2007 Annual Report 1a.Objectives (from AD-416) To develop a microwave inset tracking system (or harmonic radar tracking system) containing a small, light-weight radio frequency tags and user-friendly transmitter and receiver for the emerald ash borer and black vine weevil insects, to clarify their dispersal and behavioral patterns that are incompletely understood and for which few or even conflicting data are available. 1b.Approach (from AD-416) Tracking a target using radio frequencies (RF) is a common radar problem that is characterized by radar cross section area of the RF tag, power delivered to system antenna and operation wavelength. RF tags have been used for RF ID by transmitting back encoded information to the reader. This allows for non-contact detection and identification of the tagged object or person. For the insect tracking application that requires a small tag structure, the structure scattering will be mainly from the body of the insect, which is much smaller than that from the tag. Therefore, the antenna-mode scattering becomes the dominant scattering mechanism. However, existing RF ID system is not suitable for the purpose of tracking small insects for two reasons. First, the size and weight of the current RF tags are too much for the small insect to handle. This is mainly limited by the low operation frequencies and the coding device. Second, most RF ID systems have only short detection range. Common RF tag designs separate transmitting and receiving frequencies for better isolation between the transmitter and receiver, thus enhancing the sensitivity. Some conversion loss at the tag due to frequency conversion will occur. Therefore, approaches to develop a harmonic radar tracking system for small insects will be: (1) Designing and optimizing a RF tag that receive 10.515 GHz and reradiate 10.515 GHz and 21.03 GHz (receiver frequency). This effort will be carried out via numerical model initially followed by fabrication and measurement for validation. The measurements will be carried out initially using RF frequency synthesizer and spectrum analyzer while the transceiver is being developed. (2) Designing a transceiver that transmits 10.515 GHz microwave signal with a power more than 1W, and receives 21.03 GHz signal with at least 90 dB dynamic range. 3.Progress Report This report documents research conducted under a Specific Cooperative Agreement between ARS and The Ohio State University. Additional details of the research can be found in the report for the parent project 3607-21620-006-00D Biological, Microclimate, and Transport Processes Affecting Pest Control Application Technology. Various studies were carried out for the design and fabrication of microwave radar frequency tags and radar detection system. These studies included: (1) radar design for 10GHz/20GHz operation, (2) microwave link budget analysis determining range, signal-to-noise ratio and received power, (3) tag optimization using genetic algorithms, (4) dual dipole tag fabrication and measurements, (5) inductive Loop dipole tag fabrication, (6) radar frequency tag modeling to assess the tags performance. The work done concludes that there is a viable option to create tags small enough to be used with airborne insects. Further testing is needed with newer tag designs and re-evaluation of the optimization methods. Fabrication issues are also a factor and the use of more high-end equipment may be necessary to produce actual miniature designs. The project progress was reported monthly or bi-monthly as needed in cooperator’s lab. Regular email communications and phone calls were used to discuss research activities.