Dielectric properties of ice at millimeter wavelengths

Abstract

The use of radars to study the geophysical features in a polar environment requires reliable information about the relative complex dielectric permittivity, ε = ε' + iε", of ice at microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies. To address this requirement, ε of ice at millimeter wavelengths was obtained using an interference technique. The interference pattern was produced by measuring the transmittance through bubble-free ice slabs at normal incident angle as the frequency was swept from 75 to 110 GHz. From the resulting interference patterns, ε' was determined to be 3.17 ± 0.05 and virtually independent of frequency. Frequency-dependent absorption loss was observed such that ε" increased from approximately 2.4 ± 0.2 × 10-3 to 4.0 ± 0.2 × 10-3 over the swept frequencies. U.S. copyright. Published in 1997 by the American Geophysical Union.