Adaptive Polarization Contrast Techniques for Through-Wall Microwave Imaging Applications

• Published in: IEEE transactions on geoscience and remote sensing Vol. 47; no. 5; pp. 1362 - 1374
• Main Authors: Yemelyanov, K.M., Engheta, N., Hoorfar, A., McVay, J.A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01-05-2009; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Adaptive polarization difference imaging (APDI); Algorithms; Antenna arrays; Doppler effect; Imaging; Layout; Microwave imaging; Microwave theory and techniques; Microwaves; Object detection; Optical imaging; Optical polarization; Optical scattering; Optical transmitters; Polarization; polarization contrast sensing; Signal processing algorithms; Statistics; target detection; through-wall imaging; Wall effects; Walls
• ISSN: 0196-2892; 1558-0644
• DOI: 10.1109/TGRS.2009.2015569

In this paper, we describe and utilize polarization contrast techniques of the adaptive polarization difference imaging algorithm and its transient modification for through-wall microwave imaging (TWMI) applications. Originally developed for optical imaging and sensing of polarization information in nature, this algorithm is modified to serve for target detection purposes in a through-wall environment. The proposed techniques exploit the polarization statistics of the observed scene for the detection and identification of changes within the scene and are not only capable of mitigating and substantially removing the wall effects but also useful in detecting motion, when conventional Doppler techniques are not applicable. Applications of the techniques to several TWMI scenarios including both homogeneous and periodic wall cases are presented.