Design and Evaluation of a Microstrip Resonator-Based Sensor for Dielectric Sensing

Resonators are simple but powerful circuits that can be used in various applications. One such application is a microstrip resonator sensor, which can be used to detect and compare substances, including liquids, gels, and ice, and can be further scaled down to detect many more materials. The initial phase of this thesis includes a literature review on the microstrip resonator sensors to gain knowledge about the recent developments related to the topic. The second phase involves designing a microstrip-based resonator sensor, which has two split-ring rectangular resonators that resonate at 1 GHz. The designed sensor is simulated using Momentum Microwave and EMPro, and the impact of varying certain parameters is studied. Once the sensor is fine-tuned, it is fabricated on a PCB. The third phase of the thesis is the evaluation of the sensor. As liquids are used to evaluate, a few hollow cubes are 3D printed for better sensing. A few liquid samples are used to evaluate the performance of the sensor, where they are compared with an empty cube, a cube filled with the same liquid, and a cube filled with another liquid. Volume-based tests are also performed to evaluate the sensors’ performance when the volume of the sample varies. This will expand the scope for further development in the field of sensing and resonator-based sensors.