3D Nonlinear Super-Resolution Microwave Inversion Technique Using Time-Domain Data

A nonlinear three-dimensional full-wave inverse scattering method using time-domain data and models is presented. It successfully reconstructs 3D images of various unknown objects using time-domain data. The method uses Born-type iterations and a constrained minimization to reconstruct successively improved images. The use of time-domain data allows very few transmitters and receivers to be used. It is shown that this technique achieves super-resolution, namely 0.1 wavelength. The method is able to recover contrasts of over 2:1. It can also recover objects with minute contrasts of as low as 10%, thus taking a step towards addressing recent findings in the breast cancer imaging community, for example, that some breast tumors have only a 10% contrast with respect to the glandular tissues. This method could present a promising tool for the early-stage breast cancer detection as well as other medical and subsurface imaging applications.