A new technique for free-space permittivity measurements of lossy dielectrics

A new technique for permittivity measurements of lossy dielectrics is proposed. It is based on attenuation measurements for both polarizations of backscattered field from a dihedral corner coated by the material under test with respect to that backscattered from an identical perfectly conducting one. Such a technique has the appealing feature of employing an uncritical target without the need of phase measurement, thus overcoming the two main drawbacks of the other available free-space measurement techniques. Numerical simulations assessing the effectiveness of such a technique are also reported and discussed.