Experimental Investigation of Factorization Method as a Qualitative Approach for Near-Field Microwave Imaging

In this letter, the Kirsch's factorization image reconstruction method is validated using an experimental setup for scattered field measurement. In this setup, two standard double-ridged horn antennas working in frequency range of 1-18 GHz, one as a transmitter and the other as a receiver, are used inside an anechoic chamber to collect multistatic scattered fields of a hard target. The transmitter is farther from the target than the receiver. While the transmitter is fixed, the target and receiver are rotated on a turntable. Equivalently, the transmitter and the receiver are evenly rotated on the circular arcs with different radii about a fixed target. The antennas are facing each other so that the receiver does not shadow the target. The hard target is an elongated cylinder with a plus-shape cross section of side 12 cm. Successful imaging shows the validity of the measured multistatic data and the inversion method.