Absorption Cross Section of Moderately Conducting Disks at 35 GHz

Absorption cross-sectional measurements and model predictions of 25 disks with moderate electrical conductivity were made. The disk radii span part of the resonance region, and their thicknesses are an order of magnitude less than the skin depth. A photoacoustic apparatus, with a 35-GHz microwave source, was used to measure the absorption cross sections. The disks tend to be more absorbing when they are edge-on rather than broadside to the incident microwaves. Also they absorb most efficiently near a size parameter of 1. Model predictions generally agree with the measured magnitudes and trends in the data.