The Electrical Properties of Planetary Simulants and Ices Laboratory (EPPSIL) is part of the University of Bern's Ice Lab, and is centred around the EpsiMu® instrument, which is a device for the electromagnetic characterisation of granular and aqueous materials. This laboratory was started by Dr. Yann Brouet, and is now led by myself and Dr. Antoine Pommerol, who heads the University of Bern's Ice Lab.
The EpsiMu toolkit is composed of a coaxial sample-holder cell connected through a two-port mini-coaxial transmission line to a calibrated Vector Network Analyzer (VNA), monitored by a dedicated software package that allows the measurement of the scattering parameters of the sample, and thereby its electrical properties. The coaxial cell is specifically designed for granular and aqueous materials.
The EpsiMu toolkit is composed of a coaxial sample-holder cell connected through a two-port mini-coaxial transmission line to a calibrated Vector Network Analyzer (VNA), monitored by a dedicated software package that allows the measurement of the scattering parameters of the sample, and thereby its electrical properties. The coaxial cell is specifically designed for granular and aqueous materials.
The EpsiMu coaxial microwave measurement toolkit, including an Anritsu VNA (1 MHz – 20 GHz) and workstation with control software.
My goal is to use EpsiMu to characterise the dielectric response of materials relevant to planetary remote sensing in the microwave wavelengths. These include: Planetary Ices (water, carbon dioxide), ice and soil simulant mixtures, aqueous salt solutions, etc. These materials are relevant for studies of the surface and subsurface ices of Mars, the structure and composition of comet surfaces, and for the surface and subsurface composition of icy satellites such as Jupiter's satellite Europa and Saturn's satellite Enceladus.
A recent study from our lab provided a new empirical relationship between the subsurface-radar measurements of dielectric properties of the Martian surface, and the amount of ice that may be present in non-polar, ice-rich areas such as the martian mid-latitudes.
A recent study from our lab provided a new empirical relationship between the subsurface-radar measurements of dielectric properties of the Martian surface, and the amount of ice that may be present in non-polar, ice-rich areas such as the martian mid-latitudes.