Konstantin N. Rozanov

Ultimate thickness to bandwidth ratio of radar absorbers

Analytic properties of the reflection coefficient of a multilayer metal-backed slab are considered. The result is a new form of the dispersion relationship, which characterizes the integral of the reflectance over wavelength in terms of the total thickness and averaged static permeability of the slab. The relation may be transformed to an inequality, which produces the least thickness to bandwidth ratio achievable for a physically realizable radar absorber. The particular cases of broad-band and narrow-band absorbers are discussed. The least thickness of a 10-dB broad-band dielectric radar absorber is shown to be 1/17 of the largest operating wavelength. The discussion also involves the results of a numerical study.

Magnetodielectric Substrates in Antenna Miniaturization: Potential and Limitations

We discuss patch antenna miniaturization using magnetodielectric substrates. Recent results found in the literature reveal that with passive substrates advantages over conventional dielectric substrates can only be achieved if natural magnetic inclusions are embedded into the substrate. This observation is revised and the physical background is clarified. We present a detailed discussion concerning magnetic materials available in the microwave regime and containing natural magnetic constituents. The effects of magnetic dispersion and loss are studied: constraints on the microwave permeability are used to estimate the effect of magnetic substrates on the achievable impedance bandwidth. Microwave composites filled with thin ferromagnetic films are considered as a prospective antenna substrate. We calculate the impedance bandwidth of a lambda/2-patch antenna loaded with the proposed substrate, and challenge the results against those obtained with conventional dielectric substrates. The results are verified using full-wave simulations, and it is shown that the radiation quality factor is strongly minimized with the proposed substrate even in the presence of realistic losses. Estimates for the radiation efficiency are given as a function of the magnetic loss factor

Dielectric properties of fiber-filled composites

Results are presented of the comprehensive experimental investigation of the dielectric properties of composites filled with conducting fibers results. The results apply to the percolation threshold values and microwave dielectric dispersion of these materials. The fiber-filled composites exhibit a great variety of dielectric dispersion behavior, and offer wide possibilities of tailoring their dielectric dispersion. The experimental data are in good agreement with the recent theoretical approach [see A. N. Lagarkov and A. K. Sarychev, Phys. Rev. B 53, 6318 (1996)] as regards the values of percolation threshold and the shape of dielectric dispersion dependences. This agreement is a validation of the original assumption that the permittivity of effective medium is a scale dependent function in fiber-filled composites.

Microwave permeability of Co2Z composites

The microwave permittivity and permeability of Co2Z barium ferrite composite samples are measured as functions of frequency and volume fraction of the ferrite. Magnetostatic properties of the bulk ferrite are determined. This allows Snoek’s law [J. L. Snoek, Physica 14, 204 (1948)] to be verified by comparing the microwave and magnetostatic Snoek’s constants. The modification of Snoek’s law for hexagonal ferrites suggested recently by Acher et al. [Phys. Rev. B 62, 11324 (2000)] is also verified. Acher’s constant is found from microwave measurements to agree with the value calculated from the magnetostatic properties of bulk ferrite, but microwave and magnetostatic Snoek’s constant do not agree. This may be attributed to the effect due to demagnetizing factors of ferrite inclusions that are not considered in the derivation of Snoek’s and Acher’s laws. The measured frequency-dependent permeability of composites satisfies the Lorentzian dispersion law and is consistent with the Maxwell Garnett approximation...

Modeling of Shielding Composite Materials and Structures for Microwave Frequencies

Composites containing conducting inclusions are required in many engineering applications, especially, for the design of microwave shielding enclosures to ensure electromagnetic compatibility and electromagnetic immunity. Herein, multilayer shielding structures are studied, with both absorbing and re∞ecting composite layers. In this paper, flber-fllled composites are considered. For modeling absorbing composites with low concentration of conducting cylindrical inclusions (below the percolation threshold), the Maxwell Garnett theory is used. For re∞ecting layers, when concentration of inclusions is close to or above the percolation threshold, the McLachlan formulation is used. Frequency dependencies for an efiective permittivity are approximated by the Debye curves using a curve-fltting procedure, in particular, a genetic algorithm.

Shift of resonance frequency of long conducting fibers embedded in a composite

An experimental study on the dipole resonance of long high-conducting fibers embedded in an inhomogeneous composite sheet was conducted. The location of the resonance characterizes the effect of the inhomogeneous environment on the electromagnetic response of the fibers. It is shown that the resonance frequency is determined completely by the thickness and permittivity of the composite sheet, in particular, with the anisotropy of the permittivity. No effect due to inhomogeneity of the environment is observed. This is in disagreement with the scale-dependent effective medium theory (SDEMT) that is conventionally exploited to model the permittivity of fiber-filled composites, because this theory shows that the response of the fibers depends on the inhomogeneity scale of the environment. Therefore, although the SDEMT provides qualitative agreement with the observed behavior of fiber-filled composites, it must be further improved to obtain better quantitative agreement with experimental data. The experimental...

Frequency dependence of effective permittivity of carbon nanotube composites

Dependence of the permittivity of single-walled and multiwalled carbon nanotube composites on frequency and concentration was investigated experimentally using the coaxial air-line method over 0.1–10 GHz. The results are in good agreement with that obtained using the impedance method. It is found that scaling law based on the percolation theory provides a good description of the frequency dependence of measured permittivity in carbon nanotube composites. Parameters of the scaling law and deviations from the percolation theory are also discussed.

Effective permittivity of planar composites with randomly or periodically distributed conducting fibers

Theoretical and experimental studies have been conducted on the effective electromagnetic properties of planar composites at microwave frequencies, with embedded conductive fibers of various volume concentrations. Two types of distribution are considered: random and periodic. Experimental results for the transmission coefficient and effective permittivity are obtained via the free space method. Simulation results are obtained using the finite element method (FEM). Good agreement is found between the measured and computed results, indicating the suitability of the FEM as a theoretical modeling tool for such composites, as compared to other numerical methods, such as the method of moments. It is also found that the type of distribution affects the effective permittivity of the composites: lower microwave permittivity with broader peak response is observed for composites with randomly distributed fibers, in comparison to that with periodically distributed fibers.

Reconstruction of Dispersive Dielectric Properties for PCB Substrates Using a Genetic Algorithm

An effective method for extracting parameters of a Debye or a Lorentzian dispersive medium over a wideband frequency range using a genetic algorithm (GA) and a transmission-line model is presented. Scattering parameters (S-parameters) of the transmission-line sections, including a parallel plate, microstrip, and stripline, are measured. Wave equations for TEM/quasi-TEM mode with a complex propagation constant and a frequency-dependent wave impedance are used to evaluate the corresponding S-parameters in an analytical model. The discrepancy between the modeled and measured S-parameters is defined as the objective function in the GA. The GA is used for search of the dispersive-medium parameters by means of minimizing the objective function over the entire frequency range of interest. The reconstructed Debye or Lorentzian dispersive material parameters are corroborated by comparing the original measurements with the FDTD modeling results. The self-consistency of the proposed method is demonstrated by constructing different test structures with an identical material, i.e., material parameters of a substrate extracted from different transmission-line configurations. The port effects on the material parameter extraction are examined by using through-reflection-line calibration.

Experimental studies on antenna miniaturisation using magneto-dielectric and dielectric materials

Dielectric or magneto-dielectric materials can be used to miniaturise antennas, but there are many important parameters that must be considered when selecting which material to use. The authors discuss these figures of merit and a rigorous method to compare antennas with different material fillings. A meandered planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) loaded with magneto-dielectric and dielectric materials is presented as an example antenna for testing. The magneto-dielectric material used is composed of mylar substrate and Fe–SiO2 sheets. Measurement results for the permeability of the material are presented. The radiation mechanism of the meandered PIFA is studied, and the proper position for dielectric and magneto-dielectric filling is discussed and identified. Miniaturisation by commercial dielectric and the presented magneto-dielectric fillings is measured and compared at the same resonance frequency using the radiation quality factor as the figure of merit. It is seen, that the antenna can benefit from the magneto-dielectric filling material in terms of the radiation quality factor only if the placement of the antenna filling is carefully selected.