Non-diffracting beams for moisture measurement

Abstract

Non-contact measurement of heterogeneous moisture content is constrained by inconsistencies in the probing signal. As the first step in a new approach using a non-diffracting probing signal, we derive a robust Markov Chain Monte Carlo formulation to determine the antenna patch signals to generate a microwave Bessel beam. We show solutions that provide a set of robust driving signals for a well collimated beam with high SNR over a region of 0.5-3 m, easily sufficient for proximal sensing of moisture content.