Study of passive MMW personnel imaging with respect to suspicious and common concealed objects for security applications

Abstract

Microwaves in the range of 1-300 GHz are used in many respects for remote sensing applications. Besides radar sensors particularly passive measurement methods are used for two-dimensional imaging. The imaging of persons and critical infrastructures for security purposes is of increasing interest particularly for transportation services or public events. Personnel inspection with respect to weapons and explosives becomes an important mean concerning terrorist attacks. Microwaves can penetrate clothing and a multitude of other materials and allow the detection of hidden objects by monitoring dielectric anomalies. Passive microwave remote sensing allows a daytime independent non-destructive observation and examination of the objects of interest under nearly all weather conditions without artificial exposure of persons or areas. Some millimeter-wave radiometric imaging devices with respect to low cost are investigated. Measurement results of some typical personnel screening scenarios are discussed. Requirements for future operational systems are outlined.