Biswas Akash, Zekios Constantinos L, Ynchausti Collin, Howell Larry L, Magleby Spencer P, Georgakopoulos Stavros V
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33174, USA.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, 84602, USA.
Sci Rep. 2022 Aug 4;12(1):13449. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-17648-4.
Microwave absorbers have been used to mitigate signal interference, and to shield electromagnetic systems. Two different types of absorbers have been presented: (a) low-cost narrowband absorbers that are simple to manufacture, and (b) expensive wideband microwave absorbers that are based on complex designs. In fact, as designers try to increase the bandwidth of absorbers, they typically increase their complexity with the introduction of several electromagnetic components (e.g., introduction of multi-layer designs, introduction of multiple electromagnetic resonators, etc.,), thereby increasing their fabrication cost. Therefore, it has been a challenge to design wideband absorbers with low cost of fabrication. To address this challenge, we propose a novel design approach that combines origami math with electromagnetics to develop a simple to manufacture ultra-wideband absorber with minimal fabrication and assembly cost. Specifically, we utilize a Tachi-Miura origami pattern in a honeycomb configuration to create the first absorber that can maintain an absorptivity above 90% in a 24.6:1 bandwidth. To explain the ultra-wideband behavior of our absorber, we develop analytical models based on the transmission-reflection theory of electromagnetic waves through a series of inhomogeneous media. The ultra-wideband performance of our absorber is validated and characterized using simulations and measurements.
微波吸收器已被用于减轻信号干扰以及屏蔽电磁系统。已提出了两种不同类型的吸收器：(a) 易于制造的低成本窄带吸收器，以及 (b) 基于复杂设计的昂贵宽带微波吸收器。事实上，随着设计者试图增加吸收器的带宽，他们通常会通过引入多个电磁组件（例如，引入多层设计、引入多个电磁谐振器等）来增加其复杂性，从而提高其制造成本。因此，设计具有低成本制造的宽带吸收器一直是一项挑战。为应对这一挑战，我们提出了一种新颖的设计方法，将折纸数学与电磁学相结合，以开发一种易于制造、具有最低制造和组装成本的超宽带吸收器。具体而言，我们在蜂窝结构中利用立-三浦折纸图案来制造首个吸收器，该吸收器在24.6:1的带宽内可保持90%以上的吸收率。为解释我们吸收器的超宽带特性，我们基于电磁波通过一系列非均匀介质的传输-反射理论开发了解析模型。我们吸收器的超宽带性能通过模拟和测量得到了验证和表征。
