Dielectric constant, loss tangent, and surface resistance of PCB materials at K-band frequencies

This paper develops the theoretical approach and describes the design of a practical test rig for measuring the microwave parameters of unclad and laminated dielectric substrates. The test rig is based on a sapphire whispering-gallery resonator and allows the measurement of the following parameters: dielectric constant (epsiv) of the dielectric substrate in the range from 2 to 10, loss tangent (tandelta) of the dielectric substrate in the range from 10 -4 to 10 -2 , and microwave losses of copper coating of the substrate in the range from 0.03 to 0.3 Omega. Measurements of numerous commonly used microwave printed-circuit-board materials were performed at frequencies between 30-40 GHz and over a temperature range of -50degC to +70degC