Highly Sensitive Reflective-Mode Defect Detectors and Dielectric Constant Sensors Based on Open-Ended Stepped-Impedance Transmission Lines

In this paper, reflective-mode phase-variation sensors based on open-ended stepped-impedance transmission lines with optimized sensitivity for their use as defect detectors and dielectric constant sensors are reported. The sensitive part of the sensors consists of either a 90° high-impedance or a 180° low-impedance open-ended sensing line. To optimize the sensitivity, such a sensing line is cascaded to a 90° transmission line section with either low or high characteristic impedance, resulting in a stepped-impedance transmission line configuration. For validation purposes, two different sensors are designed and fabricated. One of the sensors is implemented by means of a 90° high impedance (85 Ω) open-ended sensing line cascaded to a 90° low impedance (15 Ω) transmission line section. The other sensor consists of a 180° 15-Ω open-ended sensing line cascaded to a 90° 85-Ω line. Sensitivity optimization for the measurement of dielectric constants in the vicinity of that corresponding to the Rogers RO4003C substrate (i.e., with dielectric constant 3.55) is carried out. The functionality as a defect detector is demonstrated by measuring the phase-variation in samples consisting of the uncoated Rogers RO4003C substrate (the reference sample) with arrays of holes of different densities.

[1]  Chin-Lung Yang,et al.  Noncontact Measurement of Complex Permittivity and Thickness by Using Planar Resonators , 2016, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[2]  Ferran Martin,et al.  On the symmetry properties of coplanar waveguides loaded with symmetric resonators: Analysis and potential applications , 2012, 2012 IEEE/MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest.

[3]  Ferran Martin,et al.  Transmission lines loaded with bisymmetric resonators and applications , 2013, 2013 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest (MTT).

[4]  J. Naqui,et al.  Transmission lines loaded with folded stepped impedance resonators (SIRs): modeling and applications , 2012 .

[5]  Chin-Lung Yang,et al.  Complementary Split-Ring Resonators for Measuring Dielectric Constants and Loss Tangents , 2014, IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters.

[6]  Margarita Puentes Vargas.  Planar Metamaterial Based Microwave Sensor Arrays for Biomedical Analysis and Treatment , 2014 .

[7]  Christian Damm,et al.  Transmission Lines Loaded With Pairs of Stepped Impedance Resonators: Modeling and Application to Differential Permittivity Measurements , 2016, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[8]  Javier Mata-Contreras,et al.  Analytical Method to Estimate the Complex Permittivity of Oil Samples , 2018, Sensors.

[9]  Ferran Martin,et al.  Angular Displacement and Velocity Sensors Based on Electric-LC (ELC) Loaded Microstrip Lines , 2014, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[10]  K. Ghorbani,et al.  Differential microwave sensor for characterization of glycerol–water solutions , 2020 .

[11]  Ferran Martin,et al.  Dual-band epsilon-negative (ENG) transmission line metamaterials based on microstrip lines loaded with pairs of coupled complementary split ring resonators (CSRRs): Modeling, analysis and applications , 2015, 2015 9th International Congress on Advanced Electromagnetic Materials in Microwaves and Optics (METAMATERIALS).

[12]  Ferran Martín,et al.  Alignment and Position Sensors Based on Split Ring Resonators , 2012, Sensors.

[13]  R. Jakoby,et al.  Artificial transmission lines for high sensitive microwave sensors , 2009, 2009 IEEE Sensors.

[14]  Mojgan Daneshmand,et al.  Sensitivity enhancement of split ring resonator based liquid sensors , 2016, 2016 IEEE SENSORS.

[15]  Derek Abbott,et al.  Rotation Sensor Based on Horn-Shaped Split Ring Resonator , 2013, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[16]  Omar M. Ramahi,et al.  Material Characterization Using Complementary Split-Ring Resonators , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement.

[17]  Cristian Herrojo,et al.  Application of Split Ring Resonator (SRR) Loaded Transmission Lines to the Design of Angular Displacement and Velocity Sensors for Space Applications , 2017, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[18]  Derek Abbott,et al.  High-Sensitivity Metamaterial-Inspired Sensor for Microfluidic Dielectric Characterization , 2014, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[19]  Derek Abbott,et al.  Metamaterial-Inspired Rotation Sensor With Wide Dynamic Range , 2014, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[20]  Javier Mata-Contreras,et al.  Modeling Metamaterial Transmission Lines Loaded With Pairs of Coupled Split-Ring Resonators , 2015, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters.

[21]  F. Martín,et al.  Differential Sensor Based on Electroinductive Wave Transmission Lines for Dielectric Constant Measurements and Defect Detection , 2020, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

[22]  Ferran Martín,et al.  On the Sensitivity of Reflective-Mode Phase-Variation Sensors Based on Open-Ended Stepped-Impedance Transmission Lines: Theoretical Analysis and Experimental Validation , 2021, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[23]  Sungjoon Lim,et al.  Complementary Split-Ring Resonator-Loaded Microfluidic Ethanol Chemical Sensor , 2016, Sensors.

[24]  Derek Abbott,et al.  Two-dimensional alignment and displacement sensor based on movable broadside-coupled split ring resonators , 2014 .

[25]  Javier Mata-Contreras,et al.  Splitter/Combiner Microstrip Sections Loaded With Pairs of Complementary Split Ring Resonators (CSRRs): Modeling and Optimization for Differential Sensing Applications , 2016, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[26]  Ferran Martin,et al.  Application of broadside-coupled split ring resonator (BC-SRR) loaded transmission lines to the design of rotary encoders for space applications , 2016, 2016 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS).

[27]  Christophe Fumeaux,et al.  Angular Displacement and Velocity Sensors Based on Coplanar Waveguides (CPWs) Loaded with S-Shaped Split Ring Resonators (S-SRR) , 2015, Sensors.

[28]  Witold Pedrycz,et al.  Robust Ultra-High Resolution Microwave Planar Sensor Using Fuzzy Neural Network Approach , 2017, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[29]  Mojgan Daneshmand,et al.  Strongly Enhanced Sensitivity in Planar Microwave Sensors Based on Metamaterial Coupling , 2017, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[30]  Christian Damm,et al.  Transmission lines loaded with pairs of magnetically coupled stepped impedance resonators (SIRs): Modeling and application to microwave sensors , 2014, 2014 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS2014).

[31]  Kamran Ghorbani,et al.  Differential Sensors Using Microstrip Lines Loaded With Two Split-Ring Resonators , 2018, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[32]  R. Jakoby,et al.  Metamaterial Inspired Microwave Sensors , 2012, IEEE Microwave Magazine.

[33]  Mojgan Daneshmand,et al.  Noncontact and Nonintrusive Microwave-Microfluidic Flow Sensor for Energy and Biomedical Engineering , 2018, Scientific Reports.

[34]  Ferran Martin,et al.  Transmission Lines Loaded With Bisymmetric Resonators and Their Application to Angular Displacement and Velocity Sensors , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[35]  D. Abbott,et al.  Displacement Sensor Based on Diamond-Shaped Tapered Split Ring Resonator , 2013, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[36]  Javier Mata-Contreras,et al.  Differential-Mode to Common-Mode Conversion Detector Based on Rat-Race Hybrid Couplers: Analysis and Application to Differential Sensors and Comparators , 2020, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[37]  Mojgan Daneshmand,et al.  A Microwave Ring Resonator Sensor for Early Detection of Breaches in Pipeline Coatings , 2018, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics.

[38]  David Dubuc,et al.  Microwave Microfluidic Sensor Based on a Microstrip Splitter/Combiner Configuration and Split Ring Resonators (SRRs) for Dielectric Characterization of Liquids , 2017, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[39]  Kamran Ghorbani,et al.  Ultrahigh-Sensitivity Microwave Sensor for Microfluidic Complex Permittivity Measurement , 2019, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques.

[40]  Cristian Herrojo,et al.  Detecting the Rotation Direction in Contactless Angular Velocity Sensors Implemented With Rotors Loaded With Multiple Chains of Resonators , 2018, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[41]  Francisco Javier Ferrández Pastor,et al.  Electromagnetic Differential Measuring Method: Application in Microstrip Sensors Developing , 2017, Sensors.

[42]  Rolf Jakoby,et al.  Passive chipless wireless sensor for two-dimensional displacement measurement , 2011, 2011 41st European Microwave Conference.

[43]  Javier Mata-Contreras,et al.  Modeling and Applications of Metamaterial Transmission Lines Loaded With Pairs of Coupled Complementary Split-Ring Resonators (CSRRs) , 2016, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters.

[44]  Ferran Martín,et al.  An Analytical Method to Implement High-Sensitivity Transmission Line Differential Sensors for Dielectric Constant Measurements , 2020, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[45]  Ferran Martín,et al.  Novel Sensors Based on the Symmetry Properties of Split Ring Resonators (SRRs) , 2011, Sensors.

[46]  F. Martín,et al.  Highly Sensitive Phase Variation Sensors Based on Step-Impedance Coplanar Waveguide (CPW) Transmission Lines , 2021, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[47]  Mojgan Daneshmand,et al.  Monitoring Solid Particle Deposition in Lossy Medium Using Planar Resonator Sensor , 2017, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[48]  Javier Mata-Contreras,et al.  Transmission line metamaterials based on pairs of coupled split ring resonators (SRRs) and complementary split ring resonators (CSRR): A comparison to the light of the lumped element equivalent circuits , 2015, 2015 International Conference on Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications (ICEAA).

[49]  Derek Abbott,et al.  Two-dimensional displacement and alignment sensor based on reflection coefficients of open microstrip lines loaded with split ring resonators , 2014 .

[50]  Derek Abbott,et al.  Metamaterial-based microfluidic sensor for dielectric characterization , 2013 .