Transparent and ultra-wideband metamaterial absorber using coupled hexagonal combined elements.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electromagnetics
• Optoelectronics

Background:

• Optically transparent microwave absorbers are crucial for electromagnetic stealth applications.
• Developing ultra-wideband absorbers with high angular stability remains a significant challenge.
• Existing solutions often compromise on bandwidth, angular performance, or transparency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate an ultra-wideband, optically transparent microwave absorber.
• To achieve high angular stability for the absorber's performance.
• To demonstrate a novel design combining specific materials and structural elements.

Main Methods:

• Designed an absorber utilizing a double-layer polymethylpentene (TPX) block and indium tin oxide (ITO) films.
• Incorporated an impedance layer with coupled hexagonal combined elements for ultra-wideband absorption.
• Employed TPX in compensation and substrate layers for optimal reflection at high angular incidences.

Main Results:

• Achieved a 90% absorption bandwidth from 2.53 to 8.94 GHz (111.8% bandwidth).
• Demonstrated high angular stability up to 60°.
• Obtained a high light transmittance of 70.7%.

Conclusions:

• The designed TPX/ITO absorber successfully meets the requirements for ultra-wideband absorption and high angular stability.
• Experimental results validate the simulation, confirming excellent performance.
• This work offers a promising solution for advanced electromagnetic stealth applications requiring optical transparency.