A free space frequency-time-domain technique for electromagnetic characterization of materials using reflection-based measurement

In this report, a free space frequency-time-domain technique is presented for characterizing the electrical properties and thickness of the sample using multiple reflections and fabry-perot resonance phenomenon. The retrieval of constitutive electromagnetic parameters of the sample has been carried out by comparing the measured reflection coefficient data from the sample at two different incident angles. The relative permittivity as well as relative permeability along with the thickness of different samples viz., beryllia, silicon, and plexiglass have been evaluated with high accuracy in the frequency range 1 to 15 GHz. The method is also experimentally validated by successfully reconstructing the unknown material properties of two different samples. The unique advantage of this method lies in non-requirement of any prior knowledge of the sample's thickness for measuring the complex relative dielectric constant as well as relative permeability of the sample. To determine the electromagnetic properties of the sample, the sole knowledge of reflection coefficient data are needed. Moreover, the method does not involve any additional measurement for the reference calibration. The simple, cost-effective proposed scheme is quite useful in many applications like accurate determination of signal strength in indoor wireless communication, through wall imaging, food industry, and so on.

Automated summary

A free space frequency-time-domain technique is introduced in the report for characterizing the electrical properties and thickness of a sample using multiple reflections and fabry-perot resonance phenomenon. The method retrieves the constitutive electromagnetic parameters of the sample by comparing the measured reflection coefficient data at different incident angles, accurately evaluating the relative permittivity, relative permeability, and thickness of various samples in the frequency range of 1 to 15 GHz. Additionally, the method is experimentally validated for reconstructing unknown material properties and does not require prior knowledge of the sample's thickness.