Advanced Microwave Imaging

Due to the enormous advances made in semiconductor technology over the last few years, high integration densities with moderate costs are achievable even in the millimeter-wave (mm-wave) range and beyond, which encourage the development of imaging systems with a high number of channels. The mm-wave range lies between 30 and 300 GHz, with corresponding wavelengths between 10 and 1 mm. While imaging objects with signals of a few millimeters in wavelength, many optically opaque objects appear transparent, making mm-wave imaging attractive for a wide variety of commercial and scientific applications like nondestructive testing (NDT), material characterization, security scanning, and medical screening. The spatial resolution in lateral and range directions as well as the image dynamic range offered by an imaging system are considered the main measures of performance. With the availability of more channels combined with the powerful digital signal processing (DSP) capabilities of modern computers, the performance of mm-wave imaging systems is advancing rapidly.