Application of matrix pencil method to SFCW GPR based on constant Q model

Abstract

The time delay and amplitude of buried target echoes are especially important for the application of stepped frequency continuous wave ground penetrating radar (SFCW GPR). The Matrix Pencil Method (MPM) has been used for time delay and amplitude estimation in order to suppress sidelobe and improve detection performance for SFCW GPR system. However, the application of the conventional MPM to SFCW GPR assumes that the dispersivity and loss effect of the subsurface medium can be negligible. To deal with the lossy and dispersive effects of subsurface medium, a modified version of MPM based on depth-variant Q model is adopted to reconstruct the superresolution time domain signal. The simulation results have verified that the new method can give a good estimation of the time delay and amplitude of target echoes for the case of dispersive medium.