Dielectric microwave sensors with multivariate calibration

Abstract

The composition of materials generally has an influence on its dielectric properties. Hence it may be possible to determine their composition using microwave dielectric spectra. However with complex materials like foodstuffs it is difficult to devise a suitable dielectric model. Therefore multivariate calibration methods are discussed here. With these calibrations it is also possible to process the measured scattering parameters directly. In this case it is not necessary to calculate the permittivity and more degrees of freedom are available for the design of a sensor. The direct processing of the S-parameters is demonstrated with a new transmissionline sensor.