Calibration scheme for microwave biosensors using exclusively liquid calibration standards

In the growing field of biosensing, the dielectric analysis of liquids and cell suspensions has become an important research topic. This paper suggests a novel calibration scheme for capacitive sensors, which exclusively relies on liquids instead of conventional termination standards. Moreover, the influence of several parameters on the reliability of the measurements is investigated by simulation. Finally, the concept of calibration is proven by measurements obtained using three different sensor prototypes.