Accuracy evaluation of time domain measurement systems for microwave tomography

The measurement accuracy of time domain systems for microwave tomography are evaluated through system level simulations and compared with that of a network analyzer based frequency domain system. In the analysis, both a time domain ultra-wideband (UWB) impulse and multiband system architectures are considered. It is shown that the measurement error of the time domain systems mainly comes from analog to digital (A/D) conversion. For a simple comparison case, the relative measurement error involved in an estimated object response signal from the time domain UWB impulse system and UWB multiband system measurements are around three times and ten times higher than that from frequency domain system.