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Date of publication xxxx 00, 0000, date of current version xxxx 00, 0000.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/ACCESS.2018.Doi Number

Dual Notch Microwave Sensors based on

Complementary Metamaterial Resonators
Tanveer ul Haq, Member, IEEE, Cunjun Ruan, Senior Member, IEEE, Shahid Ullah, and
Ayesha Kosar Fahad
School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
Corresponding author: Cunjun Ruan (e-mail: [email protected])
This research was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number 61831001.

ABSTRACT In this paper, three dual notch microwave sensors are presented based on a microstrip
transmission line and complementary metamaterial resonators. The main aim of this paper is to compare the
constitutive parameters and sensitivity of all three dual notch sensors which are based on complementary
symmetric split ring resonator (CS-SRR), complementary asymmetric split ring resonator (CAS-SRR) and
complementary bisymmetric split ring resonator (CBS-SRR). The main motivation beyond the presented
work is to use dual notches to estimate the relative permittivity of material under test (MUT).
Electromagnetic simulation elucidates the origin of dual mode resonance of all the three resonators.
Sensitivity analysis is performed on each sensor by using fifteen MUTs with relative permittivity ranges
from 1.006 to 16.5 and constant dimensions 10 mm x 10 mm x 1 mm. To verify the concept, a sensor is
fabricated and its response is measured using a vector network analyzer (AV3672). Using curve fitting
technique the shift in the resonance frequencies of the fabricated sensor due to interaction with MUT is
presented as a function of permittivity. Simulated, measured and formulated results are in good agreement
with each other.

INDEX TERMS Complementary metamaterial, curve fitting, dual notch, microwave sensor, relative
permittivity, relative permeability, scattering parameters.

I. INTRODUCTION complementary spiral resonator (CSR), and complementary

In recent years, complementary metamaterial resonators are double spiral resonator (CDSR) are introduced based on
widely used in designing useful microwave sensors for lumped elements. According to [12], complementary
evaluation of dielectric substrates [1, 2], dielectric metamaterial resonators exhibit cross polarization effect,
characterization of ethanol-water mixture [3, 4], testing of which implies that these resonators can show electric and
oils [5, 6] measurement of thickness and permittivity [7, 8]. magnetic dipole resonance if properly excited by external
The fundamental principle of complementary metamaterial electric and magnetic fields respectively. Initially, these
based microwave sensor is to sense the variation in resonance complementary resonators are used to design composite right
frequency and notch depth due to volume or permittivity left-handed transmission lines [13, 14], tunable metamaterial
perturbation of material under test (MUT) or symmetry transmission lines [15], band-stop [16-20] and band-pass
disruption of a resonator for differential sensing [9, 10]. The filters [21-23]. Later on band-pass and band-stop
key advantages of these sensors are high sensitivity, characteristics are used for sensing based on variation in
inexpensive fabrication, robust design, and integration with resonance frequency due to interaction with the MUTs.
other microwave components. The concept of Currently reported complementary metamaterial based
complementary metamaterial was introduced by F. Falcone microwave sensors are operating at a single [24-27], dual
et al. in 2004 [11], as an effective negative permittivity [28, 29], tri [30], and tetra [31] frequency bands.
particle. In 2005 [12], the equivalent circuit models of In [24], a rectangular C-SRR is used to design a single notch
complementary split ring resonator (C-SRR), complementary sensor with the operating frequency between 0.8 GHz to 1.3
nonbianisotropic split ring resonator (CNB-SRR), GHz for material characterization of four samples but it has
complementary double slit split ring resonator (CD-SRR), sensitivity limitation for low loss materials. In [25], another

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single notch sensor is designed based on C-SRR with the

operating frequency between 1.4 GHz to 2.2 GHz for
thickness measurement of the dielectric layer but the
measurement is limited only on conducting material. In [26],
a single rectangular C-SRR is used to design a single notch
sensor with the operating frequency between 1.3 GHz to 2.3
GHz for microfluidic characterization of five samples with a
parameter estimation model. In [27], a circular C-SRR is
used to design a single notch sensor with an operating
frequency between 1.7 GHz to 2.7 GHz for material FIGURE 1. Perspective of the proposed sensor based on FR4
(transparent) with relative permittivity 4.4. The top layer consists of 3
characterization. In [28], single compound C-SRR is used to mm wide microstrip transmission line and the bottom layer has
design a dual notch sensor with the operating frequency complementary metamaterial resonator. The thickness of copper metal
is 35 µm and other dimensions are: a = 30 mm, b = 25 mm h = 1.6 mm.
between 1 GHz to 5 GHz for measuring permittivity and
thickness of dual layer substrate. In [29], a pair of C-SRR is
used for differential sensing between 1 GHz to 3 GHz for
dielectric materials but limited for the qualitative
measurements. In [30], compound C-SRR is used to design a
tri notch sensor with the operating frequency between 1 GHz
to 5 GHz for quantitative measurement of dielectric
substrates. In [31], the numbers of CSSR are increased from
three to four to achieve tri to tetra notches but multiple CSSR
causes poor coupling effect. The aforementioned
complementary metamaterial sensors are based on stop-band
characteristics which have sensitivity limitations due to low
operating frequency and poor coupling due to multiple FIGURE 2. Bottom view of the sensor based on complementary
symmetric split ring resonator (CS-SRR) with the following dimensions
resonators. In this work, sensitivity limitation is overcome by c1 = 6 mm, d1 = 6 mm, s1 = 0.5 mm, and g1 = 0.8 mm.
designing high-frequency resonators and poor coupling is
reduced by using a single unit cell for dual notch operation.
In this paper, we have used complementary symmetric split
ring resonator (CS-SRR), complementary asymmetric split
ring resonator (CAS-SRR) and complementary bisymmetric
split ring resonator (CBS-SRR) to design three dual notch
sensors. CS-SRR consists of two split ring resonators that are
placed symmetrically and this configuration has already been
used to design reconfigurable band-stop filter [19], high Q
filter [20] and band-pass waveguide filter [23]. CAS-SRR is
modified form of recently reported magnetic LC (MLC)
resonator [32]. These type of resonators have already been FIGURE 3. Bottom view of the sensor based on complementary
used to design band-stop filter [33], displacement sensor and asymmetric split ring resonator (CAS-SRR) with the following
dimensions c2 = 6 mm, d2 = 6 mm, s2 = 0.5 mm, and g2 = 0.5 mm.
band-pass filter [34]. CBS-SRR was initially presented in
[35], it is called bisymmetric resonator because it shows two
symmetric planes (electric and magnetic) at resonance [33].
All these sensors are simulated with a frequency sweep of 1
GHz to 12 GHz for constitutive parameters and sensitivity
analysis. Sensor design and sensitivity analysis are performed
in section II and III respectively. Fabrication and
measurement are performed in section IV. Finally, the main
results are highlighted and concluded in section V.

II. SENSOR DESIGN AND SIMULATION

The design of each proposed sensor is based on the FR4
epoxy substrate with dielectric constant 4.4 and the size of FIGURE 4. Bottom view of the sensor based on complementary
asymmetric split ring resonator (CBS-SRR) with the following
each sensor is 25 mm x 30 mm x 1.6 mm. On the top layer of dimensions c3 = 6 mm, d3 = 6 mm, s3 = 0.5 mm, and g3 = 0.5 mm.
the FR4 epoxy, 50 Ω microstrip [36] is printed as shown in
Fig. 1.

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FIGURE 5. Magnitude of transmission (S21) and reflection (S11) FIGURE 8. Phase of transmission (S21) and reflection (S11) coefficients
coefficients for CS-SRR sensor. for CS-SRR sensor.

FIGURE 6. Magnitude of transmission (S21) and reflection (S11, S22) FIGURE 9. Phase of transmission (S21) and reflection (S11, S22)
coefficients for CAS-SRR sensor. coefficients for CAS-SRR sensor.

FIGURE 7. Magnitude of transmission (S21) and reflection (S11) FIGURE 10. Phase of transmission (S21) and reflection (S11)
coefficients for CBS-SRR sensor. coefficients for CBS-SRR sensor.

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TABLE II
COMPARISON OF CONSTITUTIVE PARAMETERS OF ALL THE SENSORS
CS-SRR CAS-SRR CBS-SRR
Parameter

1st Resonance (GHz) 5.44 3.50 4.58

1st Notch Depth (dB) -24.40 -19.98 -21.25
2nd Resonance (GHz) 7.98 8.71 6.81
2nd Notch Depth (dB) -12.72 -15.09 -18.58
E Field (V/m) 2.607x104 2.659x105 1.32x105

In the bottom layer of the sensors CS-SRR, CAS-SRR and

CBS-SRR are etched as shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4
respectively. Proposed sensors are simulated using ANSYS
Electronic Desktop 2018 which has a direct link to high
FIGURE 11. Distribution of electric field for CS-SRR sensor at first
resonance, showing the electric field is concentrated symmetrically frequency structure simulator (HFSS) with the simulation
4
among both rings and the maximum value of electric field is 2.607 x 10 conditions given in Table I [37]. All the sensors are
V/m.
simulated with a frequency sweep of 1 GHz to 12 GHz. The
magnitude of S21 and S11 is shown in Fig. 5 for the CS-SRR
sensor. The resonance frequency of the first notch is 5.44
GHz with notch depth -24.40 dB and the second notch is 7.98
GHz with notch depth -12.72. The magnitude of S11, S22, and
S21 is shown in Fig. 6 for the CAS-SRR sensor. It can be
observed that S11 and S22 are not equal to each other due to
asymmetry. The resonance frequency of the first notch is
3.50 GHz with notch depth -19.98 dB and the second notch is
8.71 GHz with notch depth -15.09. The magnitude of S21 and
S11 is shown in Fig. 7 for the CBS-SRR sensor. The
resonance frequency of the first notch is 4.58 GHz with notch
depth -21.25 dB and the second notch is 6.81 GHz with notch
depth -18.58. The phase of S21 and S11 of CS-SRR, CAS-
FIGURE 12. Distribution of electric field for CAS-SRR sensor at first
resonance, showing electric field is concentrated only at the right side SRR and CBS-SRR sensor is shown in Fig. 8, Fig. 9, and
of ring and the maximum value of electric field is 2.659 x 105 V/m. Fig. 10 respectively. It can be observed that there is a sudden
change in the phase of all the sensors at resonance
frequencies. Distribution of electric field for CS-SRR, CAS-
SRR, and CBS-SRR sensors are shown in Fig. 11, Fig. 12
and Fig. 13 respectively. The simulated results of all the
sensors are summarized in Table II.

III. SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS

Sensitivity analysis is performed on each sensor by
permittivity and volume perturbation of MUTs. At resonance
frequency of the sensor, the stored energies of electric and
magnetic are equal to each other. When MUT is placed on
the resonator, the electric and magnetic fields adjust each
other and create a new resonance. This shift in resonance
FIGURE 13. Distribution of electric field for CBS-SRR sensor at first (∆fr) depends on volume (υ), the change in permittivity (∆ε)
resonance, showing electric field is concentrated inside the ring and
maximum value of electric field is 1.32 x 105 V/m. and permeability (∆µ) of MUT. The relationship between
TABLE I electric (E0) and magnetic (H0) fields without perturbation
SIMULATION CONDITION and electric (E1) and magnetic (H1) fields with perturbation
Analysis Area Size 25x30x50 mm3 can be expressed by the following equation [33]:
Boundary Condition Radiation
Cells Number 14201
f r  (E1.E0  H1.H 0 )d
Shape Tetrahedron  (1)
 ( 0 E0  0 H 0 )d
Wave port (50 Ω) 2 2
Feed fr
Solution Type Driven Model
Convergence condition determination Maximum number of MUT is placed in the ground plane of all the sensors where
passes; 20
Maximum delta S; 0.02
the electric field is maximum with the following dimensions
10 mm x 10 mm.

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TABLE III
SIMULATED RESULTS OF CS-SRR SENSOR FOR THICKNESS VARIATION.
Thickness of First First Second Second
FR4 Epoxy Resonance Notch Resonance Notch
(mm) Frequency Depth Frequency Depth
(GHz) (dB) (GHz) (dB)
0.1 5.06 -21.93 7.37 -13.92
0.2 4.90 -21.20 7.15 -14.22
0.3 4.78 -20.55 6.96 -14.51
0.4 4.70 -19.95 6.82 -14.72
0.5 4.65 -19.46 6.71 -14.88
0.6 4.59 -19.32 6.65 -14.85
0.7 4.55 -18.73 6.53 -15.02
0.8 4.51 -18.67 6.49 -15.04
0.9 4.49 -18.18 6.41 -15.09
1.0 4.41 -17.70 6.28 -15.32
1.1 4.39 -17.21 6.15 -15.01
1.2 4.45 -18.21 6.42 -14.96
1.3 4.42 -17.88 6.36 -15.09
FIGURE 14. Effect of MUT thickness variation on resonance frequency 1.4 4.41 -17.93 6.37 -14.84
of CS-SRR sensor obtained by electromagnetic simulation.
1.5 4.38 -16.87 6.16 -15.11

TABLE IV
SIMULATED RESULTS OF CAS-SRR SENSOR FOR THICKNESS VARIATION.
Thickness of First First Second Second
FR4 Epoxy Resonance Notch Resonance Notch
(mm) Frequency Depth Frequency Depth
(GHz) (dB) (GHz) (dB)
0.1 3.30 -17.10 7.40 -7.11
0.2 2.97 -13.45 7.38 -10.17
0.3 2.99 -15.69 7.40 -10.37
0.4 2.93 -15.79 7.20 -9.38
0.5 2.87 -15.78 7.32 -11.84
0.6 2.90 -15.67 7.24 -11.53
0.7 2.92 -15.76 7.46 -11.64
0.8 2.87 -14.87 7.13 -8.75
0.9 2.83 -15.53 7.20 -11.59
1.0 2.85 -15.61 7.19 -11.40
1.1 2.86 -15.02 7.14 -10.35
1.2 2.78 -15.09 7.16 -11.46
1.3 2.51 -13.24 6.82 -8.34
1.4 2.91 -15.27 7.31 -10.84
FIGURE 15. Effect of MUT thickness variation on resonance frequency 1.5 2.82 -15.24 7.07 -10.51
of CAS-SRR sensor obtained by electromagnetic simulation.

TABLE V
SIMULATED RESULTS OF CBS-SRR SENSOR FOR THICKNESS VARIATION.
Thickness of First First Second Second
FR4 Epoxy Resonance Notch Resonance Notch
(mm) Frequency Depth Frequency Depth
(GHz) (dB) (GHz) (dB)
0.1 4.15 -19.17 6.30 -16.11
0.2 4.07 -19.16 6.13 -15.94
0.3 3.94 -18.61 6.01 -15.33
0.4 3.87 -18.42 5.90 -15.01
0.5 3.74 -17.82 5.78 -14.27
0.6 3.68 -17.61 5.77 -14.07
0.7 3.66 -17.47 5.64 -13.84
0.8 3.70 -17.71 5.66 -13.73
0.9 3.59 -16.59 5.52 -12.62
1.0 3.64 -17.20 5.59 -12.69
1.1 3.58 -17.15 5.53 -13.10
1.2 3.60 -17.10 5.59 -12.38
1.3 3.55 -17.20 5.51 -12.93
1.4 3.57 -17.23 5.48 -12.95
FIGURE 16. Effect of MUT thickness variation on resonance frequency 1.5 3.58 -17.29 5.50 -12.88
of CBS-SRR sensor obtained by electromagnetic simulation.

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TABLE VI
SIMULATED RESULTS OF CS-SRR SENSOR FOR DIFFERENT MUTS.
Material Relative First First Second Second
Under Permitti Resonance Notch Resonance Notch
Test vity Frequency Depth Frequency Depth
(GHz) (dB) (GHz) (dB)
Air 1.006 5.44 -24.40 7.98 -12.72
HDPE 2.3 4.99 -23.39 7.33 -15.12
PVC 2.7 4.87 -21.92 7.07 -15.25
Rubber 3 4.80 -22.94 7.0 -16.14
Plexiglass 3.4 4.68 -22.38 6.81 -16.71
Ployimide- 4 4.44 -20.19 6.30 -17.59
Quartz
FR4- 4.4 4.41 -17.70 6.28 -15.32
Epoxy
Glass 5.5 4.28 -20.97 6.09 -19.04
Silicon- 7 4.05 -20.05 5.69 -20.14
Nitrate
Marble 8.3 3.84 -19.36 5.35 -20.80
Roger 9.2 3.72 -16.94 5.03 -20.45
FIGURE 17. Relative permittivity of MUTs versus resonance frequency
TMM 10
of CS-SRR sensor obtained by electromagnetic simulation.
Sapphire 10 3.65 -18.81 5.07 -21.62
Silicon 11.9 3.47 -18.17 4.78 -22.37
Gallium- 12.9 3.39 -17.76 4.70 -22.68
Arsenide
Diamond 16.5 3.12 -16.40 4.25 -23.47

TABLE VII
SIMULATED RESULTS OF CAS-SRR SENSOR FOR DIFFERENT MUTS.
Material Relative First First Second Second
Under Permitti Resonance Notch Resonance Notch
Test vity Frequency Depth Frequency Depth
(GHz) (dB) (GHz) (dB)
Air 1.006 3.51 -19.59 8.78 -14.66
HDPE 2.3 3.18 -18.96 8.10 -14.35
PVC 2.7 3.10 -18.03 7.77 -13.61
Rubber 3 3.02 -18.08 7.84 -14.24
Plexiglass 3.4 2.99 -18.63 7.53 -14.18
Ployimide- 4 2.89 -18.83 7.30 -14.55
Quartz
FR4- 4.4 2.85 -15.61 7.18 -11.41
Epoxy
FIGURE 18. Relative permittivity of MUTs versus resonance frequency
of CAS-SRR sensor obtained by electromagnetic simulation.
Glass 5.5 2.69 -18.33 6.51 -17.56
Silicon- 7 2.57 -18.19 6.40 -12.97
Nitrate
Marble 8.3 2.43 -17.58 6.20 -13.17
Roger 9.2 2.41 -17.37 6.05 -12.51
TMM 10
Sapphire 10 2.29 -18.06 5.77 -13.29
Silicon 11.9 2.16 -17.61 5.48 -12.39
Gallium- 12.9 2.08 -17.61 5.28 -12.27
Arsenide
Diamond 16.5 1.90 -17.56 4.89 -12.22

First, the thickness of MUT (FR4 epoxy) is changed from 0.1

mm to 1.5 mm for volume perturbation and the effect of
MUT thickness on resonance frequencies of CS-SRR, CAS-
SRR and CBS-SRR are plotted in Fig. 14, Fig. 15 and Fig. 16
respectively. From simulation results, it is clear that the
resonance frequencies of all the sensors are decreasing by
increasing the thickness of the MUT. For the CS-SRR
FIGURE 19. Relative permittivity of MUTs versus resonance frequency sensor, the first resonance frequency decreases from 5.06
of CBS-SRR sensor obtained by electromagnetic simulation. GHz to 4.38 GHz and second resonance frequency decreases
from 7.37 GHz to 6.16 GHz by increasing the thickness of
MUT from 0.1 mm to 1 mm as tabulated in Table III.

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TABLE VIII
SIMULATED RESULTS OF CBS-SRR SENSOR FOR DIFFERENT MUTS.
Material Relative First First Second Second
Under Permitti Resonance Notch Resonance Notch
Test vity Frequency Depth Frequency Depth
(GHz) (dB) (GHz) (dB)
Air 1.006 4.58 -21.11 6.75 -18.52
HDPE 2.3 4.15 -21.01 6.24 -17.45
PVC 2.7 4.05 -20.10 6.12 -16.68
Rubber 3 3.95 -20.86 6.00 -17.17
Plexiglass 3.4 3.90 -20.95 5.87 -16.91
Ployimide- 4 3.62 -19.78 5.61 -15.54
Quartz
FR4- 4.4 3.64 -17.20 5.59 -12.69
Epoxy
Glass 5.5 3.40 -20.65 5.34 -15.49
Silicon- 7 3.23 -20.49 5.02 -15.0
Nitrate
Marble 8.3 3.09 -21.0 4.82 -15.30
Roger 9.2 3.01 -20.23 4.69 -14.33
FIGURE 20. Relative permittivity versus relative sensitivity due to first
TMM 10
and second resonance of CS-SRR.
Sapphire 10 2.91 -20.88 4.55 -14.74
Silicon 11.9 2.75 -20.14 4.32 -13.62
Gallium- 12.9 2.67 -20.43 4.22 -13.23
Arsenide
Diamond 16.5 2.46 -19.85 3.88 -11.50

For the CAS-SRR sensor, the first resonance frequency

decreases from 3.30 GHz to 2.82 GHz and second resonance
frequency decreases from 7.40 GHz to 7.07 GHz by
increasing the thickness of MUT from 0.1 mm to 1 mm as
tabulated in Table IV. For CBS-SRR sensor, the first
resonance frequency decreases from 4.15 GHz to 3.58 GHz
and second resonance frequency decreases from 6.30 GHz to
5.50 GHz by increasing thickness of MUT from 0.1 mm to 1
mm as tabulated in Table V. For permittivity perturbation,
fifteen MUTs with constant dimensions (10 mm x 10 mm x 1
mm) and relative permittivity ranges from 1.006 to 16.5 are
used. The resonance frequencies of CS-SRR, CAS-SRR and
CBS-SRR sensors due to interaction with different MUTs are FIGURE 21. Relative permittivity versus relative sensitivity due to first
and second resonance of CAS-SRR.
plotted in Fig. 17, Fig. 18 and Fig. 19 respectively. For CS-
SRR sensor, the first resonance frequency decreases from
5.44 GHz to 3.12 GHz and second resonance frequency
decreases from 7.98 GHz to 4.25 GHz by increasing the
relative permittivity of MUT from 1.006 mm to 16.5 as
tabulated in Table VI. For CAS-SRR sensor, the first
resonance frequency decreases from 3.51 GHz to 1.90 GHz
and second resonance frequency decreases from 8.78 GHz to
4.89 GHz by increasing the relative permittivity of MUT
from 1.006 mm to 16.5 as tabulated in Table VII. For CBS-
SRR sensor, the first resonance frequency decreases from
4.58 GHz to 2.46 GHz and second resonance frequency
decreases from 6.75 GHz to 3.88 GHz by increasing the
relative permittivity of MUT from 1.006 mm to 16.5 as
tabulated in Table VIII. The curve that relates the differential
output to the differential input is termed as a transfer function
of the sensor and its slope is the sensitivity of the sensor.
FIGURE 22. Relative permittivity versus relative sensitivity due to first
Mathematically it can be expressed as [37]: and second resonance of CBS-SRR.

f d f u  f l where ɛrd = ɛr2-ɛr1 is the differential input of the sensor and fd

S  lim (2) = fu-fl is the differential output of the sensor. In our case the
 rd  r 2   r1 0  r 2   r1 differential input is the difference between the relative

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permittivity of MUT and air while the differential output is resonance frequency is 6.81 GHz with notch depth -18.58 dB
the difference of resonance frequencies of the sensor due to and 6.79 GHz with notch depth -17.11 dB for simulated and
interaction with air and MUT. measured sensors respectively.
Using (2) and data given in Table VI, the sensitivity of the IX
COMPARISON OF SENSITIVITIES OF CS-SRR, CAS-SRR AND CBS-SRR
CS-SRR sensor due to the first and second resonance is SENSORS DUE TO FIRST RESONANCE.
calculated and plotted in Fig. 20. The sensitivity of the CS- Material Relative CS-SRR CAS-SRR CBS-SRR
SRR sensor due to first resonance is above 30% and the Under Permittivity Sensitivity Sensitivity Sensitivity
second resonance is above 50% for MUTs with low values of Test (%) (%) (%)
HDPE 2.3 33.98 24.92 32.47
relative permittivity. For MUTs with high values of relative PVC 2.7 33.64 24.20 31.28
permittivity the sensitivity of the CS-SRR sensor is below Rubber 3 32.09 24.57 31.59
25% due to the first resonance and below 40% due to second Plexiglass 3.4 31.74 21.72 28.40
resonance. Using (2) and data given in Table VII, the Ployimide- 4 33.40 20.70 32.06
Quartz
sensitivity of the CAS-SRR sensor due to the first and second FR4-Epoxy 4.4 30.34 19.44 27.69
resonance is calculated and plotted in Fig. 21. The sensitivity Glass 5.5 25.81 18.24 26.25
of the CAS-SRR sensor due to first resonance is above 20% Silicon- 7 23.18 15.68 22.52
Nitrate
and the second resonance is above 50% for MUTs with low Marble 8.3 21.93 14.80 20.42
values of relative permittivity. For MUTs with high values of Roger TMM 9.2 20.99 13.42 19.16
relative permittivity the sensitivity of the CAS-SRR sensor is 10
Sapphire 10 19.90 13.56 18.56
below 15% due to first resonance and below 35% due to Silicon 11.9 18.08 12.39 16.79
second resonance. Using (2) and data given in table VIII, the Gallium- 12.9 17.23 12.02 16.05
sensitivity of the CBS-SRR sensor due to the first and second Arsenide
resonance is calculated and plotted in Fig. 22. The sensitivity Diamond 16.5 14.97 10.39 13.68
of the CBS-SRR sensor due to first resonance is above 30% TABLE X
and the second resonance is above 35% for MUTs with low COMPARISON OF SENSITIVITIES OF CS-SRR, CAS-SRR AND CBS-SRR
SENSORS DUE TO SECOND RESONANCE.
values of relative permittivity. For MUTs with high values of
Material Relative CS-SRR CAS-SRR CBS-SRR
relative permittivity the sensitivity of the CAS-SRR sensor is Under Permittivity Sensitivity Sensitivity Sensitivity
below 20% due to the first resonance and below 25% due to Test (%) (%) (%)
second resonance. Sensitivities of all the sensors due to first HDPE 2.3 49.09 51.35 38.51
PVC 2.7 53.71 59.62 37.19
and second resonance are summarized in Table IX and Table Rubber 3 49.14 47.14 37.61
X respectively. The performance of the proposed sensor Plexiglass 3.4 48.87 52.21 36.75
based on CBS-SRR sensor with other states of art designs is Ployimide- 4 56.11 49.43 38.07
tabulated in Table XI. Quartz
FR4-Epoxy 4.4 50.08 56.14 34.17
Glass 5.5 42.05 50.50 31.37
IV. FABRICATION AND MEASUREMENT Silicon- 7 38.20 39.70 28.86
The sensor based on CBS-SRR is fabricated for verification Nitrate
of the proposed concept due to compact transmission Marble 8.3 36.05 35.37 24.46
Roger TMM 9.2 36.00 33.31 25.14
coefficient and consistent relative sensitivity for first and 10
second notch respectively as shown in Fig. 22. The standard Sapphire 10 32.35 33.46 24.46
photolithographic technique is used for the fabrication of the Silicon 11.9 29.37 30.29 22.30
Gallium- 12.9 27.49 29.42 21.27
sensor. Fabricated prototype with MUT and vector network Arsenide
analyzer is shown in Fig. 23. To connect the sensor with Diamond 16.5 24.07 25.10 18.52
VNA, high precision SMA connectors are used with the
following specification: impedance = 50 Ω, center contact TABLE XI
resistance ≤ 0.3 mΩ, insulation resistance ≥ 3000 MΩ, COMPARISON OF THE PROPOSED DESIGN WITH THE STATE-OF-ART
dielectric withstanding voltage = 750 V and temperature SENSORS.
range = -55 °C to +165 °C. The thickness of the FR4 Resonator Resonance Size Average
Ref. Frequency Sensitivity
substrate is 1.6 mm and the gap between the center and outer
(GHz) (%)
pins of SMA is 1.5 mm, so SMA can be connected with the [29] CSRR 1.7 0.098 λg2 1.96
FR4 substrate without soldering due to tight grip. The other [38] SIR 6.1 0.15 λg2 8.8
dimensions of the fabricated prototype are same as the [39] SIR 3 0.046λg2 1.81
[40] SRR 0.87 0.1 λg2 0.91
simulation one and the transmission coefficients for the [41] SRR 2.1 0.03 λg2 3.4
simulated and measured sensor are shown in Fig. 24. The [42] LC 2.41 N.G. 3.73
first resonance frequency is 4.58 GHz with notch depth - Resonator
T.W. CBS-SRR 4.58 and 0.05 λg2 24.06 and
21.25 dB and 4.50 GHz with notch depth -23.39 dB for 6.81 29.90
simulated and measured sensors respectively. The second

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TABLE XII ground plane on CBS-SRR with the following dimensions 10

MEASURED RESULTS OF CBS-SRR SENSOR FOR DIFFERENT MUTS.
mm x 10 mm x 1 mm. From simulated results, it is clear that
Material Relative Measured First Measured
Under Permittivity Notch Second Notch the thickness of MUT has a very minor impact on the
Test (GHz) (GHz) resonance frequency while permittivity has a major impact.
(MUT) Five MUTs with different permittivity is used to measure the
Air 1.006 4.50 6.79
FR4-Epoxy 4.4 3.49 5.58
sensor and results are tabulated in Table XII. Using measured
Glass 5.5 3.31 5.39 data and curve fitting tool of MathWorks, the resonance
Marble 8.3 3.01 4.86 frequencies of the fabricated sensor can be related to
Sapphire 10 2.84 4.62 permittivity by the following equation:
Gallium- 12.9 2.58 4.27
Arsenide
 r  1.6565 f12  0.674 f 22  14.8245 f1  9.8145 f 2
 69.739
(3)
where f1 and f2 are first and second resonance frequencies of
fabricated sensor respectively and εr is the relative
permittivity of MUT. Equation (3) can estimate the relative
permittivity of MUT by measuring the first and second
resonance frequencies of the fabricated sensor due to
interaction with the specific MUT.

V. CONCLUSION
In this work, three microwave sensors based on
complementary symmetric split ring resonator (CS-SRR),
complementary asymmetric split ring resonator (CAS-SRR),
complementary bisymmetric split ring resonator (CBS-SRR)
are investigated for constitutive parameters and sensitivity
analysis. All sensors are providing dual notches and the
second notch of all the sensors is more sensitive than the first
notch due to the high resonance frequency. The sensitivity of
CS-SRR sensor is between 15 to 34 % and 24 to 56 % due to
FIGURE 23. (a) Photograph of vector network analyzer (AV3672 Series) first and second resonance respectively. The sensitivity of
for transmission coefficient measurement of the sensor (b) Fabricated CAS-SRR sensor is between 11 to 25 % and 25 to 60 % due
prototype of the sensor and MUT (10 mm x 10 mm x 1mm) is placed on
CBS-SRR. to first and second resonance respectively. The sensitivity of
CBS-SRR sensor is between 12 to 33 % and 18 to 40 % due
to first and second resonance respectively. To verify the
concept CBS-SRR sensor is fabricated and tested.
Relationship between relative permittivity of MUT and
resonance frequencies of the fabricated sensor is equated
using a curve fitting technique. Proposed sensors are very
compact, robust, and will be used for bio-sensing, liquid
determination and security applications in the future.

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