An overview of millimeter wave radiometry: imaging phenomenology and applications

This presentation will offer a perspective on the advancement of passive millimeter-wave (mmW) imaging and sensing over the past 30 years. The formation of mmW images using a single, raster-scanned mmW receiver has been possible for many decades and the examination of these images has shown us phenomena that has spawned ideas for their application. This presentation will review a sampling of this imagery data and the associated applications. Perhaps more importantly though will be the discussion of how innovation in mmW electronics, scanning mechanisms and embedded processing have made the realization of some ideas practical and how this work continues to advance today towards more image pixels, higher frame rates, and compact form factors.