# US 2019/0318146 A1 · Methods, apparatuses, and systems for radio-frequency imaging sensors for advanced fingterprint biometrics and medical imaging > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0318146 A1 - Document ID: US20190318146A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/309,188 - Filed: 2017-06-14 - Published: 2019-10-17 - Earliest claimed: 2016-06-14 - Assignees: Arizona Board of Regents for and on behalf of Arizona State University - Inventors: Georgios Trichopoulos; Panagiotis Theofanopoulos - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190318146A1 ## CPC - A61B 5/05: Detecting, measuring or recording for diagnosis by means of electric currents or magnetic fields; Measuring using microwaves or radio waves (measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof A61B5/11; detecting, measuring or recording bioelectric or biomagnetic signals of the body or parts thereof A61B5/24) - G06V 40/1306: {non-optical, e.g. ultrasonic or capacitive sensing} - A61B 5/0507: using microwaves or terahertz waves - A61B 5/1172: using fingerprinting - G06F 3/04886: by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus - G06T 7/0014: {using an image reference approach} - G06V 40/1365: {Matching; Classification} - H01Q 15/24: Polarising devices; Polarisation filters (H01Q15/12, H01Q15/22 take precedence) - A61B 2562/028: Microscale sensors, e.g. electromechanical sensors [MEMS] - G06T 2207/30088: Skin; Dermal - H01Q 1/368: {using carbon or carbon composite} - H01Q 21/062: {using dipole aerials; (H01Q21/067, H01Q21/068 take precedence)} - H01Q 21/064: {using horn or slot aerials (slotted waveguides arrays H01Q21/005)} - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL - H01Q: ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS (radiators or antennas for microwave heating H05B6/72) ## Abstract Methods, apparatuses, systems, and implementations of an ultra-compact RF (30 GHz-10 THz) imaging sensor topology that provides a new insight into the human skin are disclosed. The skin tissue is the largest organ in the body—both in weight and surface area—and stores valuable information that can revolutionize security biometrics and mobile health monitoring. The proposed compact sensor enables, for the first time, portable and wearable devices to perform superior biometric authentication compared to current fingerprint methods. Additionally, these devices could probe into the skin to monitor vital signs in real-time and enable mobile health monitoring. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A radio-frequency (RF) imaging apparatus comprising: a substrate; at least one RF source; at least one RF detector; and at least one linear imaging array comprising: at least one transmission line; and one or more antennas, where the at least one RF source, the at least one RF detector, and the at least one linear imaging array are monolithically integrated on the substrate, and where the RF imaging apparatus is configured to operate in a frequency range of 30 GHz-10 THz. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising one or more RF switches, each of the one or more RF switches being coupled to at least one of the one or more antennas. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, where the one or more RF switches comprise one or more of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches, photoconductive switches, or switches comprising one or more electrically tunable materials. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The apparatus of claim 3, where the electrically tunable material is graphene. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, where the at least one RF source is configured to propagate RF signals into skin tissue, the at least one linear imaging array is configured to receive RF signals reflected from the skin tissue, and the at least one RF detector is configured to record the detected RF signals. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, where a distance between the one or more antennas comprises a width of less than 300 μm. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, where the one or more antennas are connected in parallel via the at least one transmission line. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, where the one or more antennas are one or more of slot dipole antennas and bowtie antennas. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, where the one or more antennas each have a separate RF source and a separate RF detector. ### Claim 10 (depends on 2) The apparatus of claim 2, where the one or more RF switches each comprise: a plurality of electrically tunable impedance sheets; a metal layer; and at least one insulating layer, where the at least one insulating layer is disposed between the plurality of electrically tunable impedance sheets. ### Claim 11 A radio-frequency (RF) imaging apparatus comprising: a substrate; at least one RF source; a plurality of RF detectors; and a single traveling wave antenna, where the at least one RF source, the at least one RF detector, and the at least one linear imaging array are monolithically integrated on the substrate, and where the RF imaging apparatus is configured to operate in a frequency range of 30 GHz-10 THz. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a polarization selective surface. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The apparatus of claim 11, where the plurality of RF detectors each comprise at least one detector antenna configured to support a same polarization as the travelling wave antenna. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The apparatus of claim 12, where the plurality of detector antennas are orthogonally oriented to the travelling wave antenna. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The apparatus of claim 11, where the plurality of RF detectors comprise one or more of direct detectors and coherent detectors. ### Claim 16 A computing system configured to perform RF imaging of skin tissue, the computing system comprising: at least one memory device; at least one processor; and at least one physical computer readable medium coupled to the at least one memory device, the at least one physical computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions that when executed by the at least one processor are configured to: propagate one or more RF signals into the skin tissue, where the RF signals are configured to penetrate multiple layers of the skin tissue and are in a frequency range of 30 GHz-10 THz; receive one or more reflected RF signals from the multiple layers of the skin tissue; record a digital state of each of the one or more reflected RF signals; construct a digital image of the skin tissue based on the recorded digital states of the one or more reflected RF signals; and determine an authentication state based on a comparison of the digital image and a prerecorded digital image of the skin tissue.