The interaction of mm and THz waves with materials is described by the frequency dependent dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability function. For material compounds the adequate mixing formula needs to be derived. For the quantitative analysis it is also of paramount importance that the temperature and humidity or the phase changes of the materials are taken into account.

The materials of our interest include: technology materials for realizing integrated and packaged electronic circuits and systems: semiconductors (Si, GaAs), dielectrics, insulators (BCB), ceramics, polymers, liquids, powders, granular materials, mixtures... The target industries can be very diverse: electronic, chemical, food, pharmacy, biotech, agriculture, construction, ....

• Characterization of material properties using quasi-optical vector-based measurement techniques (S-parameters)
• Development of powerful and robust hierarchical algorithms (combinations of direct and indirect techniques) to extract material properties of single and multi-layer structures
• Evaluation of dielectric mixing models of compounds and mixtures

Besides classic materials also meta-materials are studied, which exhibit in a particular frequency range negative dielectric permittivity and/or negative magnetic permeability. These properties yield new design options for a wide set of applications in the mm-wave and THz frequency range. Our research activities include: modelling and design of single and multi-layer Left Handed Materials, including symmetric and asymmetric split ring resonators, derivation of equivalent circuits and investigations of ultra-sensitive thin film sensors for all kind of materials.