Wavelet Thumbprint Analysis of Time Domain Reflectometry Signals for Wiring Flaw Detection.

We describe a signal processing technique for time-domain reflectometry (TDR) detection of flaws in wiring. For subtle flaws the backscattered TDR voltage pulses are too slight to be identified by amplitude-based peak-detection methods. Here, a wavelet transform is used here to convert the 1D time traces into 2D binary “thumbprint” images. Flaws are then identified according to their unique 2D time-scale patterns in these wavelet thumbprints. The method is demonstrated for RG58 coaxial cables with varying amounts of damage to the shielding. © 2006 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]