Use of a microwave cavity for sensing dielectric properties of arbitrarily shaped biological objects

A rectangular waveguide resonator operating in the H₁₀₅ mode at 3.2 GHz is used in determining the change in resonant frequency, ΔF, and the Q factor of the cavity, ΔT , when measured with and without single corn kernels of various shapes and dimensions. By measuring those variables for a kernel oriented in two positions differing by a 90° rotation with respect to the maximum E-field vector, the average values of ΔF and ΔT are found to be independent of shape. The ratio ΔF/ΔT is independent of size and is a function of the material properties (ε\´-1)/ε". This function is shown to be related to the material density, moisture content, or other characteristics when all other properties except the one selected remain unchanged