Antenna Systems and Algorithms for Microwave Imaging

Information about the speaker

Alexander G. Yarovoy (FIEEE' 2015) graduated from the Kharkov State University, Ukraine, in 1984 with the Diploma with honor in radiophysics and electronics. He received the Candidate Phys. & Math. Sci. and Doctor Phys. & Math. Sci. degrees in radiophysics in 1987 and 1994, respectively. In 1987 he joined the Department of Radiophysics at the Kharkov State University as a Researcher and became a Professor there in 1997. From September 1994 through 1996 he was with Technical University of Ilmenau, Germany as a Visiting Researcher. Since 1999 he is with the Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. Since 2009 he leads there a chair of Microwave Sensing, Systems and Signals. His main research interests are in high-resolution radar, microwave imaging and applied electromagnetics (in particular, UWB antennas). He has authored and co-authored more than 450 scientific or technical papers, four patents and fourteen book chapters.

Short abstract

Nowadays, microwave imaging is broadly used for non-destructive testing, concealed weapon detection, through-the-wall imaging, land mine detection, road pavement inspection, underground facilities survey, archaeological investigation, imaging of biological tissues, etc. This list is still expanding, especially at sub-mm wave frequencies. In all cases, the scene of interest is illuminated by natural or man-made sources and image is formed based on received scattered electromagnetic field. The two principal modalities of image formation are analogue (when image is formed by means of lens or mirrors following quasi-optical approach) and digital (when image is formed by means of digital signal processing of scattered field, which is measured at different spatial locations by antennas). While in the former case intensity of electromagnetic field in a single point of the image corresponds to scat-tering/reflection properties of a corresponding area of the scene, in the latter case electromagnetic field amplitude and phase measured by an antenna at a particular position depend on scattering/reflection properties of the whole scene. In both cases the image cross-range resolution is mainly determined by the electrical size of the imaging aperture (area, at which the scattered field is collected by mirror, lens or antennas) and the range of the scene. The talk is focused on selection of measurement locations of the scattered field within the imaging aperture and main digital processing algorithms used to create an image from the measured amplitude and phase of the scattered field.