The Time-Reversal Method for Source Reconstructions Within a Metallic Cavity: An Experimental Validation

Localizing and reconstructing interference sources is crucial in applications such as electromagnetic interference. While the electromagnetic time-reversal (TR) method has been proposed for source localization, there is limited experimental validation for TR source reconstructions. This letter presents a theoretical analysis and experiments that validate the feasibility of TR source reconstruction within a closed metallic cavity. Wideband signals emitted by the sources are measured at preselected locations in the frequency domain using a vector network analyzer. These measurements are then converted to time-domain signals using a simple algorithm and subsequently time-reversed. The time-reversed signals are injected back into the solution domain, and backward propagation is numerically simulated to locate sources, incorporating space and time kurtoses. The results confirm the effectiveness of the TR method, validating the theoretical analysis and providing a pathway for developing a realistic hardware-based TR source reconstruction system.