Permittivity and dielectric loss measurement of paraffin films for mmW and THz applications

Abstract

Complex permittivity measurement of thick paraffin films at the frequency range of 0.3 THz-1 THz is presented. Paraffin is a low loss dielectric that undergoes reversible volumetric mechanical phase change. These unique properties of the paraffin can be employed to develop reconfigurable antenna systems and RF components at millimeter wave (mmW) and terahertz (THz) bands. In order to characterize the dielectric properties of the paraffin, terahertz time domain spectroscopy is used. Complex dielectric permittivity is modeled using Havriliak-Negami relaxation and measured data are fitted using three-layer propagation model. Measured loss tangent for various paraffin films is in the range of 0.3 × 10-3-7.7 × 10-3 and the relative permittivity is found to be 2.26.