access icon free Dielectric property characterisation of thin films based on iterative comparisons of full-wave simulations and measurements

© The Institution of Engineering and Technology
Received 31/12/2019, Accepted 05/11/2020, Revised 24/07/2020, Published 08/01/2021

A new research on characterising the dielectric constant and loss tangent of thin-film material with a convenient technique based on simulation is proposed. The authors utilise a set of full-wave electromagnetic simulation data to retrieve the dielectric properties from the measured data. More specifically, a set of simulation data is collected from a commercial full-wave simulator (Ansys HFSS) by solving the electromagnetic model the same as the measurement set-up which employs a grounded coplanar waveguide with a thin film placed on the top surface. The measured transmission coefficients (S21) are iteratively compared with its simulation data to estimate the dielectric constant and loss tangent using an efficient comparison algorithm. For adaptive data acquisitions and comparisons, they have developed a MATLAB code using hfss-matlab-toolbox that makes the whole process quick and automatic. They have successfully retrieved the dielectric properties of four different sprayed thin films at 8, 10, and 12 GHz, and observed that the dielectric constant and loss tangent strongly depends on their compositions, thickness, and frequency.

Inspec keywords: dielectric thin films; coplanar waveguides; strip lines; data acquisition; permittivity; dielectric losses

Other keywords: thin-film material; dielectric properties; dielectric property characterisation; frequency 8.0 GHz; electromagnetic model; measured transmission coefficients; commercial full-wave simulator; dielectric constant; data acquisitions; full-wave electromagnetic simulation data; dielectric loss tangent; grounded coplanar waveguide; Ansys HFSS; frequency 12.0 GHz; efficient comparison algorithm; frequency 10.0 GHz; full-wave simulations

Subjects: Waveguides and microwave transmission lines; Dielectric permittivity; Dielectric loss and relaxation; Dielectric thin films; Modelling and computer simulation of solid structure

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