Substrate Integrated Waveguide Cavity Resonators for Complex Permittivity Characterization of Materials

A novel planar substrate integrated waveguide cavity resonator technique for measurement of complex permittivity is described, which has applications for dielectric measurement systems in the pharmaceutical industry. The high-Q resonant structure is a modernization of well-known measurement cells where the dielectric constant is deduced by cavity perturbation from the shift in resonant frequency and the change in the Q factor. The method uses extremely small amounts of a broad range of materials for accurate characterization. The ease of fabrication, low cost, and potential for integration with many other components on the same substrate allows it to be used in a disposable manner.