Microwave Imaging System for In-Line Security Assessment

The accidental foreign bodies contamination is still a major issue for food manufacturing industries. The continuous growth of automation along production lines together with the increasing attention of the customers towards food products quality, improved the industries care aiming to avoid complaints and ensure the best possible quality. As a matter of fact, several technologies are employed, but they lack in detecting certain class of contaminants, such as low-density plastics or small glass fragments that could turn into a severe threat, in particular for children. This work proposes a microwave imaging system in order to overcome these limitation in employed technologies. The design and characterization are reported in this paper; the simulations are addressed to the realization of a system prototype.