Compact Dielectric Resonator Antenna Array for Microwave Breast Cancer Detection

A compact stair shaped DRA sensor is designed and fabricated for microwave breast cancer detection. A quarter wavelength choke was incorporated to minimize the finite ground plane. A 10 dB return loss of about 43% simulated bandwidth and 50% measured bandwidth are achieved with a 50 Ohms coaxial port. The design is performed numerically and confirmed experimentally. Simple model for the tissue is considered and interaction of the sensor with the tissue is investigated. The good matching with the tissue is remained without adding any matching materials or lumped loads. A two-element sensor array is studied numerically. Preliminary results are obtained for the case with and without tumor.