Analysis of signal propagation path modeling of UWB through-the-wall radar

The propagation of ultra-wide band (UWB) signals in the environment of through-the-wall (TW) is an important issue with significant impacts on the development of UWB TW radar technology. Ray method is a traditional modeling method and it doesn´t consume much computer memory or calculation time. However, it cannot demonstrate very well the way of wave propagation such as diffraction and pulse distortion. 3D-FDTD method can be used to simulate the propagation of wave through the wall and model path error of TW radar. In this paper we compare the performances of ray method and FDTD method. The accuracy of these two models is analyzed. The effects of the dispersive properties of the wall materials on ranging error are discussed. We also propose a method to improve traditional ray method.