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Radar Absorbing Materials - Mechanisms and Materials

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 RADAR ABSORBING MATERIALS - MECHANMS
AND MATERIALS

Kevin Gaylor

MRL Technical Report

MRL-TR-89-1

ABSTRACT

This Report gives an introduction to the theoretical basis forthe design of

radar absorbing materials (RAM) with emphasis given to techniques.for
modifying material properties to give the desired performance. 'These
techniques include additives in the form of scatterers, loops, antenhae and
graded absorbers. A brief survey of the more common types of
commercially available radar absorbing material is given. Experimental
methods for measuring and testing these materials are described.

Accesion For
NTIS CRA&
DTIC TAB 0
Urianfio:jnced 0

Dit ibJilorl I
Avlddity Codes
Dis? ., tot
ist %AV, dJ
A -1 -'ld
Published by DSTO Materials Research Laborstory
Cordite Avenue, Maribyrnong, Victoria 3032, Australia
Telephone: (03) 319 3887
Fax: (03) 318 4536

@ Commonwealth of Australia 1989

AR No. 005-686

Approved for public release

 AUTHOR

Kevin Gaylor graduated from the RMIT with a BAppSc (Applied Physics
with distinction) in 1978. He obtained his MAppSc in 1980 for research
involving the computer simulation on colloidal systems. After joining
MRL in 1982 as a member of the Laser Research Group, his major
interests have been in the interaction of electromagnetic radiation
with matter, in both the optical and microwave regions. He currently
works in the Underwater Systems Division on mine and minefield

simulation.

I-

£
 CONTENTS

Page

1. INTRODUCTION 7

2. THEORY 9

2.1 Layered Homogeneous Structures - Basic Theory 10

2.2 Resonant Absorbers 11
2.3 Broadband Absorbers 14

3. MODIFYING MATERIAL PROPERTIES 15

3.1 Additives 15
3.2 Non-Homogeneous Absorbers 17
3.3 Hybrid Materials 18

4. COMMERCIALLY-AVAILABLE MATERIAL 18
4.1 Surface Wave Absorbing Materials 19
4.2 StructuralAbsorbing Materials 19
4.3 Camouflage Nets 19
4.4 FerriteAbsorbers 19
4.5 GradedDielectricAbsorbers 20

5. EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEMS 20

5.1 Electricaland Magnetic Properties 21

5.2 Mree-Space Measurements 22

6. CONCLUSION 22

7. REFERENCES 23

89 11 30 029
 RADAR ABSORBING MATERIALS - MECHANISMS
AND MATERIALS

1. INTRODUCTION

The development of radar systems before and during the Second World War lead to
investigations of the interaction between electromagnetic radiation at radar frequencies
and various materials; one aspect of these investigations being to find ways of reducing the
returned signal. This was undertaken not only to reduce interference between the radar
signal and surrounding structures (e.g. radar masts, towers, support buildings which could
degrade the performance of one's own radar), but also to help reduce detection by hostile
radars by means of suitably designed anechoic materials. The Germans developed coatings
for their submarine periscopes, snorkels and conning towers which achieved a reflection
decrease of almost 26 db in the 112 to 195 cm wavelength band [1). A number of physical
shortcomings however, mainly the coating's lack of survivability in harsh environments,
prevented the large scale implementation and deployment of this material.

Since the Second World War, there has been increasing interest in Radar
Absorbing Materials (RAM), culminating in the American "stealth" projects for the
Advanced Technology Bomber and Advanced Technology Fighter [2] and the deployment of
RAM on Naval vessels. These developments have been based on a synergystic approach,
the reduction in radar cross section being obtained by a number of complementary
methods. The primary techniques employed are radar absorbent structures, radar
transparent structures, modification of geometrical shape and the use of radar absorbing
materials as surface coatings. The application of these concepts to all types of defence
materiel is most important. The increasing use of radars in battlefield surveillance and
weapon homing, in addition to the traditional air-target detection role, means that
improved techniques for radar camouflage and countersurveillance must be developed and
deployed for all types of equipment.

For existing material, the application of radar cross-section reduction

techniques could involve radical structural modification, and in some cases might not be
justifiable in terms of performance or cost. However, the selective use of thin radar
absorbent coatings applied to existing material can, in the right circumstances, provide real
benefit in terms of performance and cost-effectiveness.
 To gain some qualitative insight into the benefits that may be achieved by
reducing the radar cross section of material, an examination of the classic free space radar
range equation is instructive [6]. This equation has the form
2 4
t
r t(4yT) R4

where Pr and Pt are the powers received and transmitted by the antenna respectively, G is
the antenna gain, R is the detection range, A is the wavelength and a is the radar cross
section.

The equation shows that the detection range varies as the fourth root of the
radar cross section (RCS). Specific numeric examples are given in Table 1. A reduction in
the RCS by 10 dB reduces the detection range by almost half.
The usefulness of a reduction in the radar-cross-section is even more apparent
when viewed in the contcxt of an electronic countermeasure (ECM) system. Typical ECM
jamming is useful up to a distance where the radar power of the illuminating radar is high
enough to "burn through" the ECM. This "burn through" range is directly proportional to
the square root of the radar cross section of the aircraft. Table 2 shows that for a change
in the radar cross section of 10 dB, the "burn through" range is reduced by more than half.
Greater reduction gives even better performance.

Table 1

RCS Reduced Detection

Reduction Range
dB %

10 90 0.56 R
15 97 0.42 R
20 99 0.32 R
25 99.7 0.24 R
30 99.9 0.18 R

Table 2

RCS Burn-through Range Normalized

Reduction to an Untreated Target
dB %

10 90 0.32
15 97 0.18
20 99 0.10
25 99.7 0.06
30 99.9 0.03

8
 Two significant points must be stressed concerning the above examples.
Firstly, the examples concern only a scenario of an aircraft being detected by a radar.
Radar-cross-section reduction techniques are applicable to more than just aircraft, even
though the popular press stress its applicability mostly in those terms. The threat to naval
vessels, tanks, AFVs and ground installations [3] from radar and radar guided munitions may
be reduced by the judicious use of radar cross section reduction techniques.

Secondly, the reduction in the radar cross section of material must be regarded
from a complete systems point of view. That is, it is not just the use of radar absorbing
material that is necessary. The shape of the object must be considered, either in the
original design stage, or when radar absorbing material is applied.

The strategic importance of radar absorbing materials has resulted in a high

security classification being placed in projects associated with the "stealth" concept. This
has meant that the majority of reports from commercial sources and Government
laboratories have been classified, with the distribution limited in most cases to the country
of origin. It is clear that some reports of direct relevance to Australian defence
requirements have been published, but have not been made available to Australia [4].
Because of the security attached to information concerning radar absorbing materials, the
latest developments might not be included in this review and advances in the field must be
gleaned by inference from the limited amount of unclassified literature that is published.

One area that has proved useful in providing some information on recent
advances in radar absorbing materials is the commercial sector where materials for
anechoic chambers, microwave co-axial and waveguide devices and other areas have been
discussed. The main drawback is that much of the information is of a proprietary nature
and exact absorbing mechanisms and materials are not disclosed. However in many cases,
the stracture and nature of the absorbing material can be inferred.

In this report, the design, performance and selective uses of commercially

available radar absorbing materials is considered. Possible developments in this field in
terms of new absorption methods and materials are also addressed. An experimental
procedure to measure the basic parameters of radar absorbing materials is described, from
which the absorption, reflection and transmission properties of coatings may be obtained.

2. THEORY

When electromagnetic radiation is incident upon a material, it can undergo reflection,

transmission and absorption. The various magnitudes of these quantities are dependent on
the material properties and geometric factors such as size, shape etc. From a microscopic
point of view, these interactions may be calculated quantum-mechanically from the atomic
structure of the material. As the perspective of the interactions is changed from a
microscopic level to a macroscopic one, different descriptions of the interaction process
may be used, depending on the constituent properties of the material. The concept of
homogeneity of the material may usually be considered in terms of the size of variations in
the material matrix relative to the wavelength of the incoming radiation in the material.
Therefore, at radar wavelengths, which typically range from centimetres to metres, many
materials can be considered to act in a homogeneous manner, i.e. only the bulk macroscopic
interaction processes need be considered. These processes are normally quantified in terms
of the permittivity and permeability of the material. The permittivity describes the
coupling of the electric component of the incoming radiation with the material, whilst the
permeability describes the coupling with the magnetic component. Both these components
can be represented by complex numbers, with the imaginary part being associated with the

9
loss or absorption in the material. If the coupling coefficients are known, then the
reflection, transmission and absorption of a material may be calculated from Maxwell's
equations with the appropriate boundary conditions applied.

The characterization of inhomogeneous materials in terms of such basic

quantities is not simple. Inhomogeneties may be due to large, random scattering centres
within the material in which case an appropriate scattering theory may be applicable.
Large inclusions may act as a type of antenna at certain wavelengths. Theoretical aspects
must be confined by a rigid specification of the number, size and type of inhomogeneity,
and must be treated as a one-off situation.

In the next section, we consider the use as radar absorr-ng materials of what
may be regarded at radar wavelengths as homogeneous materials which are characterized
uniquely by permitivity and permeability. Only a brief outline of the general results for
the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with absorbing media is presented in what
follows, as a number of excellent reports exist [5, 6].

2.1 Layered Homogeneous Structures - Basic Theory

Consider plane wave radiation of a single frequency f incident upon a metal plate with a
number N of parallel dielectric layers attached to it, as shown in figure 1. Each layer is
characterized by its relative permittivity era,and relative permeability P , with a resistive
sheet between each layer described by the normalized sheet conductancerb m relative to the
free space admittance I/Zo . It may be shown that the amplitude of the electric field of a
positive going wave (i.e. away from the metal plate) in the .it" layer is [61.
-ikm- xm-1
-ikx- 1 [A (Y - Y -G )e
B e (1)
m )e +ikm - xM -1
S Yn-Ym n-

Similarly, the ampiitude of the negatively travelling wave in the mth layer is
-ik x
-ik-x 1A (Y + Y + G )e m-im-1
in mn-i n-1In mr-i rn-i
e
A- c (2)
i
+B1 (Y -Y 1 + )e

In the above equations, the following definitions apply;

th
r I isthe intrinsic relative admittance of the m layer
2n
km= To Em~m is the wavenumber in the mth layer where A is the
k freespace wavelength 0

Gm is the sheethconductance of zero thickness between

t
m & (r+l) layer relative to VIZo

10
 xm is the position of boundary between mth and m + 1 th layers.

Equations (1) and (2) have been modified fom those shown in reference [61 in that a
t
generalized sheet conductance for the m layer has been added. Given an incident wave
in free space, AN+l, the reflection coefficient is simply

R -BN (3)
R 1AN+

For values of A1 and B 1 at the metal surface given as B 1 = -1, A = 1, an iterative process
may be used to calculate the AN+, and BN+1 and hence the totaireflection in free space as
given by equation (3). The above equations and concepts will be used later in the report.
Furthermore, we can also express the reflection in terms of the reflected power, defined as

1RdB, = 20 log 1 0 1R

t2.2 Resonant Absorbers

One of the oldest types of absorbing structure is known as the Salisbury screen [7]. This
consists of a thin sheet of resistive material spaced a certain distance (x = d) in front of a
metal backing plate. The resistive sheet is usually some type of porous material
impregnated with a lossy materiul such as carbon. Low loss spacing materials, like foams,
plastics or honeycomb, are ofte.n used for structural rigidity.

Using the theory outlined in the previous section, a Salisbury Screen has m = 2
layers, the second layer being free space. From equation 1, the reflected wave B2 is

B2 e 2- Ai (Y-Y -G )e-ikld -i -ikld

2 - 2Ym 2 1 1 1 2 11

For a perfect metal reflector we have B1 -A 1 and therefore

-ik2d - ik d +ikld
B2 - ey BI(Y2 -YZ -G)e -B(Y2 +YV-G)e I
* B2 2Ym B1 [Y2 1 1 )e B1(2 +YI1 1e

Sufficient but not necessary conditions for B2 = 0 are

Y2 = G, (i.e. G,=1 because Y =1)

2

ikld -ikld
and e +e =0

i.e. coskid = 0

11
from which

1 A0 nA0
d - 1 [--+--, n = 0, 1,
d =~'Ep
1 4 2'

where A is the free space wavelengthg and p, and e are real. Thus, zero reflectivity is
obtaineTdif an odd number of quarter waves separatesthe metal backing and a resistive
sheet whose conductance is equal to the admittance of free space. It should be noted that
the admittance of the spacer need not be the same as free space, Provided that it is
lossless.

One may regard the Salisbury screen in terms of transmission line. A lossless
quarter wavelength transmission line transforms the short circuit at the metal plate to an
open circuit at the resistive sheet. Zero reflection then occurs provided the resistive sheet
is impedance-matched to free space. If there is imperfect matching, the reflectivity is no
longer a minimum. Figure 2 shows the reflected power from a Salisbury screen with
different resistive loads. Improved performance on terms of bandwidth may be obtained by
stacking resistive sheets and spacers to form a multilayer system, with a gradual tapering in
the value of the resistive loads Gm. This is known as a Jaumann absorber [8].

In the Salisbury screen and the Jaumann absorber the sheet itself is purely
resistive. Imaginary components may be introduced by replacing the continuous resistive
sheets with conducting materials deposited in appropriate geometrical patterns such as
dipoles, crosses, etc [9-111. These patterns may be defined in terms of their effective
resistance, capacitance and inductance, thus enabling transmission line theory to predict
the properties of a Salisbury screen containing these patterns. By a judicious choice of
parameters, significant flexibility may be obtained in the design process.

A corollary of the Salisbury screen in magnetic terms offers distinct advantages

in terms of the absorber thickness. In the Salisbury screen, the maximum in the electric
field occurs at a quarter of an electric wavelength from the metal surface. The maximum
in the magnetic field is immediately on the metal surface, so a lossy magnetic material
placed directly on the material would be a good resonant absorber. The impedance of such
a system may be derived from equations 1 and 2 as

ZA = -iZ 0 IV -tan Ik d erPli

r
where the subscript 0 refers to free space and the subscript r is the relative parameter in
the absorbing material. When the argument of the tan is small, this equation becomes

ZA -iZ 0 rk0 d

For a high magnetic loss material i.e. Mr'' >> 1r' we obtain

pr Z0
ZA= ewd

where c o is the speed of light in vacuum, and w = 2/A ° .

12
F-
For maximum absorption, the impedance of the absorber/metal plate system
should match that of free space, which leads to the condition for the optimum thickness of
the absorber as
cZ

I d =
pr
0o0

For example, the reflection coefficient for the above system (P'r' = 10) at 10
GHz is zero when the thick-ess of the layer is o,1y 0.477 mm. As is the case with the
Salisbury screen, accurate control of the thickness of the absorbing medium needs to be
maintained.

We now consider the case of a single dielectric layer of thickness d with no

resistive sheet present. Using equation 3 with m 2, G 1 = 0, A1 = 1 and B 1 = -1 gives

-i2k d
-i2d(k1+k) (Y - Y) - (Y2 + Y1) e
R = e •i2kd
~~(Y2 - Y)2~ + (Y2
1 2d+ Y) e

In figure 3a, the reflected power is plotted against layer thickness, in this case
expressed as d/A m, where Ak is the wavelength is the material (Am AX ErP
r

For predominantly dielectric materials, e 1>; pi , maximum attenuation

occurs around a quarter of an electric wavelength. Tie introduction of magnetic losses
shifts the peak attenuation to about 0,3 and, more significantly, increases the bandwidth of
the material. It is claimed that such a material is probably within current production
capabilities of commercial RAM manufacturers for selected frequency ranges [12].

The perception changes when the same results are replotted against thickness in
terms of the free space wavelength, as opposed to the wavelength in the material. The
actual physical thickness of a magnetic/dielectric absorber is smaller than a dielectric
absorber; and is much less than a quarter of the free space wavelength. We also note that
when the conditions are perfectly matched (i.e. er = ur ), the reflected power decreases
exponentially with thickness. When both er and pr are real, i.e. no loss components, the
magnitude of R will be unity, resulting in total reflection irrespective of the thickness d.
When e and p are complex, the magnitude of R will vary as a function of d for any given
values ofe an& r"

As is the case with a Salisbury screen, multiple dielectric layers may be used to
increase the bandwidth of this type of ab,;orber. Computer optimization schemes have
been developed which provide the correct values of e and pm to meet the design criteria
[13, 14]. Of course, these value of e and pm must b%known prior to the design process.
Because both V-i Salisbury screen anIP multilayer dielectric absorbers rely on interference
between waves reflected from the front and back faces of the layers, they may be regarded
as resonant absorbers. Hybrids of these two types of absorbers may also be designed to
give enhanced periormance.

In many practical situations, precise control over the thickness of an absorbing

coating is difficult to maintain, as is the case when an absorbing paint is being applied.
The previously described resonant absorbers rely on the thickness to be maintained
accurately to ensure a'.sorption at the design wavelength. The question of how to
maximize absorption from non resonant absorbers then arises.

13
2.3 Broadband Absorbers

The reflection coefficient between free space and a half space absorber coating iq simply

ZA-1
RA + 1
(4)

where ZA = (P/)1/2 is the relative impedance of the absorber. Reflection from this
interface will be zero and all the energy in the incoming radiation will enter the absorber
when ZA = -1. Expressing p and e in terms of their complex parts p p'-ip''
and e = a -1 ' the loss tangents are defined as

tan 5 = , magnetic loss tangent

tan 6 - , electric loss tangent

The expression for the relative impedance may then be expressed as

1/2 + itan6 - itan6 + tan5 tan6 1/2

C
ZA = (IL-)12[+ 1 + tan26

This expression is equal to 1 (and the reflection coefficient equal to zero) when

' = p' and tan6 tan6

Once the radiation has entered the material, the values of e and p must be as high as
possible to ensure maximum absorption in the thinnest coating. This type of absorber has
the exponential behaviour shown in the previous figure. Because these absorbers do not
rely on a resonance effect, they have better broad band behaviour than a resonance
absorber.

Ar, improvement of the principle has been developed in what is commonly called
a "graded dielectric absorber". In this case, a continuous gradation of the permittivity is
used, with the permittivity at the front surface being close to that of free space, and
increasing with depth into the material. This ensures that there are no sharp
discontinuities in the material causing unwanted reflections, whilst giving values for the
permittivity that give good absorption deeper into the material. This gradation of the
dielectric may be obtained practically by either using gravity to control an absorbing
compound soaking into a foam, or by dipping a base material into an absorbing material,
with successive dippings to lesser depths. Another technique uses a geometric transition
from free space to a high absorbing material to provide a dielectric gradient, as in the
absorbers commonly used in radar anechoic chambers.

14
 A specific form for this gradation in the permittivity profile that gives a
specified reflection over a given frequency range and thickness has not, for a general case,
been determined analytically, although a number of authors have studied a variety of
different profiles. By assuminffhat the fractional change per unit length, with respect to
a local wavelength A = .(e r for non magnetic material, is a small constant, a, for all
points within the layer, i.e.

A de
a 1
- 20 ()3/2d [ «1 1

Jacobs 115] obtained a dielectric variation of the form,

r(X) r = [1 - j--
Af x] -2

which minimizes the reflection coefficient. For a realistic type of dielectric variation
(61, e'(0) = 1, e'(d) = 400, e'' = 0.5, a reflection coefficient of less than 0.1 may be
obtained for thickness of d/A a 0.42. Because Jacobs assumed in his analysis a matched
impedance at the interface x = d, interference effects are ignored. With a metal backing
at the interface, and a finite value of the permittivity next to it, interference effects could
also become significant, to the extent that better performance than that predicted by an
ideal Jacobs type layer has been obtained [16].

Other types of variation for the permittivity profile in a graded dielectric

absorber include various linear and exponential profiles. A selection of these are shown
graphically in figure 4 and in tabular form in table 3. In figure 4, the imaginary component
of the permittivity for examples 6, 8 and 12 from table 3 are plotted. It is interesting to
note that the minimum value of d/A in these examples occurs in the case of the
discontinuous function, whereas the two similar profiles give differing results. Intuitively,
one would expect the opposite situation. A more complete discussion is to be found in
reference 8.

This discussion of graded absorbers has ignored any contribution to the

absorption process by the magnetic permeability. By postulating a functional form for both
permittivity and permeability variation, even better performance, at even smaller layer
thickness, could be obtained. However, the availability of materials that have the desired
combination of properties is highly unlikely.

3. MODIFYING MATERIAL PROPERTIES

3.1 Additives

The previous sections have presented the theory of microwave absorption in both electrical
and magnetic materials, for general values of the permittivity and permeability. The
availability of real materials having the desirable properties of high absorption coupled with
impedance matching to free space is quite limited. In this section we consider the
theoretical aspects of combining two different materials to give the required electric and
magnetic behaviour. As mentioned previously, we shall still confine ourselves to the case
where the compound material may still be regarded as homogeneous at microwave
frequencies.

15
Table 3 (after Ruck, reference 8)

Type of Variatiou p (z) u r () 6'(Z) r '(z) R < 0I0

r r r r for R <0.1

2
1. Ideal Jacobs 1 0 (1 -z/1) Suall constant << 1 0.3

-2
2. Finite Jacobs 1 0 (1-0.95 z/1) 1/2 0.42

3. Linear 1 0 1 3 z/1 0.55

4. Linear 1 0 1 6 Z/1 0.77

1 5
5. Expnential 1 0 1 3.76 (z/l) 0.4

2 7 3z / 1
6. Eqoneatial 1 0 1 0.285 e . 0.35

z/ l
7. Exponential 1 0 1 0.25 [6 - 1 0.35

8. Exponential 1 0 2 z/1 5 z/1 - 1 0.56

z/ 1
9. xnxMtia1 1 0 10 7 z/1 -1 0.68

z
10. MXpwnetia 3 .3 z/1 0 50 /1 0.3 3.3 z/1 - 1) 0.6

z/ 1 / z
11. Exponential 3 . 3 z/ 0 - 1 50 z 1 0.3 (3.3 /1 - 1) 0.5

12. Three-layer discrete 1 0 1 0.58 for 0.344 1 0.33

aproximation to 1.16 for 0.359 1
exponential 3.48 for 0.297 1

Additives to a supporting medium may take many forms, such as rods, wires,
discs, spheres, etc. In the simplest case, based on the Lorentz method, a uniform electric
field applied to a cubic array of metallic spheres embedded in a homogeneous dielectric
sur, orting medium will induce a polarization in the small spheres. For non-interacting
spheres (e.g. a low density of spheres) the modified permittivity of the compound material
is

6 = e (1 +)
0

where e is the permittivity of the supporting medium and N is the number of spheres per
unit volume. The polarizability, a, depends on the shape of the additives, the material in
the additive and the nature of the supporting medium. As the density of added spheres
increases, interactions between spheres will start to influence the behaviour. For dipolar
interactions, the permittivity of the compound system becomes

aNIe
0
1 -+ A (aN/e)
0

16
where A is a factor dependent on the relative positions of the added spheres [17]. With
further increases in sphere density, higher order multipole interactions must be included in
the above equations.

The effective permeability of these systems may also be modified. The relative
permeability may be derived in terms of a magnetic polarizability of the individual
additives. Techniques analogous to those outlined above may then be applied.

Calculations similar to those outlined above have been performed for systems
containing small radar absorbing filaments fixed in a solid binder. The filaments were
initially designed for use with radar absorbing chaff [181, and were modified to be absorbed
in the binder material [19]. Conclusions reached in this and other papers [17] show that
even for very high particle densities, higher order multi-pole interactions contribute only
very little to the properties of the material. Also, the difficulty in calculating the
polarizability of the additives is stressed in these reports.

This approach is not practicable in a real-world situation, due to the complexity

of the model. Variables, in the form of the size distribution of the additives, the spatial
distribution of the additives and their specific electrical and magnetic properties are too
complex to specify for useful prediction. A more general relation between permittivity
and density of additive has been determined by Lichtenecker [201 for dielectric mixtures,
based on a stochastic mixture model [211. Extending this work to the permeability of a
mixture leads to the following relationships for the magnitude,

log olm
1 = v 1Og 10 pa:

and logOle' = v log0

9 10ea = (1 - v) logi 0 oeo

where the subscript, a, refers to properties of the additive, subscript, o, refers to the
supporting medium, and v is the volume fraction of the additive. Dielectric and magnetic
losses are related to the volume fraction by

tan6 = v tan5 a and tan6 = v tan5

These results have been tested at MRL with a mixture of ferrite powder and
epoxy resin. The results of figure 5, show that the above relationships are valid at least up
to 50% volume fraction. Therefore, it is possible to tailor materials to have the desired
permittivity and permeability, based on the required design criteria, given the respective
permeability and permittivity of both the additive and supporting materials.

3.2 Non-Homogeneous Absorbers

The theory presented so far has concentrated on what may be regarded as homogeneous
materials. As a rule of thumb, homogeneity may be regarded as applicable when the
wavelength is larger by at least an order of magnitude than the cross sectional dimensions
and spacings of the additives. When these limits are exceeded, the theory and
interpretation of the physical processes is complicated greatly.

For example, consider the case in figure 6a where short brass metal fibres are
added to a ferrite/rubber mixture [221. The supporting ferrite/rubber compound will be a

17
lossy material, with absorption dependent on the ferrite type. The metal fibres will act as
dipole antennas, absorbing incoming radiation at a frequency dependent on the length of the
fibre. The fibres will reradiate at the same frequency, but in a highly non-specular
manner, redirecting energy throughout the supporting compound 1231. This has the result of
effectively increasing the path length of the incoming radiation in the ferrite/rubber
mixture, increasing the total amount of absorption. For truly i-andom distributions of
added wires, the total interaction between the wire/ferrite/rubber mixture may still be
characterized by an "effective" permeability and permitivity, allowing the design criteria
specified in section 2 to be applied.

3.3 Hybrid Materials

A hierarchy of different absorption mechanisms has been built up in the previous sections,
starting with simple resonant effects and leading to non-homogeneous materials. Each
case has been treated in isolation to elucidate the physical processes used to obtain the
desired bulk material properties with respect to microwave radiation. Many radar
absorbing materials, both in use and under development, rely on a combination of
mechanisms to achieve the desired behaviour.

For example, consider the system shown in figure 6a consisting of a metal plate,
a wire/ferrite/rubber mixture as described in the previous section (layer A) and a
ferrite/rubber mixture (layer B). The majority of the absorption of an incoming
electromagnetic wave takes place in layer A, using the mechanisms outlined in the
preceeding section. Layer B is designed so that it acts as a quarter wave impedance
transformer between free space and layer A, by adjusting its permeability and permittivity
by varying the ferrite content, and by changing the layer thickness. Results for this system
under perpendicular polarization are shown in figure 6b. This absorbing system exhibits
high absorption over a broad band across a wide range of incident angles. This type of
absorber uses resonance effects, magnetic absorption, tailoring of the permeability and
permittivity, and non-homogeneous additives to give this type of performance in very thin
layers, typically less than 5 mm.

4. COMMERCIALLY-AVAILABLE MATERIAL

Worldwide, there are a number of manufacturers of radar absorbing materials. Each

manufacturer offers many different types of absorber, each developed for a specific
application. By far the majority of these materials are for strictly commercial use, as in
anechoic chambers, interference suppression etc. For military uses, the number of
materials freely advertised drops significantly. This is not to say that the materials have
not been developed, only that their availability is often limited for security purposes. This
section details a number of different types of commercially available radar absorbing
materials. This is, by no means, meant to be a comprehensive list of all available
materials. Rather it is an indication of the varied types of material on offer. Most
commercial companies have the capability to develop new types of materials for specific
application, and in some cases, offer full scale consultative facilities for customers with
problems that require some type of radar absorbing material.

18
 4.1 Surface Wave Absorbing Materials

The attenuation of fields generated by surface currents due to incident radar waves may be
achieved by commercially available materials. SWAM [241, (surface wave absorbing
material), manufactured by Plessey Materials of the UK is a magnetically loaded nitrite
rubber. When placed in appropriate positions, relatively small amounts can reduce the
radar cross section of an aircraft to a significant extent over the frequency range 1-10
GHz. As is the case for many broadband absorbers, some degree of attenuation will
generally be available at higher frequencies. It is claimed [241 that SWAM is still effective
up to 40 GHz. One relatively important characteristic of SWAM is its ability to absorb
radiation when the angle of incidence is between 30-60' from normal, making it useful for
the leading or trailing edges of aircraft.

4.2 Structural Absorbing Materials

# In some situations it may be desirable to provide radar absorbing properties in a structural

material. K-RAM [251 is a commercially available material composed of aramid fibres
(kevlar) containing a lossy filler, backed by a carbon fibre laminate which acts as a
reflector. The uses of structural radar absorbing material are fairly obvious such as on
ground installations or the superstructure on ships, providing ballistic as well as radar
protection. K-RAM can be manufactured to resonate at two or three frequency bands in
the 2-40 GHz range. Typical performance figures for K-RAM are shown below and in
figure 7.

Frequency Ranges (GHz) Reflectivity (dB)

2-4 and 8-16 - 10
2-3.5 and 8.5-15 - 15
2.5-3.5 and 9-14 - 20

4.3 Camouflage Nets

Camouflage nets, which combine visual, infrared and radar camouflage, are being developed
in many countries. One particular net, manufactured by the Swedish company Barracuda,
contains a mesh of 10 an stainless steel wires embedded in a plastic reinforcing material
1261. It is most likely that these wires act as radar scatters, rather than absorbers,
although the plastic material may have some slight inherent absorbing properties. This
material has undergone field trials in Australia to ascertain its usefulness on Army fuel
tankers, where electrostatic discharge problems preclude the use of non-conducting nets.
The manufacturers claim that this material will reduce specular reflection from metal
surfaces by about 50%. Whilst this is not a large reduction it must be remembered that the
material is for camouflage purposes. It is not always desirable to completely absorb
radiation. What is often required is the ability to merge the return signal with that of the
background.

4.4 Ferrite Absorbers

Ferrite materials have received much attention in the popular press because of the
perceived application as a radar absorbing "paint". Commercially, ferrites have been
utilized fot many years in various absorbers, either as additives to absorbing rubber

19

A
materials [27, 28], as sintered ceramic tiles 1291 or as sprays and paints [30]. The general
structure of ferrites is that of the mineral spinel, MeFe 2 0, where Me represents a divalent
metal ion. The peaks in the loss spectrum in ferrites are de to spin resonances, and may
+
be changed in frequency by substityting a qortion of the FeN ions with a divalent or
tetravalent metal ion such as CO+. or Ti+ . The bandwidth of the loss mechanism is
usually narrow, requiring the use of multilayer techniques similar to those employed for
dielectric materials, when increased absorption bandwidth [13, 14] is needed.

Because ferrites are ceramic materials, they exhibit good performance both
magnetically and mechanically at elevated temperatures up to their Curie point.
Applications such as plasma spraying of aircraft engine intakes and components with a
ferrite-thermal barrier combination would reduce the return signal obtained from aircraft
engines - often a significant cause of reflections. Another example is Emerson and
Cummings NZ series of sintered ferrite tiles [291. These materials have been applied to
towers, ships masts and aircraft, and may be designed to cover a broad frequency band.
However, as with most ferrite materials, a large weight penalty may be incurred due to the
material's high density.

4.5 Graded Dielectric Absorbers

This class of material offers many advantages when compared with ferrite materials, the
main one being their light weight, making them particularly useful for aircraft. One
example of this material is ADRAM - Advanced Radar Absorbing Material, manufactured by
Plessey Materials [311. It comes in the form of thin, flexible, carbon-loaded elastomeric
sheets designed to be bonded to metallic surfaces. This material is fairly broadband (6 dB
from 8-16 GHz, 15 dB from 10-12 GHz minimum). Less expensive types of graded
dielectric absorber exist, usually consisting of a foam material. Usually these materials
are not as robust in severe environmental conditions as ADRAM.

Another type of graded dielectric absorber is Plessey's External Netting

Absorber (ENA). This is a lightweight, relatively low-cost, open-structured material with
performance over a broad frequency band. At X-band, this material reduces the
reflectivity by more than 20 dB. For broad band applications, 10 dB performance over the
6-100 GHz range is claimed 132]. This material, under the trade name RAM Panels, it
currently in use with the Royal Navy. These panels consist of ENA encapsulated in a
reinforced PVC envelope. In this form, the panel may be tied to any section of a vessel
when the need arises. Being lightweight, it is easily folded away for storage when not in
use. ENA is also being tested in Europe for use on the hanger doors of hardened aircraft
shelters. By use of suitable backing materials, IR suppression of the signal from these
shelters is also possible.

5. EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEMS

In section 2, it was shown that in principle it is relatively straightforward to design a radar

absorbing material with desired characteristics particularly if coating thickness is not
critical. The frequency, bandwidth and reflection characteristics may be tailored by a
suitable choice of physical parameters. What is required as input to this design process is a
database of electrical properties, i.e. the permittivity and permeability of representative
absorbing materials.

20
 Unfortunately, for many materials useful in radar absorbing materials, these
electrical properties are either unknown across the desired frequency band, or are
unavailable outside the company that developed them. This is particularly true for many of
the newer types of absorbers. It is necessary therefore in any study of radar absorbing
materials to be able to accurately measure the complex permeability and permittivity of
materials, or any combination of materials.

For existing commercial radar absorbers, or for systems that are highly
inhomogeneous, i.e. those which cannot be characterised simply in terms of e and p, it is
often unnecessary or impractical to measure these basic properties. Simple free space
reflectivity measurements using small test panels are often satisfactory to characterise a
sample. For materials that rely on scattering of the microwave radiation, free-space
experiments to measure the angular distribution of the scattered field must be made.

5.1 Electrical and Magnetic Properties

Most measurement methods described in the literature only yield permittivity mainly
because relatively few classes of materials are magnetic. However, it is usually possible to
modify these methods to also measure the permeability (331.

A number of different techniques to measure the electric and magnetic

properties have been developed. Resonance methods rely on the fact that the resonant
frequency of a cavity will change with the insertion of material into the cavity, the
resonant frequency being determined by the dimension of the unfilled cavity. It is then
possible to infer the electrical properties of the inserted material. This technique is
limited in that only one frequency may be measured at a time. Measurement over a range
of frequency would require a number of cavities of different size.

A second method often employed is Time Domain Spectroscopy. In this

technique, a short pulse is transmitted down a transmission line which contains a small
sample of the material to be measured. From the Fourier transforms of both the input and
response waveforms, the permeability and permittivity of the sample may be calculated.
Whilst being a technique which in principle will measure permeability and permittivity over
a large frequency band, practical consideration in terms of timing and equipment limits this
technique to the range 100 MHz to 3 GHz.

The most general method is the transmission line technique, in which the sample
is placed inside the transmission line. The structure of the field within the transmission
line is well characterised, and all energy used in the measurement is confined within the
system. The sample must be machined accurately to fit into the transmission line to
ensure good electrical contact. Figure 8 shows two types of sample holders often used in
these experiments, one for X-band waveguide and the other for 7 mm beadless coaxial
airline.
aThe experimental technique used to measure both permittivity and permeability
was first described just after World War H f341, and was the standard method employed for
many years. However, advances in microwave instrumentation and computer technology
has greatly enhanced the measurement process.

Figure 9 is the complete schematic representation of the experimental system

used at MRL. A HP8510 Network Analyser is used to control the system. This unit can
measure error-corrected magnitude, phase and group delay from 500 MHz to 18 GHz. The
scattering function S 1l and $21, corresponding to the reflection and transmission, are the
usual way of specifying these unctions. The error-correction model employed removes
systematic errors such as directivity, source mismatch, load mismatch, crosstalk and

21
frequency response. The transformation from the scattering functions Sll and S 2 1 to the
permittivity and permeability is well documented and is facilitated by the aid of an external
computer [35].

5.2 Free-pace Measurements

Accurate and unambiguous free space measurements require just that; a free space outdoor
range. This, in many cases, is impractical. Techniques to simulate a free space
environment have been developed over the years. The NRL arch is a good laboratory scale
system which, with good experimental controls, yields accurate results [36].

More accurate results may be obtained from a radar anechoic chamber.

However, these are expensive and could only be justified if a wide range of measurements
were performed in them. Electromagnetics Group, part of the Surveillance Research
Laboratory, DSTO Salisbury, has excellent facilities for measuring radar cross sections,
antenna radiation patterns and absorption properties of materials.

At MRL, a system similar to the NRL arch has been developed for initial testing
of samples. This system will allow approximate free space, bistatic reflection
measurements to be made over a wide frequency range. When necessary the results may be
cross checked with the Surveillance Research Laboratory anechoic chamber to ensure
accuracy.

As in the previous section, a HP8510 Network Analyser is used with the same
error correction technique being applied [37]. Some radar absorbing material is used in the
measurement facility to reduce spurious reflections from the room. In addition, pseudo
time-gating using Fourier transform techniques, may be used to reduce reflection effects
due to the room.

Figure 10 shows the bistatic of measurement system used at MRL. The samples
are placed on polystyrene support stands to reduce extraneous return signals. Calibration
is performed by using a flat metal plate exactly the same size as the sample. Samples of
any practical size may be measured although 15 cm x 15 cm is the normal size used. The
distance between the sample and the horn antennas is varied according to the waveband
used and the sample size, to ensure primarily that a plane wave is incident on the sample,
and also that edge effects from the sample are minimised. Figure 11 shows the reduction
in reflection power due to a Plessey absorbing material measured at X-band frequencies.

6. CONCLUSION

Radar absorbing materials may be broadly separated in two categories, resonant absorbers
and broadband absorbers. Resonant absorbers are based on interference effects and thus
only work at one or two frequencies. They also require strict control over layer
thickness. Broadband absorbers rely on the inherent loss in the material which composes
the layer, and therefore do not rely so stringently on thickness. In reality, a combination
of broadband and resonance effects contribute to the total reduction in the return signal
from a material.

Design principles that lead to a specified performance with respect to reflection

coefficient, wavelength and layer thickness have been stated. The knowledge of
permittivity and permeability values over a broad frequency range is an essential input into

22
these design calculations. Experimental techniques to establish these parameters are
described, as well as experimental verification techniques for testing the final coating.

Methods of modifying electrical and magnetic properties are reviewed.

Homogeneous and non-homogeneous additives may be used to modify material properties to
give the desired performance.

A brief survey of the common classes of commercially available radar absorbing

materials is made, with a number of references to specific materials.

7. REFERENCES

1. Stepanov, Y.G. (1968). Antiradar camouflage techniques, Chapters 3-4 in

Protivo-Radiolokatsionnya Maskirova, Soviet Radio Publishing House, Moscow,
pp. 44-84. Washington, DC: Joint Publications Research Service JPRS, 47734.

2. Sweetman, W. (1985). The vanishing airforce. International Defence Review

8.

3. Dawson, M.H. and Rechlin, F.F. (1973). Microwave analysis of the terrain
reflector camouflage concept (Technical Report LWL-CR-25C73). US Army
Land Warfare Laboratory.

4. Kuch, C.M. F-18 radar cross section reduction (RCSR) investigations,

Phase Ha. RCSR Measurements, Vols. i and ii, NADC-77106-20, December 1977
- July 1979. This report has not yet been obtained by the author. It is included
as an example of the type of information available from US sources. At the time
of writing, nearly 200 classified US reports were found in a database search.
(SECRET)

5. Doig, J.A. (1984). Theoretical analysis of reflection of radio waves from

radar absorbing coatings (ERL-0307-TM). Salisbury, SA: Electronics Research
Laboratory.

6. Knott, E.F., Shaefler, J.F. and Tuley, M.T. (1985). Radar cross section.
Artech House, Washington, Chapter 8.

7. Salisbury, W.W. (1952). Absorbent body for electromagnetic waves. US

Patent No. 2599, 944, June 10, 1952.

8. Ruck, G.T. (Ed.) (1970). Radar cross section handbook. Vol. II, Ch. 8,
New York: Plenum Pressm.

9. Meyer, E. and Severein, H. (1956). Absorption devices for electromagnetic waves

and their acoustic analogues. Z. Ange. Phys. 8, pp. 105-114.

10. Chen, C.C. (1975). Transmission through a conducting screen perforated with
apertures. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory Techniques MTP-18,
pp. 627-632.

11. Pelton, E.L. and Monk, B.A. (1979). Scattering from periodic arrays of crossed
dipoles. IEEE Transactions on Antennas Propag AP-27, pp. 323-330.

23
12. Knott, E.F. (1979). The thickness criterion for single-layer radar absorbents,
IEEE Transactions AP-27, pp. 698-701.

13. Amin, M.B. and James, J.R. (1981). Techniques for utilization of hexagonal
ferrites in radar absorbers, Part 1, Broadband planar coatings, The Radio and
Electronic Engineer 51 (5), pp. 209-225.

14. Amin, M.B. and James, J.R. (1981). Techniques for ytilization of hexagonal
ferrites in radar absorbers, Part 2, Reduction of radar cross-section of HF and
VHF wire antenna, Radio and Electronic Engineer 51, (5), pp. 209-225.

15. Jacobs, I. (1958). The non-uniform transmission line as a broadband termination,

Bell System Technical Journal 37, p. 913.

16. Franceschetti, G. (1964). Scattering from plane layered media, IEEE Transactions
AP-12, p. 754.

17. Kharadly, M.M.Z. and Jackson, W. (1953). The properties of artificial dielectrics
comprising arrays of conducting elements, Proceedings of the Institution of
Electrical Engineers. 111 (100), pp. 199-212.

18. Swinford, N.W. (1975). Electromagnetic behaviour of radar absorbing chaff,

(Technical Note 354-43). China Lake: Naval Weapons Centre.

19. Gauss, A. A new type of EM wave absorbing coating. Ballistic Research

Laboratory, June 1982.

20. Lichtenecker, K. (1918). On the resistance of certain novel conductors, Phys Z.,
19, p. 374.
21. Neelakantaswamy, P.A., Chowdar, B.V.R. and Rajiharatnam, A. (1983). Estimation
of permittivity of a compact crystal by dielectric measurement of As powder,
Journal of Physics D : Applied Physics, 16, pp. 1785-1799.

22. Hatakeyama, K. and Inui, T. (1984). Ferrite electromagnetic wave absorber

composed of short metal fibres and its applications. In Electromagnetic
Compatibility International Conference, Tokyo, Japan 1 984, pp. 504-508.

23. Chen To Tai. (1984). Dipoles and monopoles. In (ed.) R.C. Johnson and H. Jasik
Antenna engineering handbook, 2nd Edition, New York: McGraw-Hill.

24. Plessey Technical Bulletin, Swam microwave absorber, Plessey Materials,

Towcester, UK.
25. Plessey Technical Bulletin, K-RAM - A structural radar absorbent material,
Plessey Materials, Towcester, UK.

26. Diab Barracuda AB, Data Sheet, Stockholm, Sweden.

27. Gupta, S.S. and Srivastava, N.C. (1979). Physics of microwave reflection at a
dielectric-ferrite interface. Physics Review B 19 (10), pp. 5003-5412.

28. Ueno, R., Ogasawara, N. and Inui, T. (1980). Ferrite or iron oxide impregnated
plastics serving as radio wave suppressors. In Ferrites: Proceedings of the
International Conference September-October 1980, Japan, pp. 890-893.

29. Emerson and Cumming Technical Bulletin 8-2-17, Eccosorb NZ.

24
30. Plessey Materials, Private Communication.

31. Plessey Technical Bulletin, ADRAM - lightweight microwave absorber,

Plessey Materials, Towcester, UK.

32. Plessey Technical Bulletin, ENA - external netting absorber, Plessey

Materials, Towcester, UK.

33. Lederer, P.G. (1986). An introduction to radar absorbent materials (Report

No. 85016). Royal Signals and Radar Establishment.

34. Birks, J.B. (1948). Proceedings of the Physical Society (London), 60, pp. 282-292.

35. Hewlett-Packard Product Note 8510-3, Measuring the dielectric constant with
the HP 8510 network analyser.

36. Reference 6, Chapter 9, pp. 296-297.

37. Hewlett Packard Product Note 8510-2, Radar cross section measurements with
the HP 8510 network analyser.

25
 x + ve

Gm -G.1 G2 G1

incident

(a ir)
ref tec ted

4-D-

Gm..1

Am Ar.I
YM-1 = E-M-J/A-i

Figure I Schematic representation of the relationships between materials properties andi

physical dimensions for a multilayer system.
t
4
I

I-

!L

'0

U
-- 20
0-
,-25 _

0 2 4 6 8
Frequency (GHz)

Figure 2 Re ected power from a Salisbury Screetn. with sheet resistivity of

(a) 3770 (b) 250 11 (c) 150 Q

I
 L -S -

0 -10

-is
U
-20
4-
-25

I I II

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

Th I =k ,t,/Wavm I rgtn 1-,

L -S

o -10
0-
* -15 _

" i
-20

0 0.05 0.1 0.16

ThIi ckrn---,/Wave I erg .l-

Figure 3 Reflectivity curves against electricalthickness (d,A , top graph)

and actualthickness (dAo, lowergraph)

Dashlinejl = 25, Ij =16, 66 = 30*, 6 = 20'

Solid line c =16, 1 =1, 6 =20 6 = 0
Straight line I I = 4, 6C = 6 2
 4
E12 IP
v 3.2

2.4
6
1.6
E -

0.8-

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

Normal ised Depth

Figure 4 Imaginarypart of the permittivity profile for models 6, 8 and 13 of table 3.

rl

,i s
L
-

10

0 15 30 45
X Ferr I te

I-
I

>.

E 2

0
0 1 30 4S
X Farr I to

Figure 5 Real and imaginary components of the permittivityfor a ferrite/epoxy mixture,

as a function of ferritepercentage composition.
(a) 0.5 GHz (b) 2.5 GHz (c) 4.5 GHz
 INCIDENT WAVE PLAT

B A

Figure 6(a) Hybrid Absorber Layer A :ferrite/chlororene-rubber/3inmbrass fibre

9s2551.
68.5 percentage composition
thickes = .mm
Layer B :ferrite/chioroprenerubber
:20/80 percentage composition
thickness =3.3mm

Ij - 1 0
C s
0

L 4
0-20
-0 s
4

8 9 10 11 12
Frequen~cy CGHz)

Figure 6(b) Absorption of a hybrid absorberas a function offrequency. The numbers

on each curve indicate the detection angle
 ',I

-0-
0
C
0 20

0
I
o-25

@-30

4 8 12 16
Frequency (GHz)

Figure 7 K-RAM triple band structuralabsorbingmaterial.

HP 8510 PORT 1 HP 8510 PORT 2

HP 85132
PORT EXTENSION CABLES

SAMPLE CENTRE CONDUCTOR 7mm BEADLESS AIR LINE

Figure 8(a) Co-axial sample holder and connections

HP 8510 PORT 1HP 85132 HP 8510 PORT 2

I SAMPLE /

HP X281 C
COAXIAL WAVEGUIDE ADAPTERS

Figure 8(b) Waveguide sample holder and connections

 HP8510A Network Analyser

DISPLAY UNIT ] RF SOURCE

CONTROL/UNIT TEST SET

SAMPLE

S PRINTER

Figure 9 Experimentalsystem to measure the complex permittivity and

permeability.
 ABSORBING PANELS

RECEIVE
HORN
SAMPLE

T RAN SM IT
HORN

~~HP
8510 TS E

PRIN TER
~COMPnUTER

Figure 10 Experimental Setup for Measuring the Free Space Reflectivity of Large Samples
 S1 1 Ilog MAG
REF 0.0 dB
1 10. 0 dB/
V -20. 181 dB___ __

C __

A MAR ERi1
10.15 Gz _

START 7.500000000 GHz

STOP 12.500000000 GHz

FigureI11 Experimental attenuation measuredfor a Plessey absorber, showing the effect of

the Fouriertransformationon the originaldata
 SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE UNCLAS FIE

DOCUMENT CONTROL DATA SHEET

REPORT NO. AN NO. REPORT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

MRL-TR-89-1 AR-005-686 Unclassified

TITLE
Radar absorbing materials - mechanisms and materials

AUTHOR(S) CORPORATE AUTHOR

DSTO Materials Research Laboratory
Kevin Gaylor PO Box 50,
Ascot Vale, Victoria 3032
REPORT DATE TASK NO. SPONSOR
February 1989 AIR 84/159 RAAF-DGOR
FILE NO. REFERENCES PAGES
G6/4/8-3205 37 34
CLASSIFICATION/LIKITATION REVIEW DATE CLASSIFICATION/RILEASE AUTHORITY
Chief, Underwater Weapon & Countermeasure
Systems Division, MRL
SECONDARY DISTRIBUTION

Approved for public release

ANINOUNCEMENT

Announcement of this report is unlimited

KEYWORDS
Anti radar coatings Surface waves Resonance
Absorption Antennas Materials

SUBJECT GROUPS 0063H

ABSTRACT

This Report gives an introduction to the theoretical basis for the design of radar
absorbing materials (RAM) with emphasis given to techniques for modifying material
properties to give the desired performance. These techniques include additives in the form
of scatterers, loops, antennae and graded absorbers. A brief survey of the more common
types of commercially available radar absorbing material is given. Experimental methods
for measuring and testing these materials are described.

SECURITY CIASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE

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