Electromagnetic material characterization of conductor- backed media using a NDE microstrip probe

A non-destructive material characterization technique for obtaining the permittivity and permeability of conductor-backed media using a conformable broadband microstrip probe is introduced. The material properties are extracted via comparison of theoretical and measured scattering parameters using an iterative algorithm. Expressions for the theoretical scattering parameters are obtained via an EFIE formulation and a network analyzer is utilized to acquire the measured scattering parameters. Advantages of the flexible microstrip probe are discussed and experimental results for sample materials are provided and compared to manufacturer data in order to validate the analysis.