This system uses an array of sensor elements to detect properties of an object. The array measures the electric field scattered by the object at a number of discrete locations corresponding to a certain spatial domain (e.g., a portion of plane that could be planar, cylindrical, spherical or arbitrarily shaped) located away from the object. The use and arrangement of the slots modulated by active elements such as diodes (e.g., PIN diodes) or by other means provides for high measurement sensitivity and high spatial resolution at higher frequencies. The array is subsequently integrated with other system components, including the radio frequency transmitter and receiver circuits, the processor, and the display. Using special processing of the measurements at the discrete locations, 2D or 3D images of the object’s spatial and/or dielectric profiles can be generated.

There is a variety of ways to configure the system for specific applications. The slot antennas incorporated into the array may take various designs, such as sub-resonant slots or resonant slots, depending on the application. The array may have the ability to measure the electric field at different polarizations, which could increase the amount of geometrical and materials information revealed about the imaged object. The array may be slightly displaced in two orthogonal directions to increase the number of samples obtained per wavelength, resulting in increased spatial resolution of the system. For instance, the displacement can be just a quarter-wavelength. When built with linearly polarized modulated slots, the electric field in the orthogonal direction can be still measured by rotating the array 90 degrees.

File Number: 08UMR011 

Web site: http://ecodevo.mst.edu

Other Information:

Case Manager: Keith Strassner (kdstrass@mst.edu)