Nondestructive Measurement of Materials Using a Waveguide-Fed Series Slot Array

The reflection from an array of narrow series slots on the broad face of a rectangular waveguide is used to determine the permittivity of lossy materials. The theoretical study of the electromagnetic field in the vicinity of the slots yields a system of integral equations which takes into account the internal and external coupling between slots. The numerical solution is discussed and an optimization procedure for the array is presented, which provides a simple relationship linking the reflection coefficient to the complex permittivity over a specified range. Computed results are compared to experimental values for air and a lossy dielectric at 10 GHz, showing good agreement. Interpolation from computed data is provided by a polynomial expansion: this allows one to determine the complex permittivity once the reflection factor has been measured.