Abstract
This article presents a study of different calibration techniques for vector network analyzer -based material measurements using commercially available material characterization kits (MCKs). Such MCKs are designed for fast broadband material characterization at millimeter-wave and terahertz frequencies and are based on gated-reflect-line calibration for removal of errors associated with the fixture. In this article, we have applied thru-reflect-line (TRL) calibration to the MCKs, yielding robust S -parameters that are used to calculate the relative permittivity and loss tangent of materials. Two different types of line standards, i.e., custom machined corrugated lines and air lines (a quarter-wave air gap between the ports of the MCKs), were employed to produce the desired phase shift. Both types of standard produced similar results. These investigations were carried out on three types of low-loss dielectric material, using MCKs operating at two selected waveguides bands within the range 140–750 GHz. The same samples were measured using time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) for comparison. The extracted relative permittivities and loss tangents using MCKs with TRL calibration and TDS are compared against literature values. Good agreement is achieved.
Highlights
T HERE is an increasing interest in the exploitation of the millimeter-wave and terahertz spectrum, and this has Manuscript received January 27, 2020; revised April 23, 2020; accepted May 27, 2020
The material characterization kits (MCKs) measurements were repeated six times, and the results reported below are the mean of these six repetitions
This article has presented a study of different calibration techniques for material characterization at millimeter-wave and terahertz frequencies using MCKs
Summary
T HERE is an increasing interest in the exploitation of the millimeter-wave and terahertz spectrum, and this has Manuscript received January 27, 2020; revised April 23, 2020; accepted May 27, 2020. The free-space method based on a vector network analyzer (VNA) represents another mainstream approach for characterization of dielectric materials over a broad frequency range This is a noncontact technique capable of measurement at varying temperatures. The TRL technique has been applied to the calibration of MCKs, so that more accurate S-parameter measurements of the MUT can be obtained These S-parameters were employed to calculate the relative permittivity and loss tangent of materials. The work is extended further, in terms of utilization of a more robust TRL calibration technique for the MCK; measurement of materials over two different waveguide bands within the range of 140–750 GHz so that a broader study is possible; and direct comparison of results from MCKs and TDS.
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