A Fast and Accurate Amplitude-Only Transmission-Reflection Method for Complex Permittivity Determination of Lossy Materials

Complex scattering parameter measurements using expensive vector network analyzers make microwave techniques inconvenient for industrial-based applications. In industry, accurate and fast evaluation of materials´ properties using a relatively inexpensive measurement setup is a key issue. In this paper, we derive an objective function for fast and accurate complex permittivity (epsiv) determination of lossy materials using amplitude-only reflection and transmission scattering parameter measurements. The measurements can be carried out by relatively inexpensive microwave instruments such as a scalar network analyzer. The domain for computations of the epsiv is significantly reduced to facilitate rapid epsiv determination. The objective function is verified by measurements of a commercially available antifreeze solution and binary mixture of ethyl alcohol and water solution.