Ultrathin Flexible Carbon Fiber Reinforced Hierarchical Metastructure for Broadband Microwave Absorption with Nano Lossy Composite and Multiscale Optimization

The implementation of thin structure for broadband microwave absorption is challenging due to requirement of impedance match across several frequency bands and poor mechanical properties. Herein, we demonstrate a carbon fiber (CF) reinforced flexible thin hierarchical metastructure (HM) composed of lossy materials including carbonyl iron (CI), multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and silicone rubber (SR) with thickness of 5mm and optimal concentration selected from twelve formulae. Optimization for the periodical unit size is applied and impacts of structural sizes on absorption performance is also investigated. An effective process combining the vacuum bag method and the hand lay-up technique is used to fabricate the HM. Experimental reflectivity of the absorber achieves broadband absorption below -10dB in 2-4GHz and 8-40GHz. Full band in 2-40GHz is covered below -8dB. Yielding stress of the HM is increased to 24MPa with attachment of CF while the fracture strain of the composite reaches 550%. The soft HM i...