Advanced planar MIMO sparse imaging for target detection

Millimetre wave or THz imaging has been greatly developed for security detection and non-destructive testing. The imaging system with full electronic scanning of planar multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) array is appealing because of fast scanning speed but it leads to an unaffordable cost with the increase in operation frequency.

The sparse MIMO array is a potential solution, so it will be widely investigated in this project. Besides, in order to achieve a real time frame rate, advanced sparse imaging algorithm in space domain and frequency domain will be investigated. The proper sparse imaging algorithm will be proposed that is compatible with the imaging system setup.

The successful candidate should hold an Honours Degree or a Master’s Degree in Electronic Engineering (e.g., microwave engineering, electromagnetics, antenna theory, wireless communication), Physics or another relevant subject area. The candidates with knowledge or research experience on electromagnetics, synthetic aperture radar, computational imaging, signal/image processing, machine learning and good programming skills are preferred.

References:

[1] Hu, S., Shu, C., Alfadhl, Y. and Chen, X. , 'Advanced THz MIMO Sparse Imaging Scheme Using Multipass Synthetic Aperture Focusing and Low-Rank Matrix Completion Techniques', IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, November 2021.

[2] Amir Masoud, M., Hu, S., Skouroliakou, V., Fusco, V., Chen, X. and Yurduseven, O. , 'Fourier Compatible Near-Field Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Terahertz Imaging with Sparse Non-Uniform Apertures', IEEE Access, December 2021.

[3] WEIKANG SI, XIAODONG ZHUGE , AND JUNGANG MIAO, ‘Sparse Nonuniform Frequency Sampling for Fast SFCW Radar Imaging’, IEEE Access, Volume 8, July 2020.

[4] Sherif Sayed Aboelyazeed Ahmed, ‘Electronic Microwave Imaging with Planar Multistatic Arrays’, Faculty of Engineering Friedrich-Alexander-Universit ̈at Erlangen-Nu ̈rnberg, PhD thesis, 2013.

[5] Xiaodong Zhuge and Alexander G. Yarovoy, ‘Study on Two-Dimensional Sparse MIMO UWB Arrays for High Resolution Near-Field Imaging’, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 60, No. 9, September 2012.

How to apply

If you are interested in applying for the above PhD topic please follow the steps below:

1. Contact the supervisor by email or phone to discuss your interest and find out if you woold be suitable. Supervisor details can be found on this topic page. The supervisor will guide you in developing the topic-specific research proposal, which will form part of your application.
2. Click on the 'Apply here' button on this page and you will be taken to the relevant PhD course page, where you can apply using an online application.
3. Complete the online application indicating your selected supervisor and include the research proposal for the topic you have selected.

Good luck!

This is a self funded topic

Brunel offers a number of funding options to research students that help cover the cost of their tuition fees, contribute to living expenses or both. See more information here: https://www.brunel.ac.uk/research/Research-degrees/Research-degree-funding. The UK Government is also offering Doctoral Student Loans for eligible students, and there is some funding available through the Research Councils. Many of our international students benefit from funding provided by their governments or employers. Brunel alumni enjoy tuition fee discounts of 15%.

Meet the Supervisor(s)

Hongying Meng - Dr Hongying Meng is a Reader with Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences, Brunel University London. Before that, he held research positions in several UK universities including University College London (UCL), University of York, University of Southampton, University of Lincoln, and University of Dundee. He received his Ph.D. degree in Communication and Electronic Systems from Xi’an Jiaotong University and was a lecturer in Electronic Engineering Department of Tsinghua University, Beijing in China. He is a Member of Engineering Professors’ Council, and a Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (HEA) in UK. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and an associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology (TCSVT) and IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and Developmental Systems (IEEE TCDS), and a general chair for 16th International Conference on Natural Computation, Fuzzy Systems and Knowledge Discovery (ICNC-FSKD 2020).

Shaoqing Hu - Dr Shaoqing Hu joined the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering as a Lecturer from 2021. Prior to this appointment, he was a teaching associate, teaching fellow with the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London. He is the member of IET, IEEE, SPIE (The international society for optics and photonics), working committee in UK of China Institute of Communications, and Electromagnetic Systems Interest Group: The UK Radar Society.  Dr Hu received the B.Eng and M.Eng degrees at University of Electronic Science and Technology of China in 2013 and 2016, and the PhD degree at Queen Mary University of London in 2020. His research interests include millimeter wave/THz security detection, sparse imaging, antennas, arrays, engineering optimisation and wireless communication. He was a Session Chair of APS/URSI 2020, TPC member of CNIS2023, ICVIP2021, ISAI 2017, ITA 2017, key member of local organizing committee of 2014 7th and 2019 12th UK/Europe-China Workshop on Millimetre-Waves and Terahertz Technologies (UCMMT). Dr Hu was also a recipient of Student Paper Award with IEEE Asia-Pacific Conference on Antennas and Propagation in 2015, and First Prize of Best Student Paper Award with UK-Europe-China Workshop on Millimeter Waves and THz Technologies in 2020. He serves as a referee for 2022 UK Doctoral Research Award and many peer-reviewed journals. I am open to PhD applications and welcome postdoctors and visiting scholars who have the ambition to deliver cutting-edge research output. There are a number of highly competitive international exchange grants, postdoctoral or early career fellowship schemes: The Royal Society Internationl Exchanges, EPSRC Postdoctroal Fellowship, Lverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship, Lverhulme Trust Research Fellowship, Newton International Fellowships, Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship, Marie Sklodowska-Curie ActionsPostdoctoral Fellowship. You need to obtain the support from Brunel University London as your Host Institution for these applications, along with a very competitive research proposal. I have experience in supporting RAEng Research Fellwoship and Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship. Feel free to drop me an email with your CV and a research proposal.

Related Research Group(s)

Electronic Systems - Investigating processes and mechanisms found in nature to inspire alternative approaches to the design and implementation of intelligent electronic systems.