Millimeter-wave camera has rapid synthetic focusing

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Mar 3, 2011

Rolla, MO--A millimeter and microwave camera with a fast synthetic focus could soon be used to detect everything from defects in aerospace vehicles or concrete bridges to skin cancer, thanks to its developers at Missouri University of Science and Technology. The millimeter-wave range overlaps the terahertz frequency range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is used in spectroscopy, remote sensing, and security.

Led by Reza Zoughi, the team has developed a handheld camera that can produce synthetically focused images of objects at different planes in front of the camera at speeds of up to 30 images per second. A laptop computer then collects the signal and displays the image in real-time for review. The entire system, powered by a battery similar in size to those used in laptops, can run for several hours. Zoughi's contributions to this field, in part, have earned him the 2011 Joseph F. Keithley Award in Instrumentation and Measurement from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Transmission mode now, reflection next Currently, the camera operates only in the transmission mode: objects must pass between a transmitting source and its collector to be reviewed. The team is working on designing and developing a one-sided version of it, which will make it operate in a similar fashion to a video camera.

"Further down the road, we plan to develop a wide-band camera capable of producing real-time 3-D or holographic images," says Zoughi.

"In the not-so-distant future, the technology may be customized to address many critical inspection needs, including detecting defects in thermal insulating materials that are found in spacecraft heat insulating foam and tiles, space habitat structures, aircraft radomes and composite-strengthened concrete bridge members," he adds.

The technology could help medical professionals detect and monitor a variety of skin conditions in humans, including cancer and burns. It also has the potential to help Homeland Security personnel detect concealed contraband (such as weapons) or reduce the number of passenger pat-downs at airports. Homeowners could see a direct benefit from the technology as it potentially could be used to detect termite damage.

In 2010, a U.S. patent for this technology was issued to Zoughi and four of his colleagues.