Planar array of corrugated tapered slot antennas for ultrawideband biomedical microwave imaging system

Abstract

A planar antenna array that includes 12 corrugated tapered slot elements for use in ultrawideband (UWB) biomedical microwave imaging systems is presented. The used corrugate tapered slot antenna has a compact size, low profile, moderate gain, and distortionless performance in the time domain. The array is immersed in a carefully designed matching liquid of suitable dielectric constant to improve the matching between the array and the imaged object, and thus, to increase the dynamic range of the imaging system. A suitable platform is designed and fabricated to accommodate the array, breast phantom, and a coupling liquid for the case of UWB breast imaging. The design of the whole system is optimized using trust‐region framework method in the simulation tool CST Microwave Studio. The performance of the designed array is confirmed via measurements in a realistic imaging environment. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2013.