Inspection system and method

A method comprising:

• performing a first sweep of a microwave transmitter over one or more portions of an object, wherein during the first sweep the microwave transmitter sequentially emits microwaves having multiple different frequencies within a designated frequency range into the object at each of the one or more portions;
• generating thermal image data, via an infrared (IR) camera, of each of the one or more portions of the object after being heated by the microwaves having the different frequencies during the first sweep;
• determining, for each of the one or more portions of the object, a respective selected frequency within the designated frequency range by analyzing the thermal image data, wherein microwaves having the selected frequency provide greater heating of the corresponding portion than one or more other frequencies in the designated frequency range;
• and
• analyzing select thermal image data of each of the one or more portions, generated by the IR camera upon heating by microwaves having the corresponding selected frequency, to detect a thermal signature representative of an element in the object,
• wherein the select thermal image data is either a subset of the thermal image data generated during the first sweep or is generated during a subsequent, second sweep of the microwave transmitter over the one or more portions of the object, and
• wherein, prior to analyzing the select thermal image data, the one or more processors are configured to control the microwave transmitter to perform a second sweep over the object such that the microwave transmitter emits microwaves having only the selected frequency into the object, and
• the IR camera is configured to generate the select thermal image data of the object after being heated by the microwaves during the second sweep.

An inspection system comprising:

• a microwave transmitter;
• one or more processors operably coupled to the microwave transmitter and configured to control the microwave transmitter to emit microwaves into multiple different portions of an object during a first sweep of the object and during a subsequent, second sweep of the object;
• and
• an infrared (IR) camera operably coupled to the one or more processors and configured to generate thermal image data of each of the portions of the object after the portions are heated by the microwaves during the first sweep and during the second sweep,
• wherein, during the first sweep, the one or more processors are configured to control the microwave transmitter to sequentially emit microwaves having multiple different frequencies within a designated frequency range into each of the multiple portions such that microwaves having a first frequency within the designated frequency range are emitted into a first portion of the portions during a first time period and microwaves having a second frequency within the designated frequency range are emitted into the first portion during a second time period subsequent to the first time period,
• wherein the one or more processors are configured to analyze the thermal image data generated by the IR camera during the first sweep to determine, for each of the portions of the object, a respective selected frequency within the designated frequency range which provides greater heating of the corresponding portion of the object than the other frequencies of microwaves emitted into the corresponding portion, and
• wherein, during the second sweep, the one or more processors are configured to control the microwave transmitter to emit microwaves having only the respective selected frequency into each corresponding portion of the object.