The purpose of this paper is to predict permittivity of leafy vegetation using overlay technique.
The paper studies X band moisture dependent microwave permittivity of the stem and leaf of Ficus Bengalensis using overlay on Ag thick film microstripline. The perturbation obtained in the transmission and reflectance of the thick film microstripline due to the leafy vegetation overlay has been used to obtain the permittivity.
The paper finds that the permittivities obtained are in the range expected of leafy vegetation with moisture. Only the amplitude data have been used here. As the moisture content decreases, the dielectric constant and dielectric loss decrease. The return loss characteristics show interesting frequency dependent behaviour due to both stem and leaf overlay.
The paper is original in that a non‐resonant microstrip component has been used for the first time for such studies. The thick film component along with overlay can be a cost‐effective dielectric sensor especially for biomaterials, since any size and shape of the overlay can be used.
