An inexact-Newton method for short-range microwave imaging within the second-order Born approximation

A new approach to noninvasive inspection of dielectric targets at microwave frequencies is proposed. Cylindrical dielectric objects are reconstructed under the second-order Born approximation. A multi-illumination configuration is considered. The continuous model is discretized by the moment method and an efficient inexact-Newton method is applied. The dielectric profile is iteratively reconstructed starting from the measured scattered data, which are related to the unknown target through the inverse scattering equations written in a variational setting. Several numerical results are reported, which are aimed at assessing the capabilities of the approach in dealing with the nonlinear ill-posed inverse problem associated to the short-range microwave imaging. Single, multilayer, and separate cylinders are reconstructed in noiseless and noisy environments.