Catalyst Project: Design, Fabrication and Testing of a Cost Effective Microwave Absorber

Albany State University, Albany GA

Investigators

Abstract

Catalyst Projects provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities to work towards establishing research capacity of faculty to strengthen science, technology, engineering and mathematics undergraduate education and research. It is expected that the award will further the faculty member's research capability, improve research and teaching at the institution, and involve undergraduate students in research experiences. This project at Albany State University seeks to design, fabricate, and test a microwave absorber by engineering the electrical property of materials that are commercially available and inexpensive. It provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to enhance their education through research experiences. The researcher has established a strong collaboration with faculty at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Operational frequency or absorbing frequency of a microwave absorber depends on permittivity, permeability, and thickness of the material. This research focuses on the complex permittivity of existing materials which can be enhanced by periodic inclusions of metal strips or patches on the material. Appropriate dimensions of the metal strips or patches are determined by a 3D electromagnetic simulation package (HFSS) to obtain pre-determined material permittivity required for perfect impedance matching between the absorber and free space. Once pre-designed metal patterns are printed on dielectric layers, stability in material property is analyzed experimentally by varying the number of layers. Finally, the desired absorber is fabricated by stacking up the required number of printed layers together and the performance is evaluated with free space material measurement equipment. The concept of tuning the material property with metal inclusions, as adopted in this project, can be applied to design any planer microwave devices such as resonators, filters, directional couplers, and antennas for improved performance and to protect the human body from 5G radiations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.