Metamaterial absorber using conventional inkjet-printing technology applied to antennas

In this paper, we will present recent work at QUB in the area of ink-jet printed absorbers with applications in electromagnetic compatibility and spectral response control. A radio frequency (RF) enhanced spacecraft multi-layer insulator (MLI) was engineered by patterning its outermost layer using a resistively loaded hexagonal patch FSS. The structure ranges in thickness between λ/213 − λ/25 and absorbs unwanted reflections to decouple onboard antennas from the spacecraft’s structure. In addition, we also show the design of an antenna superstrate absorber designed for radar cross-section (RCS) reduction. The new antenna arrangement is capable of beam steering, preserving its beam shape when compared to the reference antenna, whilst reducing the RCS by 10 dB over a wide frequency range.