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Researchers have invented a groundbreaking method to measure the permittivity of insulators with 100 times more accuracy than before. This breakthrough technology is expected to revolutionize the development of sensitive radio receivers for radio telescopes and the next generation of communication networks, including “Beyond 5G/6G.”

Permittivity is a crucial value that indicates how electrons inside an insulator react when a voltage is applied. It plays a significant role in understanding the behavior of radio waves as they travel through insulators. In the field of telecommunications equipment development, accurately determining the permittivity of materials used for circuit boards and building structures is vital. For radio astronomy, researchers also need precise knowledge of the permittivity of components employed in radio receivers.

By devising a calculation method for electromagnetic wave propagation, a team of researchers and engineers from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) developed an analytical algorithm that directly derives the permittivity. This approach eliminates the need for approximations used in previous methods. They tested this new method by measuring lens material for a receiver being developed for the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and confirmed its effectiveness in actual device development.

According to Ryo Sakai, an engineer at NAOJ and the lead author of the research paper, this novel method is not only beneficial for designing radio telescope components but also for developing high-frequency materials and devices in the millimeter wave/terahertz band for the future communication networks, “Beyond 5G/6G.”

The significance of this advancement lies in reducing errors due to approximations, thereby speeding up the development process. Accurate measurement of permittivity ensures that the fabricated products meet the desired performance targets, cutting down unnecessary trial and error and cost.

Conventional methods for measuring permittivity, such as the “resonance method,” have limitations. This method requires precise processing of the material being measured, and permittivity can only be measured at specific frequencies. Another commonly used method, the “free-space method,” also has drawbacks as it relies on approximations for analysis, making accurate measurement challenging.

The newly developed method combines the advantages of the “free-space method” while eliminating its limitations. It allows for accurate permittivity measurement with fewer constraints on sample shape and an extended measurement frequency band.

The joint research and development efforts between NAOJ and NICT have been focused on creating high-precision material property measurement systems at millimeter-wave and terahertz-wave frequencies. By combining knowledge from astronomical instrument development with communication technology, the team aims to achieve further technological innovation in this field.

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