Quantitative microwave imaging with a 2.45-GHz planar microwave camera

TLDR

The study develops microwave tomographic reconstructions of the complex permittivity of lossy dielectric objects in water using experimental multiview near‑field data from a 2.45‑GHz planar active microwave camera. An iterative Levenberg‑Marquardt algorithm solves the nonlinear matrix equation derived from a moment‑method electric‑field integral representation, and synthetic‑data reconstructions illustrate the influence of uncertainties in exterior permittivity, geometry, and incident field. The results show that uncertainties in the incident field dominate reconstruction errors, and a receiver calibration procedure has been implemented to better access the incident field at the object location.

Abstract

This paper presents microwave tomographic reconstructions of the complex permittivity of lossy dielectric objects immersed in water from experimental multiview near-field data obtained with a 2.45-GHz planar active microwave camera. An iterative reconstruction algorithm based on the Levenberg-Marquardt method was used to solve the nonlinear matrix equation which results when applying a moment method to the electric field integral representation. The effects of uncertainties in experimental parameters such as the exterior medium complex permittivity, the imaging system geometry and the incident field at the object location are illustrated by means of reconstructions from synthetic data. It appears that the uncertainties in the incident field have the strongest impact on the reconstructions. A receiver calibration procedure has been implemented and some ways to access to the incident field at the object location have been assessed.