Application of electrically invisible antennas to the Modulated Scatterer Technique

The Modulated Scatterer Technique (MST) has shown promise for application in microwave imaging, electric field mapping, and materials characterization. It is difficult to reliably detect the modulated scattered signal, due to the small size of the MST elements. Increasing the modulation depth (a parameter related to how well a scatterer modulates an incident signal) may improve the detection of the modulated scattered signal. In an effort to improve the modulation depth of MST scattering elements, the concept of electrically invisible antennas is applied to MST. This paper presents simulations and measurements of a traditional MST scatterer (a centrally-loaded resonant dipole) that has been designed to be electrically invisible. Building on this, an invisible dual-loaded scatterer is designed, with simulations showing significant improvement to the modulated depth as compared to a traditional modulated dipole.