Application of the genetic algorithm for microwave imaging of a layered dielectric object via the regular shape expansion technique

A novel method combining the genetic algorithm (GA) and regular shape expan sion technique is reported far electromagnetic imaging of a multilayer diel ectric object of arbitrary shape. By measuring the scattered field, the sha pe, location, size, and permittivity of each layer of the object are retrie ved quite successfully. The forward problem is solved based on the equivale nt source current and the method of moments (MoM), while the inverse proble m is reformulated as an optimization problem. The optimization problem is s olved by the proposed method. Numerical simulation shows that good image re construction can be obtained for various multilayer dielectric objects as l ong as the noise level is less than or equal to-20 dB. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.