SCANNING APPARATUS

• Main Authors: ANDERTON, RUPERT NICHOLAS, LETTINGTON, ALAN HAROLD
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 29.06.2010
• Subjects: ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES; ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; GEOPHYSICS; GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION ORRERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; MEASURING; OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS; OPTICS; PHYSICS; PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION; RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; TESTING

Scanning apparatus which may be used in a real-time passive millimetre wavelength imaging system or in other radiometry systems. The apparatus scans input radiation from a scene and output radiation is transmitted to a receiver system, for example a millimetre wave imaging camera or a radar receiver. The apparatus comprises a rotatable reflective plate having an axis of rotation passing through the centre of its surface and a lens arrangement for selectively transmitting and focusing radiation having a particular direction of polarisation. The apparatus may also comprise a feed horn array comprising a plurality of feed horns, the feed horns forming part of a spherical surface having a radius of curvature substantially equal to R/2 and being concentric with the third substantially spherical polarising element. The apparatus may further comprise a detector array comprising a plurality of detector elements. The detector array may form part of a millimetre wave imaging camera.