volume | PIER Journals

Abstract

Recently it was demonstrated that a new type of radio frequency surface electromagnetic wave appears on the surface of a lossy conductive medium in the presence of dielectric permittivity gradients. We present theoretical and experimental study of gradient surface electromagnetic wave (GSEW) excitation and propagation on such conductive surfaces as various metals, water, and human skin. The geometry of our experiments is designed to emulate various potential biosensing and bioimaging applications of GSEW. We demonstrate the capability of GSEW-based techniques to detect the presence of metallic and dielectric objects underwater in close proximity to the water surface. Since the dielectric properties of the human body are similar to those of water, we anticipate that the developed GSEW technique may supplement x-ray and ultrasound-based biosensing and bioimaging.

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Dr. Igor I. Smolyaninov

Dr. Quirino Balzano