Abstract
A microstrip based sensor aimed at detection of salinity and sugar content in water is presented in this study. The microstrip technology is based on the microstrip patch antenna fed by a microstrip feedline. The patch antenna is a low cost and low profile antenna, which is modeled to transmit and receive an electromagnetic signal. The presented antenna comprises of a crescent shape patch and slotted partial ground. The antenna is imprinted on an FR4 substrate and the substrate has a thickness of 1.60 mm with 4.6 relative permittivity. The antenna has a compact size of 32 × 22 mm2. To simulate the performances of the presented antenna, the High‐Frequency Structural Simulator is used. The result shows that the presented antenna achieves 10 dB return loss from 2.50 to 18 GHz. The antenna achieves consistent radiation pattern throughout the operating band with 6.10 dBi of maximum gain and considerable efficiency. The presented antenna is used as a sensor to detect the salinity and sugar in water in terms of the reflection coefficient based on the dielectric properties of the solution. The percentage of salt and sugar in water changes the dielectric properties of the solution and consequently the reflection coefficients also change. The results during the practical observations show that the reflection coefficient decreases with the increment of the salt and sugar content in the solution.