An Ultrathin Tunable Metamaterial Absorber for Lower Microwave Band Based on Magnetic Nanomaterial

Abstract

At frequencies below 1 GHz, conventional microwave absorbers are limited by their large thickness or narrow absorption bandwidth; therefore, new techniques for efficient absorption for the lower microwave band are highly demanded. Here, we propose and fabricate an ultrathin tunable metamaterial absorber combining magnetic nanomaterials and metamaterial resonant structures for use in the lower microwave band (P band). The proposed absorber utilizes electrically controlled varactors to enable frequency tunability and magnetic nanomaterials as dielectric slabs for thickness reduction and bandwidth expansion at low frequencies. By adjusting the bias voltages of varactors, the resonant behavior of the absorbing structure can be dynamically tuned that covers a continuously tunable absorbing band from 0.41 to 1.02 GHz (85.3% in fractional bandwidth) with at least 10 dB reflection reduction. The total thickness of this absorber is 5 mm, which is only about 1/146 the wavelength of the lowest frequency. The agreement between the simulated and measured results validates the proposed design, and the structure has good angular stability that may be used as complex targets for low-RCS applications.