Bio-inspired Sensor for the Electrical Permittivity Characterization of Dielectric Materials

A new bioinspired microstrip antenna is proposed to determine the electrical permittivity of dielectric materials. The antenna patch shape is inspired on the Shiso leaf, whose scientific name is Perilla Frutescens. A complementary interdigital capacitor (CIDC) is inserted in the patch antenna geometry. The antenna is simulated and designed using the Ansoft HFSS software. For validation purpose, a prototype of the proposed antenna is fabricated and measured. Thereafter, measurements are carried out to determine the electrical permittivity of three different dielectric materials samples based on the antenna resonant frequency variation in each case. A good agreement is observed between measured and simulated results, including those available in the literature for the considered materials.