Three-dimensional reconstruction from real data using a conjugate gradient-coupled dipole method

The aim of the presentwork is to validate a full vectorial electromagnetic inverse scattering algorithm against experimental data. Data were provided courtesy of Institut Fresnel, Marseille, France. These data were carried out in an anechoic chamber and correspond to different canonical targets as well as one mysterious object which is known only by experimentalists who measured the associated scattered field. The inverse algorithm was first developed in the optical domain and is adapted herein to the microwave domain. It is an iterative approach where the parameter of interest, namely the relative permittivity distribution, is updated gradually by minimizing a cost function describing the discrepancy between data and those that would be obtained via a forward solver for the best available estimate of the relative permittivity. The forward solver is based on the coupled dipole method which was introduced in the seventies to study the scattering of light by non-spherical dielectric grains. The forward and inverse schemes are briefly described and various examples are presented that demonstrate the efficiency of the inverse algorithm.