Complex Permittivity Measurements of Rainwater in the 0.5–26.5 GHz Frequency Range

Modeling electromagnetic wave propagation in rain requires knowledge of the complex permittivity of rainwater. In response, we measured the complex permittivity of rainwater in the 0.5-26.5 GHz frequency range using an Agilent Technologies 85070E Dielectric Probe Kit and an Agilent N5242A-400 Vector Network Analyzer. Rainwater samples were collected in Graz (Austria) and Kototabang (Indonesia). The results obtained were found to differ slightly from those of Ray´s and Liebe´s models. However, the difference in the complex permittivity of rainwater between the measurement and model results exhibits very small biases in the Mie extinction coefficients ( <; 0.01%).