Evanescent Electromagnetics: A Novel, Super-Resolution, and Non-Intrusive, Imaging Technique for Biological Applications

Scanning tunneling and atomic force microscopes (STM and AFM) are used to study biological materials. These methods, often capable of achieving atomic resolutions, reveal fascinating information regarding the inner workings of these materials. However, both STM and AFM require physical contact to the specimen. In the case of STM, the specimen needs to be conducting as well. Here we introduce a new method for imaging biological materials through air or a suitable liquid using decaying or evanescent fields at the tip of a properly designed microwave resonator. This novel method involves the use of an evanescent microwave probe (EMP) and is capable of imaging a variety of non-uniformities in biological materials including conductivity, permittivity, and density variations. EMP is a non-contact and non-destructive sensor and it does not require conducting specimens. Its spatial resolution is currently around 0.4 m at 1 GHz. We have used this probe to map non-uniformities in a variety of materials including metals, semiconductors, insulators, and biological and botanical samples. Here we discuss applications of EMP imaging in bone, teeth, botanical, and agricultural specimens.