A Clamped Dual-Ridged Waveguide Measurement System for the Broadband, Nondestructive Characterization of Sheet Materials

A novel two-port probe which uses dual-ridged waveguides for the nondestructive, broadband characterization of sheet materials is presented. The new probe is shown to possess approximately 2 to 3 times the bandwidth of traditional coaxial and rectangular/circular waveguide probe systems while maintaining the structural robustness characteristic of rectangular/circular waveguide probe systems. The theoretical development of the probe is presented, namely, by applying Love’s equivalence theorem and enforcing the continuity of transverse fields at the dual-ridged waveguide apertures, a system of coupled magnetic field integral equations is derived. The system of coupled magnetic field integral equations is solved using the method of moments to yield theoretical expressions for the reflection and transmission coefficients. The complex permittivity and permeability of the unknown material under test are then found by minimizing the root-mean-square difference between the theoretical and measured reflection and transmission coefficients. Experimental results of two magnetic absorbing materials are presented to validate the new probe. The probe’s sensitivity to measured scattering parameter, sample thickness, and flange-plate thickness errors is also investigated