Simultaneous Imaging and Precision Alignment of Two mm Wave Antennas Based on Polarization-Selective Machine-Vision

Published

November 1, 2012

Author(s)

Joshua A. Gordon, David R. Novotny

Abstract

In this paper, we present an optical imaging tool, the Overlay Imaging Aligner (OIA), developed to aid in the mechanical alignment of antenna components in the mm-wave and low-THz frequency regimes (50–500 GHz) where the millimeter and sub millimeter wavelengths pose significant alignment challenges. The OIA uses a polarization-selective machine-vision approach to generate two simultaneous and overlaid real-time digital images along a common axis; this allows for aligning two antenna components to within fractions of a wavelength in the mm-wave and THz frequency regimes. The overall concept, optical design, function, performance characteristics and application examples are presented. A quantitative assessment of the alignment accuracy achievable with the OIA at specific frequencies in the WR-2.2 band is made where the alignment achieved with the OIA is compared to an electrical alignment.

Citation

IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques

Volume

61

Issue

11

Pub Type

Journals

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DOI Link

Keywords

alignment, antenna, machine vision, millimeter wave, terahertz, waveguide

Citation

Gordon, J. and Novotny, D. (2012), Simultaneous Imaging and Precision Alignment of Two mm Wave Antennas Based on Polarization-Selective Machine-Vision, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, [online], https://doi.org/10.1109/TIM.2012.2202190 (Accessed April 17, 2024)