Innovative inversion approaches for buried objects detection and imaging

The study, development, and analysis of innovative inversion techniques for the detection and imaging of buried objects is addressed in this thesis. The proposed methodologies are based on the use of microwave radiations and radar techniques for subsurface prospecting, such as, for example, the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). More precisely, the reconstruction of shallow buried objects is firstly addressed by an electromagnetic inverse scattering method based on the integration of the inexact Newton (IN) method with an iterative multiscaling approach. The performances of such an inversion approach are analyzed both when considering the use of a second-order Born approximation (SOBA) and when exploiting the full set of non-linear equations governing the scattering phenomena for the buried scenario. The presented methodologies are particularly suitable for applications such as demining (e.g., for the detection of unexploded ordnances, UXOs, and improvised explosive devices, IEDs), for civil engineering applications (e.g., for the investigation of possible structural damages, voids, cracks or water infiltrations in walls, pillars, bridges) as well as for biomedical imaging (e.g., for early cancer detection)