Patent ID: 6842010

Claim:
In an apparatus for evaluating dielectrically-anisotropic materials wherein the apparatus has a plurality of microwave transmitters, the plurality of microwave transmitters having at least three different planes of polarization, each transmitter of the plurality of microwave transmitters for transmitting a microwave beam, and a plurality of microwave receivers with at least three different planes of polarization, wherein each transmitter of the plurality of microwave transmitters includes a means of modulating the transmitted microwave beam, the plurality of microwave transmitters and the plurality of microwave receivers arranged, relative to a workpiece to be measured, so as to cooperate in microwave communication therebetween and so as to irradiate the workpiece, and wherein connected to each receiver of the plurality of receivers is a means to identify the received amplitude and phase of a component of the transmitted microwave beam, and wherein connected to each receiver is a means for analyzing received signals of the transmitted microwave beam to thereby obtain at least three measurements including principal axes, attenuations and phase shifts of the received signals, and wherein said transmitters being at least a pair of transmitters modulated by modulation means for modulating using any two periodic functions, f(t) for a first transmitter of said transmitters and +/− (1−(f(t)) 2 ) 1/2 for a second transmitter of said transmitters.