Co-polarised and cross-polarised antenna arrays for breast, cancer detection

The detection capabilities of two novel co-polarised and cross-polarised antenna arrays consisting of two slot antennas have been studied and compared for the purpose of ultra-wideband breast cancer detection. For both arrays, the measured antenna return loss is below -10 dB from 3.1 to 10 GHz. The measured coupling between the two elements is below - 20 dB for the co-polarised and - 25 dB for the cross-polarised formation. It is shown through simulations and measurements that the cross-polarised array improves the signal-to-clutter ratio for tumours close to a planar chest wall.