Dual-Frequency Microwave Resonator for Noninvasive Detection of Aqueous Glucose

A novel dual-band microwave sensor for noninvasive detection of glucose concentration is presented. The proposed sensor consists of an open-loop resonator coupled to the input and the output of the structure. The resonator is loaded with modified split-ring resonators (SRRs) for dual-band operation as a sensing area. The open-loop resonator with electric coupling operating at low band functions as a host. The SRRs embedded into the open-loop resonator operate at a high band. In the proposed sensor, the overall size is miniaturized using the embedded resonator structure. This configuration has two transmission poles (TPs) and one transmission zero (TZ) in transmission coefficients, which are all sensitive to glucose-level (GL) variation. A dielectric container made with 3-D printer is used for dropping the aqueous glucose samples on the sensing section of the sensor. The experimental results obtained from the prototype having a dielectric container shows two resonance frequencies at 1.8 and 2.67 GHz as well as a TZ at 2.32 GHz. A glucose solution with deionized water in the range from 89 to 456 mg/dL is used in the measurements. For this range of glucose concentrations, the experimental frequency resolutions are 0.78 and 0.95 MHz/(mg/dL) based on the TP and the TZ, respectively.