Detecting Buried Objects With Subwavelength Resolution Using A
Near-Field Antenna-Array Probe
LOic Markley and George V. Eleftheriades
The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Toronto, 10 King's College Road
Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G4, Canada
Abstract- A near-field antenna-array probe is used to perform
subwavelength imaging on objects buried a quarter-wavelength
beneath the surface of a dielectric slab. Short passive dipole
objects are detected by monitoring the input reflection coefficient
of the probe as it is scanned over the dielectric. Experimental
measurements are presented that verify the subwavelength imag­
ing behavior. A minimum resolvable separation between two
objects in terms of dielectric wavelengths was measured to be
0.295.>- at a distance of A/4, compared to 0.639.>- for a single
monopole probe.
Index Terms- subwavelength, imaging, focusing, near-field,
antenna array, shifted beam
I. INTRODUCTION
In classical optics, the resolution of an optical system is
limited to half a wavelength [1]. Smaller features can only
be imaged through wave components with large transverse
spatial frequencies, but these components are evanescent and
decay exponentially away from their source. Classical optics
operates in the electromagnetic far-field, and so must respect
this "diffraction limit", but in the near-field things operate
differently. In order to beat this resolution limit, a technique
called near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) places
sharp tips or small apertures extremely close to a sample
and uses raster scanning to form an image [2]. Although
remarkable resolutions can be achieved using this method,
they also require that the probes are operating in the extreme
near field. In 2000, a "perfect lens" made from a slab of
negative-refractive-index material was proposed. It was shown
that the evanescent field was amplified inside the lens for
complete field restoration at the image plane and perfect
focusing far outside the extreme near-field [3]. Several of
these lenses were fabricated and experimentally verified to
perform subwavelength imaging, but it was observed that
resolution was strongly dependent on material losses inside
the lens [4], [5], [6]. A range of direct near-field focusing
techniques were inspired by these lenses as ways to mitigate
the dependence on losses and still achieve subwavelength
resolution. Subwavelength focal spots were produced through
holographic screens [7], radiationless interference [8], and by
applying the principle of shifted and weighted beams [9].
This paper presents a near-field antenna-array probe used to
perform the subwavelength imaging of objects buried within a
dielectric. The probe is designed to produce a subwavelength
r
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focal plane
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(a) (b)
Fig. 1. (color online) (a) An overhead view of the array probe
structure. Eight satellite monopoles surround a central monopole
which is fed directly through a coaxial line. (b) A side view of the
array probe and an illustration of the imaging setup. The probe is
scanned over a semi-infinite dielectric slab containing buried objects
a distance h away from the interface.
focal spot on a plane a quarter wavelength away inside the
dielectric. Similar structures have demonstrated subwavelength
focusing from plane-wave incidence using slotted transmission
screens [9], [10] and near-field plates [11], [12]. Subwave­
length imaging has been demonstrated on passive objects
[13], [14] and on active sources [15], but all in free space
environments. In this paper, the objects under detection are
passive, non-resonant, and buried inside the dielectric at a
distance of a quarter wavelength. This working distance is
enforced by the physical presence of the dielectric, which
prevents more traditional subwavelength imaging techniques
such as NSOM from achieving subwavelength resolution. Here
we will show that the near-field antenna-array probe provides
imaging resolutions much larger than those of single-element
probes like those found in NSOM systems. Although a post­
processing technique can be envisioned to extract the object
location from the single-element probe data, it would require
much higher precision in the measurements to ensure the
evanescent components are properly captured. The array probe
can be used instead to detect the objects with subwavelength
resolution directly.
II. ARRAY PROBE DESIGN AND CH ARACTERIZ ATION
The array probe is illustrated in Fig. 1. It consists of an
array of nine monopole elements, eight of which are parasitic
radiators arranged in a circular pattern around a directly fed
central element. A high level of rotational symmetry ensures
978-1-61284-757-3/11/$26.00 C2011 IEEE
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Fig. 2. (color online) Normalized detection signals as a function
(a)
of scanning position for the array probe (a) and the monopole probe
(b). The single object response is plotted alongside the response of
two objects separated by s = 0.271..\ and s = 0.606,),. The vertical
lines indicate the actual location of the objects. 2: 0.8
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two-dimensional subwavelength focusing and imaging [14]. Q)
(/) 0.4
The array was designed using shifted beam theory [9] to 1:5
Q)
is
focus the longitudinal electric field Ey to a subwavelength spot o 0.2

inside a dielectric slab ( Er 2.1 with tan c:5 0). Operating at

= =

o
f 2.4 GHz, the focal plane is a distance h A/4 21.56
= = =

mm from the interface, where A AO/,;t;. 86.26 mm is

= =

the wavelength inside the dielectric. The field is focused by (b )

spacing the elements closely together at d 0.15A 12.94 = =

Fig. 3. (color online) Detection signals as a function of object
mm and detuning the lengths from resonance so that the separation s and scanning position �x for the array probe (a) and
induced currents on the satellite elements are out-of-phase with the monopole probe (b). The signals are normalized for each value of

the central element current. The final antenna element lengths s with the lightly shaded regions corresponding to stronger detection
signals and the dashed contour indicating the resolution threshold.
are L1 0.218Ao 27.21 mm and L2 0.256Ao 31.98
= = = =
The black dots are placed at the detection signal peaks for each value
mm with wire diameters of a O.01Ao 1.25 mm and a
= =
of s, while the red lines indicate the actual locations of the objects
ground plane diameter of lAo 125 mm. All focusing and
= under detection.
imaging results were compared to a monopole probe consisting
of only a single central element of length L 0.233Ao = =

29.13 mm. two objects separated at the resolution threshold of the array
The element lengths were optimized using FEKO, a full­ probe (8 0.271A) and of the monopole probe (8 0.606A).
= =

wave simulator based on the method of moments. The array
probe produced circular field contours at the focal plane,
confirming two-dimensional operation, with a full-width half­
maximum (FWHM) beam width of 0.220A and side lobe levels
below 20.0%. In comparison, the monopole probe produced a
field with a 0.829A FWHM beam width.
The imaging resolution was characterized through full-wave
scanning simulations in FEKO. Two short O.lAo 12.5
mm dipole objects separated by a distance 8 were placed
within the dielectric at a depth of h A/4 while the
probes were raster scanned at the surface of the dielectric
(see Fig. Ib). By monitoring the input reflection coefficient
The single object detection beam widths provide a measure
of how focused the probe beams are, with the FWHM beam
width of the array probe signal equal to 0.222A and that of
the monopole probe signal equal to 0.543A.
The detection signals are plotted in Fig. 3 as a function of
both object separation 8 and scanning position �x, with the
dashed contours indicating the resolution threshold. The array
=
probe clearly displays superior resolution in terms of both
minimum resolvable separation and accuracy of the detected
=
object locations. The minimum resolvable separation is the
smallest value of 8 that lies on the resolution threshold at
x O. It is equal to 0.271A for the array probe and 0.606A
=

(f) for perturbations, an image could be reconstructed by
renormalizing with respect to the reflection coefficient in the
absence of any objects (ro) using t (r - ro)/(l - rro).=
When the dip between detection peaks drops below 70.7%
of the maximum, the two objects are considered to be resolved.
The minimum resolvable separation can then be determined
and used as a figure of merit for resolution. Figures 2a and 2b
show the detection signals from the array probe and monopole
probe, respectively, where �x is the scanning position. The
signal from a single object is plotted alongside the signals from
for the monopole probe, indicating an improvement of more
than a factor of two. The imaging improvement is actually
even higher than this due to the array probe's detection signal
having substantially suppressed side levels.
III. EXPERIMEN TAL RESULTS
The probe was fabricated by soldering a semi-rigid SMA
coaxial line through a copper ground plane and stripping
back the outer conductor to expose what then becomes the
central monopole element. The satellite elements are short

978-1-61284-757-3/11/$26.00 C2011 IEEE

 (a) (b)
Fig. 4. (color online) The fabricated array probe (a) and monopole
probe (b). The central conductor from the semi-rigid coaxial feed line
extends through the ground plane and forms the central monopole
while the satellite monopoles are soldered directly to the ground
plane.
r
coax feed l Teflon dielectric is fixed in place above the probe while the short
scan direction
ilw
.
<C!.. � .... ..
....> . '> ... '> ... '>
hI �I
Fig. 5. (color online) An illustration of the probe scanning setup
used in the experiment. The setup was simplified by placing the
objects behind a finite thickness dielectric slab rather than within
the dielectric. The dielectric slab was a quarter-wavelength thick,
occupying the entire space between the probe and the objects.
wires soldered directly to the ground plane. A photograph of
the array probe is shown in Fig. 4a with one of the monopole
probe shown in Fig. 4b. Ferrite beads are placed around the
feed line to dissipate any unbalanced currents resulting from
the finite size of the ground plane.
The experimental setup was simplified by placing a finite
thickness slab between the probe and the objects instead of
fully immersing the objects inside the dielectric (see Fig.
5). Since Teflon was chosen as the dielectric material (with
a dielectric constant of fr 2.1 and a loss tangent under
= separation was calculated to be 0.295>.. Figure 8 shows
0.001), this modified setup allowed the object separation s to
be easily changed and the resolution to be fully characterized.
The use of a finite slab to verify the buried object detection
was justified by comparing the imaging performance of both
setups in simulation. Both sets of imaging detection signals
were very similar qualitatively, with the finite slab minimum
resolvable separations within 6.3% of the semi-infinite slab
minimum resolvable separations. It is important to note that all
resolution distances are in terms of dielectric wavelengths >.,
even for the experimental results where the objects are merely
touching the dielectric. If free-space wavelengths were used,
the measured resolution would appear significantly better.
A photograph of the final setup is shown in Fig. 6. The probe
is kept at a fixed position and connected to an Agilent E8364B
network analyzer through a sliding double-stub tuner. The
dielectric slab is placed above it, and the objects are scanned
across both the probe and dielectric using a high-precision
Fig. 6. (color online) This photo illustrates the experimental
setup used to measure the resolution of each probe. A slab of
dipole objects are scanned overhead using an XYZ-translator and a
polystyrene foam support. Absorbing material surrounds the scanning
apparatus to prevent reflections off the metal translator.
custom built XYZ-translator from Newmark Systems. The
experimental region is fully enclosed in ECCOSORB AN-
77 absorbing material to prevented unwanted reflections from
compromising the results.
The monopole probe reflection coefficient was renormal­
ized with respect to the reflection coefficient ro, which was
measured by conducting a second sweep with the objects
removed. The array probe r0 was measured at each sweep
point following the r measurement by moving the objects
0.5>'0 = 62.5 mm vertically away from the probe. At this
distance the array probe fields are sufficiently decayed so that
they no longer interact with the objects.
The measured detection signals from the array probe are
plotted in Fig. 7. The top left plot shows the single object re­
sponse while the other seven plots show two-object responses
for various object spacings. The single object detection signal
has a FWHM beam width of 0.258>' with side levels below
5.2%. By interpolating all the data, the minimum resolvable
the measured detection signals for the monopole probe. The
single object detection beam width is 0.751>. with side levels
just under 62%, and the minimum resolvable separation was
calculated to be s =0.639>'.
It must be noted that a simple comparison of minimum
resolvable separations does not fully capture the imaging
improvements of the array probe. Considering this figure of
merit only does not account for the large side levels in the
monopole probe detection signal which cause interference
peaks at larger object separations that wash out the image
when additional objects are introduced [14]. The array probe
detection signals do not contain these high side levels and
consequently no secondary interference peaks are visible. The
measured resolutions are in good agreement with the simulated
values, with the array probe within 9% and the monopole
probe within 6%. Some discrepancies are expected due to the
finite lateral extent of both the dielectric slab and the probe
978-1-61284-757-3/11/$26.00 C2011 IEEE
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Fig. 7. (color online) Array probe measured detection signals for Fig. 8. (color online) Monopole probe measured detection signals
imaging of a single object (top left) and of two objects separated by for imaging of a single object (top left) and of two objects separated
various spacings up to s = 0.967>.. Object resolution occurs as of by various spacings up to s = 1.019>.. Object resolution first occurs
s = 0.295>.. at s = 0.639>'.

ground plane. (7) G. V. Eleftheriades and A. M. H. Wong, "Holography-inspired screens

IV. C ONCLUSION
In this paper, a near-field antenna-array probe has been
designed to perform subwavelength imaging of passive non­
resonant objects buried within a dielectric material. In this
situation, the distance between the probe and the objects is
fixed, and classical NSOM imaging techniques cannot be
applied to achieve subwavelength images. With the objects
buried a quarter-wavelength inside the dielectric, the simulated
minimum detectable object separation was 0.271>. for the array
probe and 0.606>' for the monopole probe. An experiment was
conducted using a finite dielectric slab to verify subwavelength
buried object detection with a measured minimum resolvable
separation of 0.295>. for the array probe compared to 0.639>.
for the monopole probe.
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978-1-61284-757-3/11/$26.00 C2011 IEEE