A system and method for excitation generation in soft-field tomography are provided. One method includes applying a plurality of phase modulated (or phase and amplitude modulated) excitations to a plurality of transducers of a data acquisition system positioned proximate a surface of an object and measuring a response to the applied phase modulated (or phase and amplitude modulated) excitations at the plurality of transducers. The method also includes determining a property of the object based on the measured responses.
