Rheological investigations on frequency selective surface carbon composite microwave absorber

Abstract

A high-performance stealth platform is one of the crucial requirements in defence technology that could practically be realized by building effective microwave frequency selective surface (FSS) absorbers. Herein, we report the design and manufacturing of an absorber by tuning the rheology of cell architecture. Initially, a fan-shaped cell (10.4 mm²) was designed for its surface and bulk rheology. The FSS overlayer composition was investigated using SEM, EDX, and XRD and tuned for 0.25% carbon: 1.5% silver to achieve the ink resistivity ∼255 Ω □⁻¹. The bulk rheology was optimized for air (Roha) spacer (thickness ∼2.8 mm), interlayer dielectrics (0.2 mm each), carbon composition (5%), and cell dimension (10.2 mm). Analyses are presented for absorption loss (R_C, dB), bandwidth (GHz), resonance dispersion, and constitutive (ε, μ) parameters, compounded with an equivalent circuit model with the settings R = 273.55 Ω, L = 2.25 nH, C = 0.057 pF and the Fabry–Perot reactance mode@10 GHz. The bi-modal response was investigated for induced polarization, electromagnetic fields, volume power distribution, and angular (Θ = 0°–50°) and rotational stability (Φ = 0°–90°) against TE/TM incidences. The FSS pattern was implemented using a screen printing technique to fabricate a prototype absorber and subjected to the free space measurements in an anechoic chamber. The prototype behaviour was found to be commensurate with the simulated performance, thereby achieving a figure of merit of R_C ∼−25 dB@10 GHz, accessible bandwidth 4 GHz (in X band) by using the thickness of 0.057 λ₀. Details are presented in this study.