Testing

RF Testing

Two options exist for characterizing the relative permittivity of materials: 1) a two-horn free-space setup for performing transmission/reflection measurements at normal and non-normal angles of incidence at ambient and elevated temperatures and 2) a waveguide setup for performing relative permittivity and loss tangent measurements.

Both setups are used with a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) with the capability to produce frequencies between 50 MHz and 40 GHz. For both the freespace and waveguide setups, equipment is available for the following frequency bands:

  1. R-Band (1.7-2.6 GHz) freespace only
  2. S-Band (2.6-3.95 GHz) freespace only
  3. X-Band (8-12 GHz)
  4. Ku-Band (12-18 GHz)
  5. K-Band (18-26.5 GHz) freespace only
  6. Ka-Band (27-40 GHz)

Elevated temperature permittivity measurements are achieved using a custom designed oven, capable of soaking test samples at temperatures up to 1800°F.