Microwave nondestructive testing (NDT) offers promising application prospects due to its advantages of non-contact inspection in detecting defects in non-metallic composites. However, the detection sensitivity of this technology is generally affected by the lift-off effect. To reduce this effect and highly concentrate electromagnetic fields on defects, a defect detection method using scanning instead of moving sensors in the microwave frequency range was proposed. Additionally, a novel sensor based on the programmable spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs) was designed for non-destructive detection in non-metallic composites. The unit structure of the sensor was made up of a metallic strip and a split ring resonator (SRR). A varactor diode was loaded between the inner and outer rings of the SRR, and by changing the capacitance of this diode using electronic scanning, the field concentration phenomenon of the SSPPs sensor can be moved along a specific direction for defect detection. By using this proposed method and sensor, the location of a defect can be analyzed without moving the sensor. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method and designed SSPPs sensor can be effectively applied in detecting defects in non-metallic materials.

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