Hilbert space inverse wave imaging in a planar multilayer environment

Most diffraction tomography (DT) algorithms use a homogeneous Green function (GF) regardless of the medium being imaged. This choice is usually motivated by practical considerations: analytic inversions in standard geometries (Cartesian, spherical, etc.) are significantly simplified by the use of a homogeneous GF, estimating a nonhomogeneous GF can be very difficult, as can incorporating a nonhomogeneous GF into standard DT algorithms. Devaney has circumvented these issues by developing a purely numerical DT inversion algorithm [A. J. Devaney and M. Dennison, Inverse Probl. 19, 855-870 (2003)] that is independent of measurement system geometry, number of frequencies used in the reconstruction, and GF. A planar multilayer GF has been developed for use in Devaney's "Hilbert space" algorithm and used in a proof-of-principle nondestructive evaluation (NDE) experiment to image noninvasively a flaw in an aluminum/copper planar multilayer medium using data collected from an ultrasonic measurement system. The data were collected in a multistatic method with no beamforming: all focusing through the multilayer was performed mathematically "after-the-fact," that is, after the data were collected.