Transparent and Ultra-Thin Flexible Checkerboard Metasurface for Radar-Infrared Bi-Stealth.

Area of Science:

• Metamaterials and Nanophotonics
• Electromagnetics and Optics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Advanced materials are crucial for developing stealth technologies.
• Reducing radar cross-section (RCS) and infrared (IR) emissivity simultaneously presents a significant challenge.
• Metasurfaces offer tunable electromagnetic properties for novel applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a single-layer checkerboard metasurface for dual-band stealth applications.
• To investigate the metasurface's performance in terms of radar cross-section reduction and infrared emissivity.
• To assess the metasurface's flexibility, optical transparency, and stability under varying conditions.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of an ultra-thin metasurface using indium tin oxide (ITO) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
• Utilizing phase cancellation and absorption mechanisms for RCS reduction.
• Theoretical calculation and simulation of infrared emissivity.
• Experimental verification of performance under normal and curved conditions, including polarization and angular stability.

Main Results:

• Achieved wideband RCS reduction of 10 dB from 10.6 to 19.4 GHz under normal incidence.
• Maintained approximately 10 dB RCS reduction from 11 to 19 GHz even when slightly curved.
• Demonstrated low theoretical infrared emissivity of 0.24 due to a high filling rate of ITO.
• Verified polarization and angular stability, along with optical transparency and flexibility.

Conclusions:

• The proposed checkerboard metasurface effectively achieves simultaneous wideband RCS reduction and low IR emissivity.
• The ultra-thin, flexible, and transparent nature of the metasurface makes it suitable for diverse applications.
• The demonstrated performance validates its potential for advanced radar-IR bi-stealth applications.