Review of Metasurface Antennas for Computational Microwave Imaging

TLDR

Recent advances combine metasurface antenna design with computational imaging to create planar, fast, and low‑cost microwave imaging systems. The authors examine the outlook of metamaterial antennas for microwave imaging and propose future research directions. They explain how metamaterial antennas generate diverse radiation patterns, outline a computational imaging framework, and detail two implementations—frequency‑diverse and electronically reconfigurable—emphasizing their design tradeoffs. The review highlights the advantages and distinctions of metamaterial antennas compared to conventional antennas.

Abstract

This article covers recent advances in the fusion of metasurface antenna design and computational imaging (CI) concepts for the realization of imaging systems that are planar, fast, and low cost. We start by explaining the operation of metamaterial antennas which can generate diverse radiation patterns. Their advantages and distinctions from previous antennas are elucidated. We then provide an intuitive overview of the CI framework and argue that metamaterial antennas are a near ideal platform for implementing such schemes at microwave frequencies. We describe two metamaterial antenna implementations: frequency diverse and electronically reconfigurable. The tradeoffs governing the design and operation of each architecture are examined. We conclude by examining the outlook of metamaterial antennas for microwave imaging and propose various future directions.