Evaluating the Accuracy of Reconstruction of the Electrical and Geometric Parameters of Multilayer Dielectric Coatings by a Multifrequency Radio-Wave Method for Slow Surface Electromagnetic Waves

One of the most important problems in the diagnostics of multilayer dielectric materials and coatings is the development of methods for quantitative interpretation of the results of monitoring the electrical and geometric parameters of these materials. Results are presented from a study of the potential informativeness of a multifrequency radio-wave method for slow surface electromagnetic waves for reconstruction of the electrical and geometric parameters of multilayer dielectric coatings. A simulation model is shown for evaluating the accuracy of reconstructing the electrical and geometric parameters of multilayer dielectric coatings. The model takes into account the electrical and geometric parameters of the coating, the level of noise in the measurement data, and the measurement bandwidth. Simulation modeling and experimental test data for the reconstruction of the relative dielectric constants and thicknesses of one- and two-layer equal-thickness dielectric coatings based on polymethyl methacrylate, ftoroplast (teflon) F-4D, and RO3010 for different values of the mean square deviation of the noise level in the measured attenuation coefficients for the field of a slow surface electromagnetic wave. The accuracy of the reconstruction of the geometric and electrical parameters of the layers is found to decrease as the number of estimated parameters and the noise level increase, as well as when the dielectric constant and thickness of the layers are reduced. Experimental data confirm the adequacy of the simulation model developed here. This model can be used for a specific measurement complex employing a multifrequency radio-wave technique for slow surface electromagnetic waves to estimate quantitatively the potential possible accuracy of reconstructing the geometric and electrical parameters of multilayer dielectric materials and coatings. A simulation model and experimental study of a multilayer dielectric coating show that for a measurement bandwidth of 1 GHz the errors in estimating the dielectric constants and thicknesses of the layers do not exceed 10% with a confidence coefficient of 0.95 for a mean square deviation of 0.003–0.004 in the noise level.