Niksar was commissioned to engineer a specialised microwave materials tester for use with construction materials. The engineering and integration of the microwave functionality gave a highly capable sensor that provides for the measurement of the RF characteristics of construction materials.

Operating at X-Band (10 GHz), the Microwave Materials Tester provides 4 channels of fully coherent signal processing to obtain magnitude and phase characteristics of various materials subject to test.

The four channels may be programmed in various ways to provide the scanning pattern and rates desired for the tests to be done. Besides providing a real-time display of the material characteristics, measurement data may be stored for subsequent analysis.

An extensive set of calibration routines were incorporated to preserve the accuracy and dynamic range of the instrument and to record the calibration values.

When operating, the material being tested is passed between the transmit and receive antenna arrays at any speed that, together with the set channel scan rate, will provide the required distance resolution.