Single-Shot Phaseless Electromagnetic Source Imaging in EMC-Relevant Bands Using Frequency-Diverse Metamaterial Apertures
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Accurate localization and reconstruction of electromagnetic interference (EMI) sources remain a critical challenge in electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) diagnostics, particularly in high-density electronic platforms where conventional near-field scanning is slow, mechanically complex, and often reliant on phase-sensitive measurements. In this work, we extend frequency-diverse computational imaging using metamaterial apertures from active reflectivity imaging to passive electromagnetic source reconstruction. A rigorous forward model is derived to relate unknown volumetric current distributions to frequency-domain measurements obtained from a single sensor in a single-shot acquisition. Two metamaterial architectures (a parallel-plate metasurface aperture and a mode-mixing cavity) are redesigned to operate within the EMC-relevant 0.1–6 GHz frequency band and are evaluated numerically. Reconstruction is performed using regularized inversion without assuming sparsity on the source distribution. Both coherent and phaseless imaging scenarios are investigated. Results demonstrate accurate recovery of overlapping Gaussian emitters and complex source distributions under realistic signal-to-noise ratios. The influence of aperture Q-factor, measurement diversity, imaging distance, and number of frequency samples is systematically analyzed. The proposed framework enables rapid, mechanically scan-free, single-sensor electromagnetic source imaging and provides a promising alternative to conventional near-field EMC diagnostic techniques.
Source: Research Square
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7214999633