. In particular, mathematical questions associated with the underlying electromagnetic theory and signal processing of UWB radar will be addressed: the fundamental notion of where an antenna radiates; what constitutes a reasonable representation of an UWB waveform; etc. Because the meaning of UWB varies significantly by community, notions of bandwidth and categorization schemes for signals and hardware will be treated first. Finally, issues associated with UWB radar and application areas will be summarized.

Biography:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Dr. h.c. mult. Ulrich L. Rohde is a Chairman of Synergy Microwave Corp., Paterson, New Jersey; President of Communications Consulting Corporation, serving as an honorary member of the Senate of the Department of Defense University Munich ,honorary member of the Senate of the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus–Senftenberg , Germany; past member of the Board of Directors of Ansoft Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and is a partner of Rohde & Schwarz, Munich, Germany. 

Email:

Address:Brandenburgische Technische Universitat, BTU Cottbus, Cottbus, Brandenburg, Germany, 03013

Ulrich Rohde

Biography:

Email:

Address:Cottbus, Brandenburg, Germany