Metamaterial Antennas Imbedded with Ballistic Armor (PDRT10-006)

The proposed STTR will demonstrate how magnetic meta materials based antennas are ideal for integration into composite structures where the graphite composite backplanes can be integrated with dielectric ballistic protection materials that surround, yet do not interfere with the antenna. In ongoing research we have shown such antennas can approach the theoretical Gain-Bandwidth Product (GBWP) limit for radiators limited to a surface. (The two-dimensional equivalent of the well know three dimensional Fano-Chu limit.) A feature of the design of these antennas is the ability to trade-off the permeability of the material against the cross section required to attain the desired GBWP and minimize weight and cost of the metamaterial while maximizing gain and bandwidth.The instantaneous bandwidth of the antenna is critical in applications where the same radiator is to be used over a very broad band of frequencies. We will demonstrate the capabilities of this technology in the form of a broadband radiator operating from 20MHz up, integrated into a structure suitable for a side panel of a vehicle performing an anti-IED. This conformal design eliminates visual signature cues that could identify the vehicle carrying this panel as an anti-IED vehicle.