Electrical Engineering SEMINAR

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Electrical Engineering SEMINAR
Passive Detection of Improvised Explosive Devices
Daryl G. Beetner Associate Professor of
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Missouri
University of Science Technology
The pervasive use of electronics makes detection
and identification of electronic devices a
potentially important tool for a wide variety of
security and defense applications.  Remote
detection of wireless transmitters is common,
though remote detection and identification of
other electronic devices is also possible, both
when they are active and when they are turned
off. While detection and identification of other
devices (i.e. other than intentional
transmitters) may be challenging, such techniques
might be applied to identify wireless receivers,
recording devices like digital cameras,
electronic initiators, vehicles, or many others
devices.  Electronics may be detected using
either passive or active schemes.  Passive
techniques detect the intentional or the
unintentional electromagnetic radiation that is
emitted from virtually any active device. 
High-speed digital or RF devices may be
especially good candidates for detection with
these techniques.  Emissions may be relatively
strong, allowing measurements from tens of meters
or more, and are often unique to the device, for
example allowing one to distinguish one wireless
receiver from another. Active techniques use RF
energy to excite the electronic device to either
change its unintentional electromagnetic
emissions or to illicit a response from the
device when it is turned off. A common method of
detecting inactive electronics is to generate a
sinusoidal electromagnetic stimulation that is
coupled to the device, is rectified by internal
non-linear P-N junctions that are a natural part
of all electronics, and is then re-radiated at
the stimulation frequency and its harmonics. The
radiated energy at the harmonics of the
stimulation is used to detect and potentially
identify the device. The goal of this talk is to
review these methods of detecting and identifying
electronic devices.  Particular emphasis will be
placed on the authors work to identify wireless
receivers, vehicles, and other devices based on
their unintentional electromagnetic emissions.
Monday, September 28, 2009 345 pm
(Refreshments to be served at 330) Engineering
Hall 209
Daryl G. Beetner is an Associate Professor of
Electrical and Computer Engineering at the
Missouri University of Science and Technology
(formerly called the University of Missouri -
Rolla. He received his B.S. degree in Electrical
Engineering from Southern Illinois University at
Edwardsville in 1990. He received an M.S. and
D.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from
Washington University in St Louis in 1994 and
1997, respectively. He conducts research with the
Electromagnetic Compatibility Laboratory at
Missouri ST on a wide variety of topics
including EMC at the chip and system level and
detection and neutralization of explosive
devices. He is an Associate Editor for the IEEE
Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement.