An Investigation of Radiometer and Antenna Properties for Microwave Thermography

Microwave thermography obtains information about the subcutaneous body temperature by a spectral measurement of the intensity of the natural thermally generated radiation emitted by the body tissues. At lower microwave frequencies the thermal radiation can penetrate through biological tissue for significant distances. The microwave thermal radiation from inside the body can be detected and measured non-invasively at the skin surface by the microwave thermography technique, which uses a radiometer to measure the radiation which is received from an antenna on the skin. In the microwave region the radiative power received from a volume of material has a dependence on viewed tissue temperature T(r) of the form, where k is the Boltzmann's constant, B the measurement bandwidth, c(r) is the relative contribution from a volume element dv (the antenna weighting function). The weighting function, c(r), depends on the structure and the dielectric properties of the tissue being viewed, the measurement frequency and the characteristics of the antenna. In any practical radiometer system the body microwave thermal signal has to be measured along with a similar noise signal generated in the radiometer circuits. The work described in this thesis is intended to lead to improvement in the performance of microwave thermography equipment through investigations of antenna weighting functions and radiometer circuit noise sources. All work has been carried out at 3.2 GHz, the central operating frequency of the existing Glasgow developed microwave thermography system. The effects of input circuit losses on the operation of the form of Dicke radiometer used for the Glasgow equipment have been investigated using a computational model and compared with measurements made on test circuits. Very good agreement has been obtained for modelled and measured behaviour. The losses contributed by the microstrip circuit structure, that must be used in the radiometer at 3.2 GHz, have been investigated in detail. Microwave correlation radiometry, by "add and square" method, has been applied to the received signals from a crossed-pair antenna arrangement, the antennas being arranged to view a common region at a certain depth. The antenna response has been investigated using a noise source and by the nonresonant perturbation technique. The received pattern formed by the product of the individual antenna patterns gives a maximum depth in phantom dielectric material. The depth can be adjusted by changing the spacing of the antennas and the phase in an antenna path. However, the pattern is modulated by a set of positive and negative interference fringes so that the complete receive pattern has a complicated form. On uniform temperature distributions the total radiometric signal is zero with the positive and negative contributions cancelling each other out. The fringe modulation can be removed by placing the antennas close enough together, The pattern is then simple and gives a modest maximum response at a known depth in a known material. The radiometer system remains sensitive to the temperature gradients only and the wide range of dielectric properties and tissue structures in the region being investigated usually makes the system response difficult to interpret. For crossed-pair antennas in phase the effective penetration depth in high-and medium-water content tissues is about 2.5 cm at a frequency of 3.2 GHz. The field pattern observed was of the form expected from the measurements of the individual antenna behaviour with the appropriate interference pattern superimposed. The nonresonant perturbation technique has been developed and applied to assist the development of the medical application of both microwave thermographic temperature measurement and microwave hyperthermia induction. These techniques require the electromagnetic field patterns of the special antennas used to be known. These antennas are often formed by short lengths of rectangular or cylindrical waveguide loaded with a low-loss dielectric material to achieve good coupling to body tissues. The high microwave attenuation in biological materials requires the field configurations to be measured close to the antenna aperture in the near-field wave. The nonresonant perturbation is a simple technique which can be used to measure electromagnetic fields in lossy material close to the antenna. It has been applied here to measure accurately the antenna weighting function and the effective penetration depth in tissue simulating dielectric phantom materials. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)

G band atmospheric radars: new frontiers in cloud physics

Clouds and associated precipitation are the largest source of uncertainty in current weather and future climate simulations. Observations of the microphysical, dynamical and radiative processes that act at cloud scales are needed to improve our understanding of clouds. The rapid expansion of ground-based super-sites and the availability of continuous profiling and scanning multi-frequency radar observations at 35 and 94 GHz have significantly improved our ability to probe the internal structure of clouds in high temporal-spatial resolution, and to retrieve quantitative cloud and precipitation properties. However, there are still gaps in our ability to probe clouds due to large uncertainties in the retrievals. The present work discusses the potential of G band (frequency between 110 and 300 GHz) Doppler radars in combination with lower frequencies to further improve the retrievals of microphysical properties. Our results show that, thanks to a larger dynamic range in dual-wavelength reflectivity, dual-wavelength attenuation and dual-wavelength Doppler velocity (with respect to a Rayleigh reference), the inclusion of frequencies in the G band can significantly improve current profiling capabilities in three key areas: boundary layer clouds, cirrus and mid-level ice clouds, and precipitating snow

Potential for Solar System Science with the ngVLA

Radio wavelength observations of solar system bodies are a powerful method of probing many characteristics of those bodies. From surface and subsurface, to atmospheres (including deep atmospheres of the giant planets), to rings, to the magnetosphere of Jupiter, these observations provide unique information on current state, and sometimes history, of the bodies. The ngVLA will enable the highest sensitivity and resolution observations of this kind, with the potential to revolutionize our understanding of some of these bodies. In this article, we present a review of state-of-the-art radio wavelength observations of a variety of bodies in our solar system, varying in size from ring particles and small near-Earth asteroids to the giant planets. Throughout the review we mention improvements for each body (or class of bodies) to be expected with the ngVLA. A simulation of a Neptune-sized object is presented in Section 6. Section 7 provides a brief summary for each type of object, together with the type of measurements needed for all objects throughout the Solar System

G band atmospheric radars: New frontiers in cloud physics

Clouds and associated precipitation are the largest source of uncertainty in current weather and future climate simulations. Observations of the microphysical, dynamical and radiative processes that act at cloud scales are needed to improve our understanding of clouds. The rapid expansion of ground-based super-sites and the availability of continuous profiling and scanning multi-frequency radar observations at 35 and 94 GHz have significantly improved our ability to probe the internal structure of clouds in high temporal-spatial resolution, and to retrieve quantitative cloud and precipitation properties. However, there are still gaps in our ability to probe clouds due to large uncertainties in the retrievals. The present work discusses the potential of G band (frequency between 110 and 300 GHz) Doppler radars in combination with lower frequencies to further improve the retrievals of microphysical properties. Our results show that, thanks to a larger dynamic range in dual-wavelength reflectivity, dual-wavelength attenuation and dual-wavelength Doppler velocity (with respect to a Rayleigh reference), the inclusion of frequencies in the G band can significantly improve current profiling capabilities in three key areas: boundary layer clouds, cirrus and mid-level ice clouds, and precipitating snow. © 2014 Author(s)

Stratospheric Water Vapour in the Tropics: Observations by Ground-Based Microwave Radiometry

This thesis reports on observations of tropical stratospheric water vapour by the ground-based microwave radiometer/spectrometer WaRAM2 in 2007. The 22GHz receiver is set up at Mérida Atmospheric Research Station on top of Pico Espejo, Venezuela (8°32'N, 71°03'W, 4765m above sea level). It is the only such sensor that continuously operates at tropical latitudes. The high altitude site is ideally suitable for microwave observations, because most tropospheric water vapour is located below the sensor. Water vapour plays a key role in middle atmospheric processes. Because of its large infrared resonance, it strongly participates in the radiative budget, both in terms of a greenhouse effect at lower altitudes and radiative cooling at higher altitudes. It is a source gas for the highly reactive hydroxyl radical, and exerts indirect effects on ozone destruction in the formation of polar stratospheric clouds. Due to its long lifetime, water vapour also serves as a dynamical tracer

QUEST: A New Frontiers Uranus Orbiter Mission Concept Study

The ice giant planets, Uranus and Neptune, are fundamentally different from the gas giant and terrestrial planets. Though ice giants represent the most common size of exoplanet and possess characteristics that challenge our understanding of the way our solar system formed and evolved, they remain the only class of planetary object without a dedicated spacecraft mission. The inclusion of a Uranus orbiter as the third highest priority Flagship mission in the NASA Planetary Science Decadal Survey “Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013–2022” indicates a high level of support for exploration of the ice giants by the planetary science community. However, given the substantial costs associated with a flagship mission, it is critical to explore lower cost options if we intend to visit Uranus within an ideal launch window of 2029 - 2034 when a Jupiter gravity assist becomes available. In this paper, we describe the Quest to Uranus to Explore Solar System Theories (QUEST), a New Frontiers class Uranus orbiter mission concept study performed at the 30th Annual NASA/JPL Planetary Science Summer Seminar. The proposed QUEST platform is a spin-stabilized spacecraft designed to undergo highly elliptical, polar orbits around Uranus during a notional one-year primary science mission. The proposed major science goals of the mission are (1) to use Uranus as a natural laboratory to better understand the dynamos that drive magnetospheres in the solar system and beyond and (2) to identify the energy transport mechanisms in Uranus' magnetic, atmospheric, and interior environments in contrast with the other giant planets. With substantial mass, power, and cost margins, this mission concept demonstrates a compelling, feasible option for a New Frontiers Uranus orbiter mission

Sensors Workshop summary report

A review of the efforts of three workshops is presented. The presentation describes those technological developments that would contribute most to sensor subsystem optimization and improvement of NASA's data acquisition capabilities, and summarizes the recommendations of the sensor technology panels from the most recent workshops

Wet Path Delay Corrections from Line-of-Sight Observations of Effelsberg’s Water Vapour Radiometer for Geodetic VLBI Sessions

Water vapour induced excess path lengths in electromagnetic waves have been one of the most unmanageable errors in space geodesy, such as GPS and VLBI. The difficulty mainly comes from the highly variable distribution of atmospheric water vapour both in time and space. In general, these wet path delays cannot be estimated accurately by atmospheric models that are conventionally used in space geodetic applications. In the last few decades, water vapour radiometry has shown great potential for measuring atmospheric water vapour content. However, the wet path delay retrieval processes are strongly dependent on radiosonde data, although periodic radiosonde observations are rarely available in the vicinity of water vapour radiometers (WVRs). Radiosonde observations are weather profiles from balloon starts which are transmitted by radio signals. On the other hand, the possibility of using a numerical weather model (NWM) instead of a radiosonde has been on the increase in recent years. NWM can provide meteorological profiles for those places where radiosonde data is not available. The focus of this thesis is mainly on the improvement of the wet path delay corrections in geodetic VLBI sessions using the WVR observations at the 100m Effelsberg radio telescope. Compared to other WVRs, the Effelsberg one has a great advantage in terms of observation. It always points at the same direction as the VLBI antenna because it has been installed on the prime focus cabin of the telescope. However the Effelsberg station does not make periodic radiosonde observations. To overcome this weakness, the numerical weather model of the European Centre of Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) was introduced. It provides meteorological profiles over Effelsberg such as atmospheric pressures, temperatures, and water vapour pressures. Those profiles were processed by a radiative transfer model, which calculates theoretical measurements of brightness temperature and converts them into wet path delays. These two models were combined to be compared with WVRobserved wet path delays. For a better comparison between wet path delays from the WVR and the models, zenith wet delays (ZWDs) were used. As the results of the comparison illustrate, ZWDs from the models showed higher values than the WVR-measured ones by roughly 30 mm. For comparison with GPS-derived values, average offsets and standard deviations of the models and the WVR were -4.3±11.0 mm and -44.8±24.0 mm, respectively. From these ZWD comparisons it was found that further corrections to the WVR ZWDs are necessary. In addition, the noisy behaviour of the raw WVR ZWD measurements should be smoothed by a running mean method before application. In addition, averaged offsets between the models and the WVR measurements should be determined for the correction of individual sessions. However, already at this step it became obvious that the instrumental calibrations of the radiometer are far from being mature resulting in erroneous absorption profiles. ZWDs from the WVR measurements with different levels of corrections were applied as corrections to the wet components of the atmospheric refraction in the five geodetic VLBI sessions. Impacts on baseline repeatability and height precision by these were investigated. As the results show, the baseline repeatability was improved in terms of Root Mean Squared Error (RMS) when the offset correction was applied. However, the improvement was less than one percent. Although the repeatability of the height component was improved in terms of Weighted RMS (WRMS) with respect to the short term mean height by a factor of 2, the height component itself showed a larger deviation from the original value than that expected from the ZWD corrections. A possible reason is that the estimation of the many parameters in the least squares adjustment can easily affected the height parameter. The conclusion of this study is that the Effelsberg WVR observations are not perfectly suited for wet path delay corrections yet. This is mainly due to the imperfectness of instrumental calibration. Further studies based on an increased number of WVR data with better internal calibrations seems to be necessary to make a final judgment regarding the usefulness of the WVR for wet path delay corrections in geodetic VLBI.Zur Korrektur von feuchtebedingten Laufzeitverzögerungen mit dem co-linearen Wasserdampfradiometer in Effelsberg für geodätische VLBI-Messungen Wasserdampfinduzierte Refraktionseffekte der elektromagnetischen Wellen stellen die zurzeit größte Fehlerquelle bei Messverfahren der Satellitengeodäsie, wie z.B. GPS und VLBI, dar. Die Problematik rührt hauptsächlich her von der stark variierenden Verteilung von atmosphärischem Wasserdampf sowohl in der Zeit als auch im Raum. Im Allgemeinen können diese Laufzeitverzögerungen durch den feuchten Anteil der Atmosphäre nicht exakt genug durch atmosphärische Modelle berechnet werden, die herkömmlich in Satellitengeodäsieanwendungen genutzt werden. In den vergangenen Jahrzehnten hat die Wasserdampfradiometrie ein großes Potential entwickelt, um den atmosphärischen Wasserdampfbestandteil zu messen. Allerdings ist der Prozess der Umrechnung von gemessenen Helligkeitstemperaturen in Laufzeitverzögerungen stark von gleichzeitig durchgeführten Radiosondenmessungen abhängig. Dabei werden die Messergebnisse von an aufsteigenden Ballons befestigten Wettersensoren für verschiedene Druckstufen per Radiosignal ausgesendet. Leider werden periodische Radiosondenbeobachtungen aber nur selten in der Nähe des Wasserdampfradiometers (WVR) durchgeführt. Dem gegenüber besteht seit einigen Jahren die Möglichkeit, ein numerisches Wettermodell anstelle der Radiosondenergebnisse zu nutzen. Ein numerisches Wettermodell kann meteorologische Profile für solche Orte liefern, wo eine Radiosonde nicht verfügbar ist. Der Schwerpunkt dieser Dissertation liegt hauptsächlich auf der verbesserten Bestimmung der Laufzeitverzögerungen durch den feuchten Anteil der Atmosphäre in der geodätischen VLBI, wobei die Wasserdampfradiometerbeobachtungen am Radioteleskop in Effelsberg genutzt werden. Verglichen mit anderen Wasserdampfradiometern hat dieses Instrument große Vorteile hinsichtlich der Messwertgewinnung. Es zeigt immer in dieselbe Richtung wie die VLBI-Antenne, weil es im Primärfokus des Teleskopes installiert ist. In oder in der Nähe von Effelsberg werden jedoch keine Radiosondenbeobachtungen durchgeführt. Um diese Schwäche zu beheben, wurde ein numerisches Wettermodell des European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) für die Bestimmung von Kalibrierwerten herangezogen. Es liefert für das Radioteleskop in Effelsberg meteorologische Daten wie z.B. Druck, Temperatur und Wasserdampfdruck. Solche Profile wurden in einem Strahlungsübertragungsmodell verarbeitet, welches theoretische Messungen der Helligkeitstemperatur ermittelt und diese in Laufzeitverzögerungen durch den feuchten Anteil der Atmosphäre umwandelt. Um die Laufzeitverzögerungen durch den feuchten Anteil der Atmosphäre aus Wasserdampfradiometermessungen und die Modelle besser vergleichen zu können, wurden alle Laufzeitverzögerungen durch den feuchten Anteil der Atmosphäre auf die Zenitrichtung (Zenith Wet Delays, ZWD) bezogen. Der Vergleich hatte zum Ergebnis, dass die ZWDs der Modelle einen um ca. 30 mm höheren Wert zeigten als jene, die mit einem Wasserdampfradiometer gemessen wurden. Im Vergleich zu GPS-abgeleiteten ZWDs betrugen die durchschnittlichen Offsets der Modelle und des Wasserdampfradiometers -4.3±11.0 mm beziehungsweise -44.8±24.0 mm. Diese ZWDVergleiche haben gezeigt, dass eine Korrektur der WVR ZWDs erforderlich ist. Außerdem hatte es den Anschein, dass die rohen WVR-ZWD-Messungen geglättet werden sollten, um das Rauschen des Instruments zu reduzieren. Für die Fehlerkorrektur wurden außerdem in jeder einzelnen Session durchschnittliche Offsets zwischen den Modellen und den Wasserdampfradiometern berechnet und angesetzt. Allerdings zeigte sich schon hier, dass die interne Kalibrierung des Instruments einige Defizite aufwies und die Ergebnisse dadurch in ihrer Genauigkeit eingeschränkt waren. Die Korrekturen an den Laufzeitverzögerungen in Zenitrichtung aus verschiedenen Ansätzen wurden in fünf geodätischen VLBI-Sessionen verwendet und die Auswirkungen auf die Basislinienwiederholbarkeit und Höhengenauigkeit untersucht. Es stellte sich heraus, dass die Basislinienwiederholbarkeit bei manchen Basislinien verbessert werden konnte, wenn Offsets an den gemessenen WVR-Ergebnissen angebracht wurden. Die Verbesserung war jedoch kleiner als 1 Prozent. Obwohl die Höhengenauigkeit, ausgedrückt als Root Mean Squared Error (RMS) und Weighted RMS (WRMS), um den Faktor 2 verbessert werden konnte, zeigte die Höhenkomponente selbst eine größere Ablage von den Ursprungswerten als erwartet. Als Ursache dafür wurde die Vielzahl der zu schätzenden Parameter und ihre zum Teil hohen Korrelationen identifiziert. Die Schlussfolgerung dieser Untersuchung ist somit, dass die Waserdampfradiometerbeobachtungen in Effelsberg noch nicht gänzlich für die Fehlerbehebung der Laufzeitverzögerungen durch den feuchten Anteil der Atmosphäre geeignet sind, was hauptsächlich auf die Unvollkommenheit einer instrumentellen Kalibrierung zurückzuführen ist. Es werden weitere Studien mit einer größeren Zahl von WVR- Messwerten mit einer verbesserten Kalibrierung des WVR notwendig sein, um die Zweckmäßigkeit des Wasserdampfradiometers für die Fehlerbehebung der Laufzeitverzögerungen durch den feuchten Anteil der Atmosphäre in der geodätischen VLBI abschließend nachweisen zu können

Spectral Signature Modification By Application Of Infrared Frequency-selective Surfaces

It is desirable to modify the spectral signature of a surface, particularly in the infrared (IR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. To alter the surface signature in the IR, two methods are investigated: thin film application and antenna array application. The former approach is a common and straightforward incorporation of optically-thin film coatings on the surface designated for signature modification. The latter technique requires the complex design of a periodic array of passive microantenna elements to cover the surface in order to modify its signature. This technology is known as frequency selective surface (FSS) technology and is established in the millimeter-wave spectral regime, but is a challenging technology to scale for IR application. Incorporation of thin films and FSS antenna elements on a surface permits the signature of a surface to be changed in a deterministic manner. In the seminal application of this work, both technologies are integrated to comprise a circuit-analog absorbing IR FSS. The design and modeling of surface treatments are accomplished using commercially-available electromagnetic simulation software. Fabrication of microstructured antenna arrays is accomplished via microlithographic technology, particularly using an industrial direct-write electron-beam lithography system. Comprehensive measurement methods are utilized to study the patterned surfaces, including infrared spectral radiometry and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry. These systems allow for direct and complementary spectral signature measurements--the radiometer measures the absorption or emission of the surface, and the spectrometer measures its transmission and reflection. For the circuit-analog absorbing square-loop IR FSS, the spectral modulation in emission is measured to be greater than 85% at resonance. Other desirable modifications of surface signature are also explored; these include the ability to filter radiation based on its polarization orientation and the ability to dynamically tune the surface signature. An array of spiral FSS elements allows for circular polarization conditioning. Three techniques for tuning the IR FSS signature via voltage application are explored, including the incorporation of a pn junction substrate, a piezoelectric substrate and a liquid crystal superstrate. These studies will ignite future explorations of IR FSS technology, enabling various unique applications