Development of Dual Port Scanning Free Space Measurement System

Abstract

This study shows the development of a dual port scanning free space measurement system for measuring full-field electromagnetic (EM) characteristics, This system consists of a free space measurement system with two antennas, a two-axis linear stage, and mechatronic synchronization which enables the automatized measurement of full-field EM properties, such as return and insertion losses (S-11, S-21), permittivity (epsilon(r)), and permeability (mu(r)). It is possible to visualize the measured spectra at each point, obtaining a full-field property distribution for each sweep frequency contained in a video file for each parameter (S-11, S-21, epsilon(')(r), epsilon('')(r), mu(')(r) or mu('')(r)), In other words, six videos are provided immediately after the measurement. The developed system achieved high accuracy and reliability, e.g. the measurement of a real value of permittivity of 2.0602% +/- 2.35% and loss tangent of 0-0.003 46 of a PTFE standard, For verification and application, the developed system visualizes full-field EM distributions over the scan area, including the specimen, sample holder, and air. The effective area of the specimen and boundary effects between the specimen and sample holder were also visualized.