Resistive ink-based broadband metamaterial microwave absorber for leading edge of wings

This paper presents a broadband metamaterial microwave absorber using resistive ink to reduce the radar cross section of wings of an unmanned aerial vehicle. The metasurface printed on a flexible polyimide film is sandwiched between a lightweight foam core substrate and a composite layer. This proposed absorber is designed using a resistive link and a genetic algorithm to achieve broadband absorption characteristics. A planar sample is fabricated using a screen-printing technology and standard composite manufacturing processes. Absorption performance of the absorber more than 90% is evaluated from full wave simulation and validated with measurement. And radar cross section of the absorber applied on leading edge of the wings is conformally simulated for comparison with metallic counterpart and validated with measurement. The results show that a radar cross section reduction of approximately 94% is obtained. Using the flexible metasurface, the proposed design offers advantages over conventional multilayer planar absorbers for broadband characteristics and structural compatibility for curved wing application.