Ultra-broadband direct dielectric spectroscopy of liquids using a calibrated Microwave-Fluidic vertical Two-Wire sensor with Bi-Material 3D printed chamber

Abstract

A novel ultra-broadband dielectric spectroscopy technique for liquids is introduced. A two-wire transmission line sensor is employed in which the liquid-under-test comprises fully the propagation medium ensuring high sensitivity and direct permittivity measurement. A vertical wire arrangement is exploited fed by a double-sided parallel stripline with a microstrip interface and no bandwidth-limiting impedance transformation. A seal-integrated flex-rigid 3D-printed liquid container is developed for robust assembly. A raw measured propagation constant correction is proposed through setup calibration using only one reference liquid, which can be air. Sensor operation and design aspects are discussed in detail and an exemplary sensing setup is developed for experimental validation. A set of liquids is characterized within a three-decade bandwidth up to 42 GHz and fitted into a relaxation model along with a comparison against industry-standard broadband open-coax sensor captured data. The conducted study and error analysis certified the performance of the proposed setup.