Dielectric-constant measuring apparatus
AssigneeTylan Corporation
InventorJay Friedman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Accurate and stable measurement of the dielectric constant of a substance or a mixture of substances is achieved by the use of an oscillatory system incorporating a shorted transmission line as a delay means, to cycle the system. The substance for which the dielectric constant is to be determined is introduced between or about the elements of the transmission line so as to vary the propagation rate or delay of signals through the transmission line. Accordingly, the frequency of oscillation for the system is indicative of the dielectric constant of the substance. Several specific forms of transmission lines, embodied as sensors are disclosed along with different forms of oscillator drivers.
Claims13
Apparatus for the measurement of the dielectric constant of a substance, comprising:
- a driver device, including a tunnel diode operating to change the state of said device, said device actuable by applied pulses to reverse states and thereby provide drive pulses;
- a sensor for placement contiguous to said substance, said sensor being connected to receive drive pulses from said driver device and including a transmission line terminated to provide reflections of received pulses related in time to the dielectric constant of said substance, said reflections being applied as pulses to said driver device;
- and
- means for manifesting the time relationship between said pulses and reflections to indicate said dielectric constant.
An apparatus for measuring physical characteristics of a substance under observation by electrical reflections comprising:
- a sensor for placement contiguous to said substance under observation, said sensor including a transmission line to provide reflections of received pulses which reflections are time displaced from said received pulses to indicate a characteristic of said substance under observation;
- a change of state driver means including at least one tunnel diode to accomplish rapid switching and which relies on the quantum mechanical tunneling of electrons across an energy level barrier therein, said change of state driver means being connected to said sensor for providing said received pulses to said transmission line upon a change of state and to change state upon receiving said reflections from said transmission line;
- and
- means for manifesting the frequency of changes of state by said driver means as a characteristic of said substance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.