Os metamateriais acústicos/elásticos são materiais que apresentam características elásticas diferentes dos materiais comuns encontrados na natureza, sendo o índice de refração negativo a principal característica destes novos materiais. A literatura reporta que esta propriedade é atingida para uma faixa muito estreita de frequências, sendo um efeito muito localizado, e, adicionalmente, as estruturas propostas são ideais em extremo, o que dificulta sua aplicação prática em dispositivos acústicos. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi projetar metamateriais acústicos e elásticos tridimensionais com índice de refração negativo numa faixa de frequência mais longa em relação ao reportado na literatura, e utilizando geometrias e materiais que tornem viável sua implementação prática para a fabricação de dispositivos. Com este propósito foi desenvolvido um formalismo da teoria de meio efetivo (TME), no limite de comprimento de onda longa e baixas frações de preenchimento. Com a TME desenvolvida foi estudado o espalhamento de inclusões esféricas simples, revestidas e duplamente revestidas em diferentes matrizes hospedeiras. Os resultados mostraram a existência de bandas ressonantes nos coeficientes da matriz T relacionadas aos modos monopolares, dipolares e quadrupolares. Materiais compósitos constituídos por esferas simples, revestidas ou duplamente revestidas foram analisados utilizando o formalismo TME. Os resultados mostraram que os valores negativos dos parâmetros elásticos nestes materiais estão completamente relacionados aos efeitos ressonantes das inclusões esféricas. Metamateriais elásticos e acústicos foram projetados sobrepondo dois ou mais compósitos diferentes, cada um com diferentes propriedades, de tal forma que o efeito total no metamaterial apresente as características definidas no projeto inicial. O metamaterial elástico foi projetado utilizando a sobreposição de três compósitos de inclusões esféricas diferentes. Este metamaterial apresentou índice de refração negativa na região de 2 kHz, numa faixa de largura igual a 80 Hz. O metamaterial acústico foi projetado sobrepondo dois compósitos de inclusões esféricas diferentes. Este material apresentou índice de refração negativa na região de 7 kHz, numa faixa de 500 Hz. As geometrias e materiais utilizados no projeto destes metamateriais são acessíveis e de fácil manipulação, o que facilitará sua futura fabricação em laboratório. Os resultados obtidos neste trabalho sugerem a possibilidade de fabricar estes metamateriais no laboratório e empregá-los no controle de ondas acústicas, elásticas e sísmicas, assim como também no projeto de um manto de invisibilidade acústica/elástica. / The acoustic/elastic metamaterials are materials that show different elastic features from common materials found in nature and their main characteristics are their negative refractive index. The literature reports that this property is reached for a very narrow range of frequencies, as a very localized phenomenon, and additionally, the proposed structures are extremely ideals, which makes its practical application difficult on acoustic devices. The objective of this work was to design acoustic/elastic three-dimensional Metamaterials with negative refractive index in a wider frequency band than that reported in the literature, and using geometries and materials that make it possible their practical implementation for manufacturing acoustic/elastic devices. With this purpose a formalism of the effective medium theory (EMT) was developed, in the limit of wavelength and low fill fractions. With the developed EMT, the scattering of simple spherical inclusions, coated and doubly coated in different host substrates were studied. The results showed the existence of resonant bands in the coefficients of the T matrix related to monopolar, dipolar and quadrupolar modes. Composite materials consisting of simple, coated or double coated spheres were analyzed using the EMT formalism. The results showed that the negative values of elastic parameters in these materials are completely related to resonant effects of the spheres of inclusion. Elastic and acoustic Metamaterials were designed by overlaying two or more different composites, each with different properties, such that the overall effect on the metamaterial shows the desired features defined in the initial project. The elastic metamaterial was designed by overlapping three different composites of different spherical inclusions. This metamaterial shows negative refractive index in the region of 2 kHz, in a band of width of 80 Hz. The acoustic metamaterial was designed by overlapping two composites of different spherical inclusions. This material shows negative refractive index in the region of 7 kHz, in a band of width of 500 Hz. The geometries and materials used in the design of these Metamaterials are affordable and easy to handle, which will facilitate their future fabrication in the laboratory. The results obtained in this study suggest the possibility to manufacture these metamaterials in the laboratory and use them in the control of acoustic, elastic and seismic waves, as well as in the design of invisible cloak.

Os metamateriais acústicos/elásticos são materiais que apresentam características elásticas diferentes dos materiais comuns encontrados na natureza, sendo o índice de refração negativo a principal característica destes novos materiais. A literatura reporta que esta propriedade é atingida para uma faixa muito estreita de frequências, sendo um efeito muito localizado, e, adicionalmente, as estruturas propostas são ideais em extremo, o que dificulta sua aplicação prática em dispositivos acústicos. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi projetar metamateriais acústicos e elásticos tridimensionais com índice de refração negativo numa faixa de frequência mais longa em relação ao reportado na literatura, e utilizando geometrias e materiais que tornem viável sua implementação prática para a fabricação de dispositivos. Com este propósito foi desenvolvido um formalismo da teoria de meio efetivo (TME), no limite de comprimento de onda longa e baixas frações de preenchimento. Com a TME desenvolvida foi estudado o espalhamento de inclusões esféricas simples, revestidas e duplamente revestidas em diferentes matrizes hospedeiras. Os resultados mostraram a existência de bandas ressonantes nos coeficientes da matriz T relacionadas aos modos monopolares, dipolares e quadrupolares. Materiais compósitos constituídos por esferas simples, revestidas ou duplamente revestidas foram analisados utilizando o formalismo TME. Os resultados mostraram que os valores negativos dos parâmetros elásticos nestes materiais estão completamente relacionados aos efeitos ressonantes das inclusões esféricas. Metamateriais elásticos e acústicos foram projetados sobrepondo dois ou mais compósitos diferentes, cada um com diferentes propriedades, de tal forma que o efeito total no metamaterial apresente as características definidas no projeto inicial. O metamaterial elástico foi projetado utilizando a sobreposição de três compósitos de inclusões esféricas diferentes. Este metamaterial apresentou índice de refração negativa na região de 2 kHz, numa faixa de largura igual a 80 Hz. O metamaterial acústico foi projetado sobrepondo dois compósitos de inclusões esféricas diferentes. Este material apresentou índice de refração negativa na região de 7 kHz, numa faixa de 500 Hz. As geometrias e materiais utilizados no projeto destes metamateriais são acessíveis e de fácil manipulação, o que facilitará sua futura fabricação em laboratório. Os resultados obtidos neste trabalho sugerem a possibilidade de fabricar estes metamateriais no laboratório e empregá-los no controle de ondas acústicas, elásticas e sísmicas, assim como também no projeto de um manto de invisibilidade acústica/elástica. / The acoustic/elastic metamaterials are materials that show different elastic features from common materials found in nature and their main characteristics are their negative refractive index. The literature reports that this property is reached for a very narrow range of frequencies, as a very localized phenomenon, and additionally, the proposed structures are extremely ideals, which makes its practical application difficult on acoustic devices. The objective of this work was to design acoustic/elastic three-dimensional Metamaterials with negative refractive index in a wider frequency band than that reported in the literature, and using geometries and materials that make it possible their practical implementation for manufacturing acoustic/elastic devices. With this purpose a formalism of the effective medium theory (EMT) was developed, in the limit of wavelength and low fill fractions. With the developed EMT, the scattering of simple spherical inclusions, coated and doubly coated in different host substrates were studied. The results showed the existence of resonant bands in the coefficients of the T matrix related to monopolar, dipolar and quadrupolar modes. Composite materials consisting of simple, coated or double coated spheres were analyzed using the EMT formalism. The results showed that the negative values of elastic parameters in these materials are completely related to resonant effects of the spheres of inclusion. Elastic and acoustic Metamaterials were designed by overlaying two or more different composites, each with different properties, such that the overall effect on the metamaterial shows the desired features defined in the initial project. The elastic metamaterial was designed by overlapping three different composites of different spherical inclusions. This metamaterial shows negative refractive index in the region of 2 kHz, in a band of width of 80 Hz. The acoustic metamaterial was designed by overlapping two composites of different spherical inclusions. This material shows negative refractive index in the region of 7 kHz, in a band of width of 500 Hz. The geometries and materials used in the design of these Metamaterials are affordable and easy to handle, which will facilitate their future fabrication in the laboratory. The results obtained in this study suggest the possibility to manufacture these metamaterials in the laboratory and use them in the control of acoustic, elastic and seismic waves, as well as in the design of invisible cloak.

The manipulation of electromagnetic radiation via the use of periodic arrays of sub-wavelength metallic structures (unit cells), nowadays named "metamaterials", has been known of in the microwave engineering community for over fifty years. In the last decade interest in such sub-wavelength structures grew, mainly due to their ability to interact with radiation in ways natural materials could not e.g. by producing a negative refractive index (NRI). This project sought to see whether NRI metamaterials could provide benefits to the mm and sub-mm wavelength astronomical instrumentation currently in use. To aid rapid design and optimisation of devices made from a cascaded set of metamaterial unit cells, a hybridised Transmission Line (TL) model was developed where the matrix components used in the TL model were "seeded" with data taken from a Finite Element Method (FEM) model of a simpler structure. A comparison between the two found that the TL model was capable of providing results that differed from the FEM model by no more than ~10E−4 for the transmitted intensity, |S21|^2, and <1° for transmitted phase, arg(S21). A slab of material with a refractive index, n = −1, can exhibit an effect known as "superlensing". A three unit cell thick NRI slab was designed, manufactured and experimentally tested. It was found to be capable of producing an NRI across a fractional band of at least 21%, producing a refractive index value of n = −1 at around 90 GHz. The experimental and simulated transmission and reflection data show good match with each other. A highly birefringent air gap Half Wave Plate (HWP) was designed, manufactured and experimentally tested. Defining its useful bandwidth as the region where the phase difference, is equal to (−180 ± 3)° a single HWP had a fractional bandwidth of 0.3%. The bandwidth was extended by using the Pancharatnam method, developed in the 1950's to produce highly achromatic optical wave plates. The method however is applicable to other frequencies and polarisation control technologies. Optimising a three HWP TL-based Pancharatnam model, the HWP's modelled fractional bandwidth increased to 6.6%. Experimental data agrees with the model showing a plateauing of the phase difference at −180°. A highly birefringent polypropylene embedded Quarter Wave Plate (QWP) was also designed, manufactured and tested. Defining its useful bandwidth as the region where the differential phase is (90 ± 2)° a single QWP produced a fractional bandwidth of 0.6%. By optimising a four QWP TL-based Pancharatnam model, the QWP's performance was improved to 7.8%. Experimental data, whilst not in complete agreement with the model does show a reduction in the gradient of phase difference where it crossed 90°. It was found that current designs for NRI metamaterials fall short of the standards required to be used in quasi-optical astronomical instrumentation due to high dispersion and absorption. The high dispersion limits NRI metamaterials to uses in instruments built for narrowband applications. Whilst the Pancharatnam method can increase bandwidths where a flat differential phase response is required, this comes at the cost of increased absorption. To reach their full potential, NRI metamaterials' lossiness must be reduced e.g. possibly by cryogenic means or the use of "active" metamaterials.

The author of this thesis concentrates his attention on quantum optical properties of some artificial electromagnetic media, such as quantum coherent atomic vapors (various multilevel electromagnetically induced transparency vapors) and negative refractive index materials, and suggests some possible ways to manipulate wave propagations inside the artificial electromagnetic materials based on quantum coherence and quantum vacuum effects. In Chapters 1 and 2, the author reviews the previous papers on quantum coherence as well as the relevant work such as electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), atomic population trapping and their various applications. The basic concepts of quantum coherence (atomic phase coherence, quantum interferences within atomic energy levels) and quantum vacuum are introduced, and the theoretical formulations for treating wave propagations in quantum coherent media are presented. In Chapter 3, the author considers three topics on the manipulation of light propagations via quantum coherence and quantum interferences: i) the evolutional optical behaviors (turn-on dynamics) of a four-level N-configuration atomic system is studied and the tunable optical behavior that depends on the intensity ratio of the signal field to the control field is considered. Some typical photonic logic gates (e.g. NOT and NOR gates) are designed based on the tunable four-level optical responses of the N-configuration atomic system; ii) the destructive and constructive quantum interferences between two control transitions (driven by the control fields) in a tripod-type four-level system is suggested. The double-control quantum interferences can be utilized to realize some photonic devices such as the logic-gate devices, e.g., NOT, OR, NOR and EXNOR gates; iii) some new quantum coherent schemes (using EIT and dressed-state mixed-parity transitions) for realizing negative refractive indices are proposed. The most remarkable characteristic (and advantage) of the present scenarios is such that the isotropic left-handed media (with microscopic structure units at the atomic level) in the optical frequency band can be achieved. Quantum vacuum (the ground state of quantized fields) can exhibit many interesting effects. In Chapter 4, we investigate two quantum-vacuum effects in artificial materials: i) the anisotropic distribution of quantum-vacuum momentum density in a moving electromagnetic medium; ii) the angular momentum transfer between quantum vacuum and anisotropic medium. Such quantum-vacuum macroscopic mechanical effects could be detected by current technology, e.g., the so-called fiber optical sensor that can measure motion with nanoscale sensitivity. We expect that these vacuum effects could be utilized to develop sensitive sensor techniques or to design new quantum optical and photonic devices.In Chapter 5, the author suggests some interesting effects due to the combination of quantum coherence and quantum vacuum, i.e., the quantum coherent effects, in which the quantum-vacuum fluctuation field is involved. Two topics are addressed: i) spontaneous emission inhibition due to quantum interference in a three-level system; ii) quantum light-induced guiding potentials for coherent manipulation of atomic matter waves (containing multilevel atoms). These quantum guiding potentials could be utilized to cool and trap atoms, and may be used for the development of new techniques of atom fibers and atom chips, where the coherent manipulation of atomic matter waves is needed.In Chapter 6, we conclude this thesis with some remarks, briefly discuss new work that deserves further consideration in the future, and present a guide to the previously published papers by us. / QC 20100810

[pt] Nos últimos anos, tem aumentado o interesse no uso da transmissão de energia sem fio por acoplamento indutivo em muitas aplicações. Uma das maiores limitações dessa tecnologia é a distância de operação reduzida. Alguns trabalhos recentes sugerem usar materiais artificiais conhecidos como metamateriais para aprimorar a eficiência da transferência de potência ao longo da distância. Devido às suas propriedades eletromagnéticas únicas, tais como permeabilidade magnética negativa, metamateriais podem ser usados para amplificar as ondas evanescentes do campo próximo. No presente trabalho, é estudado o uso de metamateriais eletromagnéticos para aumentar o acoplamento indutivo por meio da amplificação do campo próximo. São apresentados cálculos analíticos e simulações dos metamateriais propostos. O melhoramento da eficiência na transferência de potência é apoiado por evidências experimentais. / [en] Over recent years, the interest in using inductive wireless power transmission for many applications has grown. One of the major limitations of this technology is the reduced operating distance. Some recent works have suggested using artificial materials known as metamaterials to improve the power transfer efficiency over distance. Due to their unique electromagnetic properties, such as negative permeability, metamaterials can be used to enhance the evanescent waves of the near field. In the present work, the usage of an electromagnetic metamaterial to increase the inductive coupling by means of enhanced evanescent waves is studied. Analytical calculations and numerical simulations of the proposed metamaterial are presented. The improvement of the power transfer efficiency is supported by empirical evidences.

The goal of this project is to study novel nanoscale excitation volumes, sensitive enoughto study individual chromophores and go on to study new and exciting self assemblyapproaches to this problem. Small excitation volumes may be engineered using light con-finement inside apertures in metal films. These apertures enhance fluorescence emissionrates, quantum yields, decrease fluorescence quenching, enable higher signal-to-noiseratios and allow higher concentration single chromophore fluorescence, to be studied byrestricting this excitation volume. Excitation volumes are reported on using the chro-mophore's fluorescence by utilising fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, which monitorsfluctuations in fluorescence intensity. From the correlation in time, we can find the res-idence time, the number of chromophores, the volume in which they are diffusing andtherefore the fluorescence emission efficiency. Fluorescence properties are a probe ofthe local environment, a particularly powerful tool due to the high brightness (quantumyield) fluorescent dyes and sensitive photo-detection equipment both of which are readilyavailable, (such as avalanche photodiodes and photomultiplier tubes). Novel materialscombining the properties of conducting and non-conducting materials at scales muchsmaller than the incident wavelength are known as meta-materials. These allow combi-nations of properties not usually possible in natural materials at optical frequencies. Theproperties reported so far include; negative refraction, negative phase velocity, fluorescenceemission enhancement, lensing and therefore light confinement has also been proposed tobe possible. Instead of expensive and slow lithography methods many of these materialsmay be fabricated with self assembly techniques, which are truly nanoscopic and otherwiseinaccessible with even the most sophisticated equipment. It was found that nanoscaled volumes from ZMW and HMMs based on NW arrays wereall inefficient at enhancing fluorescence. The primary cause was the reduced fluorescencelifetime reducing the fluorescence efficiency, which runs contrary to some commentatorsin the literature. NW based lensing was found to possible in the blue region of the opticalspectrum in a HMM, without the background fluorescence normally associated with a PAAtemplate. This was achieved using a pseudo-ordered array of relatively large nanowireswith a period just smaller than lambda / 2 which minimised losses. Nanowires in the traditionalregime lambda / 10 produced significant scattering and lead to diffraction, such that they werewholly unsuitable for an optical lensing application.

Abnormal electromagnetic wave propagation characterized by negative group velocity and consequently negative group delay (NGD) has been observed in certain materials as well as in artificially built structures. Within finite frequency intervals where an NGD phenomenon is observed, higher frequency components of the applied waveform are propagated with phase advancement, not delay, relative to the lower frequency components. These media have found use in many applications that require positive delay compensation and an engineered phase characteristic, such as eliminating phase variation with frequency in phase shifters, beam-squint minimization in phased array antenna systems, size reduction of feed-forward amplifiers and others. The three principal questions this thesis addresses are: can a generic formulation for artificial NGD structures based on electric circuit resonators be developed; is it possible to derive a quantitative functional relationship (asymptotic limit) between the maximum achievable NGD and the identified trade-off quantity (out-of-band gain); and, can a microwave circuit exhibiting a fully loss-compensated NGD propagation in both directions be designed and implemented? A generic frequency-domain formulation of artificial NGD structures based on electric circuit resonators is developed and characterized by three parameters, namely center frequency, bandwidth and the out-of-band gain. The developed formulation is validated through several topologies reported in the literature. The trade-off relationship between the achievable NGD on one hand, and the out-of-band gain on the other, is identified. The out-of-band gain is shown to be proportional to transient amplitudes when waveforms with defined “turn on/off” times are propagated through an NGD medium. An asymptotic limit for achievable NGD as a function of the out-of-band gain is derived for multi-stage resonator-based NGD circuits as well as for an optimally engineered linear causal NGD medium. Passive NGD media exhibit loss which can be compensated for via active elements. However, active elements are unilateral in nature and therefore do not allow propagation in both directions. A bilateral gain-compensated circuit is designed and implemented, which overcomes this problem by employing a dual-amplifier configuration while preserving the overall circuit stability.

Abnormal electromagnetic wave propagation characterized by negative group velocity and consequently negative group delay (NGD) has been observed in certain materials as well as in artificially built structures. Within finite frequency intervals where an NGD phenomenon is observed, higher frequency components of the applied waveform are propagated with phase advancement, not delay, relative to the lower frequency components. These media have found use in many applications that require positive delay compensation and an engineered phase characteristic, such as eliminating phase variation with frequency in phase shifters, beam-squint minimization in phased array antenna systems, size reduction of feed-forward amplifiers and others. The three principal questions this thesis addresses are: can a generic formulation for artificial NGD structures based on electric circuit resonators be developed; is it possible to derive a quantitative functional relationship (asymptotic limit) between the maximum achievable NGD and the identified trade-off quantity (out-of-band gain); and, can a microwave circuit exhibiting a fully loss-compensated NGD propagation in both directions be designed and implemented? A generic frequency-domain formulation of artificial NGD structures based on electric circuit resonators is developed and characterized by three parameters, namely center frequency, bandwidth and the out-of-band gain. The developed formulation is validated through several topologies reported in the literature. The trade-off relationship between the achievable NGD on one hand, and the out-of-band gain on the other, is identified. The out-of-band gain is shown to be proportional to transient amplitudes when waveforms with defined “turn on/off” times are propagated through an NGD medium. An asymptotic limit for achievable NGD as a function of the out-of-band gain is derived for multi-stage resonator-based NGD circuits as well as for an optimally engineered linear causal NGD medium. Passive NGD media exhibit loss which can be compensated for via active elements. However, active elements are unilateral in nature and therefore do not allow propagation in both directions. A bilateral gain-compensated circuit is designed and implemented, which overcomes this problem by employing a dual-amplifier configuration while preserving the overall circuit stability.

Η ανίχνευση με τη χρήση μικροκυμάτων παίζει πολύ σημαντικό ρόλο στην τεχνολογική εξέλιξη του κόσμου τα τελευταία 50 χρόνια. Από τα ραντάρ μέχρι τη Μικροκυματική Ραδιομετρία, η ανίχνευση με τη χρήση μικροκυμάτων έχει χρησιμοποιηθεί για έναν αυξανόμενο αριθμό εφαρμογών σε διάφορα επιστημονικά πεδία, μεταξύ των οποίων η χαρτογράφηση του εδάφους, ο καθορισμός της υγρασίας του εδάφους, η θερμογραφία και η ανίχνευση του καρκίνου του μαστού. Έτσι, οι μικροκυματικοί αισθητήρες, διαθέτοντας την ικανότητα να διαπερνούν πολλά είδη μέσων (πχ. σύννεφα, βιολογικοί ιστοί), έχουν μια σημαντική θέση ανάμεσα σε άλλες τεχνικές μέτρησης. Η Μικροκυματική Ραδιομετρία αποτελεί ένα σημαντικό τομέα της επιστημονικής έρευνας και εφαρμογής της ανίχνευσης με τη χρήση μικροκυμάτων, καθώς αποτελεί μια παθητική μέθοδο ανίχνευσης της φυσικά εκπεμπόμενης χαοτικής θερμικής ακτινοβολίας από κάθε σώμα που βρίσκεται σε θερμοκρασία άνω του απόλυτου μηδενός (-273 Κελσίου). Ένα μικροκυματικό ραδιόμετρο είναι η συσκευή που χρησιμοποιείται για τη διεξαγωγή ραδιομετρικών μετρήσεων. Η ραδιομετρία έχει αποτελέσει ένα σημαντικό τομέα έρευνας όχι μόνο για την αξιολόγηση της ατμόσφαιρας και της επιφάνειας της γης, αλλά και για την περαιτέρω διερεύνηση των παθητικών μετρήσεων, με σημαντικές εφαρμογές ειδικά στον τομέα της βιοϊατρικής. Στα πλαίσια της παρούσας Διδακτορικής Διατριβής μελετήθηκε σε θεωρητικό και πειραματικό επίπεδο η βελτιστοποίηση των ιδιοτήτων ανίχνευσης ενός Τρισδιάστατου Συστήματος Παθητικής Μικροκυματικής Ραδιομετρικής Απεικόνισης για διαγνωστικές εφαρμογές εγκεφάλου. Η καινοτομία της προτεινόμενης μεθόδου έγκειται στη χρήση μιας αγώγιμης ελλειψοειδούς κοιλότητας που δρα σαν μορφοποιητής δέσμης, ώστε να επιτευχθεί μέγιστη συγκέντρωση και εστίαση της ακτινοβολίας που εκπέμπει το φυσικό σώμα ενδιαφέροντος, σε συνδυασμό με ευαίσθητους ραδιομετρικούς δέκτες και ομοιοκατευθυντικές κεραίες λήψης στο φάσμα συχνοτήτων 1 – 4 GHz. Η μέτρηση πραγματοποιείται με την τοποθέτηση του ανθρώπινου εγκεφάλου στην περιοχή της πρώτης εστίας και τη λήψη της ακτινοβολίας που συγκλίνει, μέσω ανάκλασης στα τοιχώματα του ελλειψοειδούς, στη δεύτερη εστία. Εκεί είναι τοποθετημένη η κεραία λήψης που συνδέεται στον ευαίσθητο ραδιομετρικό δέκτη. VI Με σκοπό τη βελτίωση των ιδιοτήτων εστίασης του συστήματος, πραγματοποιήθηκε η μοντελοποίησή του και ακολούθησε εκτενής ηλεκτρομαγνητική μελέτη για την ανάλυση της επίδρασης διατάξεων προσαρμογής από κατάλληλα υλικά στο εσωτερικό της ελλειψοειδούς κοιλότητας. Τα αποτελέσματα δείχνουν πως με τη σωστή επιλογή των υλικών και των ιδιοτήτων τους, είναι δυνατό να επιτευχθεί σημαντική βελτίωση του βάθους ανίχνευσης του κατωφλίου ανίχνευσης θερμοκρασίας και της χωρικής διακριτικής ικανότητας του συστήματος. Τα πειράματα με ομοιώματα που πραγματοποιήθηκαν, επαληθεύουν τις βασικές αρχές λειτουργίας του συστήματος καθώς επίσης και την ευεργετική επίδραση των διατάξεων προσαρμογής στις ιδιότητες εστίασής του, που μελετήθηκαν θεωρητικά στο πρώτο στάδιο της έρευνας,. Τέλος, οι πειραματικές διαδικασίες, που σχεδιάστηκαν με βάση πιθανές κλινικές εφαρμογές του συστήματος, δείχνουν ότι έχει βασικά χαρακτηριστικά και ιδιότητες ώστε να αποτελέσει στο μέλλον κλινικό, διαγνωστικό εργαλείο. / Microwave sensing has played an increasingly significant role in the world’s technological advances over the past 50 years. From radar to radiometry, microwave sensing has been used for a large number of applications, including ground mapping, soil moisture determination, thermography, and breast cancer detection. With the ability to safely penetrate many kinds of media (e.g., clouds or biological specimens), microwave sensors find a significant place among other modalities of measurement. Microwave radiometry is an important scientific research and application area of microwave sensing because it provides a passive sensing technique for detecting naturally emitted chaotic thermal radiation by any material object being above the absolute zero temperature (-273 Celsius). A microwave radiometer is the device used to conduct radiometric measurements. While radiometry has been a significant research field for atmospheric and earth surface evaluations, it lends itself to further exploration of passive measurements, with significant applications especially in the biomedical field. In the framework of the present PhD Thesis, a theoretical and experimental optimization study of the sensing capabilities of a Three Dimensional Passive Microwave Radiometry Imaging System for brain diagnostic applications was performed. The novelty of the proposed methodology consists in the use of a conductive ellipsoidal cavity acting as a beamformer to achieve maximum peak of radiation pattern in order to measure the intensity of the microwave energy, radiated by the medium of interest, by using sensitive microwave radiometers and relevant non – contacting antennas within the range of 1 – 4 GHz. The measurement is realized by placing the human brain in the region of the first focus and collecting the radiation converged at the second focus by a receiving antenna connected to the sensitive radiometer. Towards the improvement of the system’s focusing properties, extended electromagnetic analysis was performed in order to validate the impact of matching configurations made from appropriate materials, located inside the ellipsoidal cavity. The results show that with the appropriate choice of materials and careful assessment of their properties, it is possible to significantly improve the system’s detection depth, temperature detection level and spatial sensitivity. VIII The experimental procedures that were performed verify the proof of concept and confirm the beneficial impact of matching configurations on the system’s focusing properties, which was theoretically studied in the first part of the research. Finally, the experimental set used in the study, related to possible clinical applications, produced promising results regarding the potential perspective of the system to serve as a future clinical diagnostic tool.