Imaging Radio-Frequency Power Distributions by an EBG Absorber

A thin electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) absorber is employed to capture the 2-d image of radio-frequency (RF) power distribution. The EBG absorber consists of an array of mushroom unit cells formed on a thin dielectric substrate with a metal backplane, and lumped resistors interconnecting the surface patches of the mushrooms. Around the resonance frequency at which the EBG structure acts as a high-impedance surface, the RF power incident on the surface is absorbed by the lumped resistors which are matched with the incident wave impedance. By detecting directly the amounts of power consumed by the individual resistors, an RF power imager can be constructed which captures the 2-d distribution of the RF power illuminating the EBG surface, where polarization discrimination is possible. The resonance (i.e., absorption) frequency is made tunable by adding varactor diodes in parallel with the lumped resistors. The EBG absorber tunable in the frequency range of 700 MHz-2.7 GHz is designed and fabricated, and its performance is evaluated by an equivalent-circuit analysis, simulation and measurement. It is shown that the small resistance of the varactors have a considerable effect on the absorption performance. RF power distributions radiated from a dipole antenna are successfully measured by a matrix of sensitive power detectors installed on the backside of the absorber. Using such an RF power imager, the power distributions of even impulsive RF signals and/or noises can be captured and visualized in situ and in real-time, while the electromagnetic environment is almost undisturbed by the EBG absorber.