A New Method for Measuring the Properties of Dielectric Materials

This letter proposes a new method for determining the properties of dielectric materials. A dielectric sample in free space illuminated by an incident field from a nearby antenna produces a scattered field, which will affect the input impedance of the antenna. The change of the input impedance of the antenna can then be used to determine the permittivity and the loss of the dielectric sample. The measurement setup using a microstrip antenna has been examined in detail. Experimental results have been presented to demonstrate the feasibility and validity of the proposed method.